IN Brief:
- Constructing West Midlands 3 has been launched as a £3bn public-sector construction framework with up to 20 contractor places.
- The framework is split into minor, medium, and major works lots, covering projects from £250,000 to schemes above £10m.
- It will run from September 2026, with an initial four-year term and an option to extend by up to two further years.
A new £3bn public-sector procurement programme has opened in the West Midlands, with Constructing West Midlands 3 set to appoint up to 20 contractors to deliver building, refurbishment, retrofit, M&E, and infrastructure works.
The framework, managed through Acivico and the Constructing West Midlands partnership, is structured across three lots. Lot 1 covers minor works generally valued between £250,000 and £5m and will appoint eight contractor partners. Lot 2 covers medium works from £2m to £15m and will appoint six, while Lot 3 covers major works above £10m and will also appoint six.
The scope is broad. The tender notice covers new build, extensions, remodelling, retrofit, refurbishment, renovation, repair, mechanical and electrical services, and infrastructure works, with projects expected across education, housing, health, leisure, emergency services, transport, public realm, industrial, office, and commercial sectors.
Constructing West Midlands is a publicly owned and managed framework collaboration between Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, and Acivico, which is wholly owned by Birmingham City Council. The existing model has been used as a delivery route for public capital works and refurbishment programmes, with an emphasis on procurement efficiency, sustainability, and social value.
The new framework is scheduled to run from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2030, with an option to extend to 31 August 2032. The tender submission deadline is 5 May 2026 at 12pm.
There are a few points in the structure worth noting. Bidders may submit for one lot only, and the same restriction applies to groups of companies. That limits the ability of larger groups to spread themselves across the whole framework and creates more defined competition within each value band. Lot 1 is also identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, which should widen access at the lower end of the programme.
Award criteria are weighted 55% quality, 35% cost, and 10% social value. That balance signals that authorities using the framework are being pushed to look beyond the cheapest compliant bid, particularly on collaboration, delivery quality, and broader outcomes. Whether that produces better projects or simply more carefully worded submissions will depend, as ever, on how rigorously those standards are applied once work starts.
For contractors, the attraction is a long-duration regional framework tied to a wide mix of public clients and project types. For the authorities using it, the aim is a ready-made procurement route that can shorten programme lead times while preserving flexibility over contract form, with NEC, JCT, and alternative arrangements all available through call-offs.
With public sector estates under pressure from maintenance backlogs, decarbonisation requirements, and service reconfiguration, frameworks of this scale are becoming less a convenience than a delivery mechanism. The volume is there. The question is which contractors can secure a place, and then keep it worth having.
