English Partnerships has announced details on 1 April of the Design for Manufacture Competition along with the first four sites which will be used to pilot the construction of sustainable, well-designed, good quality homes for around £60,000. The competition is being run by national regeneration agency English Partnerships on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.<P></P>
Organisations and consortia are being invited to bid for the right to construct on one or more new developments on sites owned by English Partnerships and other public sector partners. Around 470 homes will be built on the initial pilot sites which are located at Oxley Park, Milton Keynes; Oxford Road, Aylesbury; Upton, Northampton and Allerton Bywater Millennium Community, near Leeds. An additional list of sites will be announced at a later stage.
An OJEU notice inviting expressions of interest from organisations and consortia in the next few weeks was published on 1 April. Initial entries will be judged by a Technical Advisory Group of professional consultants and English Partnerships representatives who will draw up a shortlist of bidders. The shortlisted organisations will be invited to bid for part or a whole development site later this year.
Final entries will be chosen by an independent judging panel alongside community representatives from each of the sites. The final recommendations will be put to Ministers for approval. As part of the process, English Partnerships will also be seeking opportunities for public participation and debate. It is expected that work on the first homes will start in the first half of 2006.
Further information on the Design for Manufacture Competition can be found on English Partnerships website including the OJEU notice, Competition Brief and site details, refer to