Two year framework will cover 16 Welsh counties 

Housebuilders have been put on notice for a £5bn framework for social housing schemes across 16 counties in Wales.

The London Housing Consortium has launched a consultation on the planned two-year DPS framework for the Welsh Procurement Alliance (WPA).

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The work will be split into 17 lots

Work, which will be centred on South and Mid Wales, is expected to include new-build housing, sheltered accommodation, care homes, extra care schemes and student accommodation, as well as associated community buildings like sporting facilities, health centres, libraries and retail units.

Schemes included will also have scope for MMC and timber framed dwellings, which the WPA said will be built with energy efficiency in mind.

It added that it anticipates a wide range of projects will be procured through the framework, from small sites to complex multi-site projects and refurbishments of existing buildings.

It will be split into 17 lots, with four value-banded sub lots for each county and the potential for counties to include specialist lots for accommodation schemes.

The WPA had intended for the framework to mirror a similar framework for North Wales which went active in April, but had opted for a DPS model to make it easier for Welsh SME housebuilders to join, as smaller firms had been put off by the speculative nature of traditional frameworks.

The current Welsh government pledged in its 2016 election manifesto to build 20,000 affordable homes by the end of its term, which ends in May next year.

A contract notice for the framework is expected to be published in the week beginning 14 September.