North West-based architectural, planning and surveying practice, Cassidy + Ashton, has secured a place on the Procure Partnerships Professional Services Framework for the North West.
Cassidy + Ashton, which has offices in Preston, Chester, Wales and London, has been appointed as approved suppliers to provide architectural design and building surveying services. The framework will run for four years.
The framework allows public sector organisations to access professional services through the streamlined agreement, providing demonstrable value for money, saving time and delivering measurable social value. Over 400 individual practices submitted tenders for the framework.
Alistair Baines, chairman of Cassidy + Ashton, commented: “This is a highly competitive and prestigious framework and we are absolutely delighted to have secured a place in two categories.
“The win is testament to our team’s capabilities and experience in the education, healthcare, blue light and leisure sectors. We have been delivering exceptional results and value for money in these areas for decades and we now have an opportunity to expand our footprint in these areas.
“Working in these areas is very rewarding as our work has a direct impact on local communities and the public.”
Cassidy + Ashton’s public sector track record includes designing the masterplan for the 144-hectare Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone on behalf of Blackpool Council, and an internationally-acclaimed project to refurbish Preston Bus Station, on behalf of Lancashire County Council. The project won three categories at the Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA) 2019 awards.
The Cassidy + Ashton team also designed the new £5million Lotus School on behalf of Blackpool Council in partnership with the Department for Education. The school, which recently opened, is designed for children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.
The new framework is broken down into 11 disciplines covering architectural design and civil engineering through to quality surveying, MEP Design and fire engineering.
Procure Partnerships estimates the framework could account for a spend of up to £500m during the course of four years over the 11 regions in England and Wales.
Robbie Blackhurst, Procure Partnerships Framework Director commented: “This agreement has been two years in the making and it now allows the Procure Partnerships Framework to offer a one stop shop of both professional services and contractor appointments to our public sector clients. The framework is divided into sub-regional lots supporting the appointment of both local and national practices, offering both Direct Award and Further Competition project call offs.”
“We were extremely impressed with the quality of tenders received and delighted with the calibre of suppliers that we now have locked into our four-year agreement. The breadth of public sector delivery experience across our supplier partners is impressive and we are excited to work with and support them.”
“It was important to us that our supplier partners have demonstrable experience of delivering across all public sub sectors. This attracted 20% of the total evaluation which has meant that we have suppliers who have outstanding experience of delivering education, healthcare, leisure, and blue light projects within their specific allotted geographies”
