Birmingham Construction Partnership Delivers value for money

A report out this week has revealed that Birmingham City Council has created in the region of £120m of value from its pioneering construction partnership.

The Birmingham Construction Partnership (BCP) was launched in 2004 to deliver Birmingham City Councils £500 million capital building programme through to 2009. This initiative was established to allow the council to move away from awarding contracts simply to the lowest bidder, which often led to inefficiencies, budget overruns and missed deadlines. Furthermore, the project tendering process was costing the council over £6 million a year.

Led by Urban Design, the council’s specialist building design and maintenance consultancy service, the BCP brings together Thomas Vale Construction plc and two other contractors to deliver every council building project of over £100,000. The Partnership allows the council to source the best quality construction for its urban development programmes.

Steve Vickers, Urban Design General Manager said: “From the beginning, all members of the BCP have worked together to develop the partnership so that it brings real benefits to the people of Birmingham in the way that we deliver high quality building projects that are excellent value for money”

Since the BCP was launched, more than 260 projects worth £480 million have been allocated to the partners, for services that include leisure, sport, schools and social care. This report shows efficiencies and value across employment and training, waste and environmental management, recycling capital within the city, customer tenant satisfaction and programme certainty.

One specific project, which has delivered value in excess of £25 million, is the Decent Homes scheme that reviews the level of housing with regard to basic standards of heating Installations, windows, external doors, electrical installations, roofing, fascias and gutters.

The figures speak volumes about the real successes, through its bespoke integrated supply chain; the partnership has contributed over £65 million into regional economy through the allocation of subcontracts. It has also created 250 local jobs with an additional 1000 jobs created that can be linked to the Birmingham Construction Partnership. The local economy has been further boosted by target local purchasing of £415 million.

Steve Vickers added, “The BCP is still at the leading edge of partnership working and is constantly pushing the boundaries to achieve best value, this report shows the excellent value (cashable and non cashable) that this collaborative method of working delivers for Birmingham people”