The City of Edinburgh Council has activated the first part of its New Build Housing Framework Agreement, a four-year arrangement designed to provide a faster, more efficient route to procure construction of new homes. Lot 1, worth around £350m, will support efforts to tackle the city's housing emergency and contribute to the Council's ambition to deliver 25,000 affordable homes.

Approved by the Finance and Resources Committee in January and now live following a mandatory standstill, Lot 1 is split into three sub-lots by site size – 1–30 homes, 31–100 homes, and 100+ homes – to encourage greater participation from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and reduce reliance on a small number of contractors.

With successful contractors now appointed to the framework, the Council can progress housebuilding schemes more quickly, without running a full tender each time.

-- Advertisement --

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, Councillor Tim Pogson, said: "We're fully committed to addressing the housing emergency in Edinburgh, pledging a record £1.6bn to housebuilding in this year's budget, helping to realise our ambition to build 25,000 new affordable homes across the city.

"Procuring the right contractors to deliver these homes can take time, so I'm pleased that Lot 1 of the New Build Housing Framework Agreement is now in place, helping to streamline the process and letting us tackle the issue at pace.

"Our Procurement Service's innovative approach to the Framework has opened opportunities to a broader range of contractors, including SMEs, increasing capacity for house building projects."

Lot 2 will focus on collaboration, enabling the Council to work with partners to jointly procure sites and achieve economies of scale. An award report for Lot 2 will be presented to the Finance and Resources Committee in the coming months. Across both lots, contracts are estimated to be worth £600m.

Commercial and Procurement Services led a robust tender process, engaging with the market and attracting 22 responses across the two lots.

According to the Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA3) for the South-East Scotland area, there is demand for between 36,000 and 52,000 new homes in Edinburgh between 2021 and 2040, with 24,000 to 35,000 needing to be affordable.