Cassidy + Ashton appointed as planning consultant in £1.5b Innovation Chain North Framework
Cassidy + Ashton has been appointed by Great Places Housing Group to its Innovation Chain North (ICN) framework of contractors and consultants for the next four years.
The £1.5b framework has been designed to support delivery of new homes across the north of England, not only to support Great Places’ affordable development programme but also other housing associations operating across the north of England.
With offices in Preston and Chester, Cassidy + Ashton has secured a place on the framework for planning consultancy services for the North West. It is one of the 103 successful contractors and consultants on the overall framework, but one of only four on the planning framework, with the selection based on the practice’s technical competence, price and its commitment to social value.
Commenting on the appointment, Alban Cassidy, a director and Chartered Town Planner at Cassidy + Ashton, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for our planning team to consolidate our place within the North West’s housing industry and be recognised as a specialist in the affordable housing sector.
“We are extremely proud of our strong credentials, and we look forward to working with Great Places once again in the delivery of new, high quality, affordable homes across the region.”
Great Places Housing Group (GPHG) is a not-for-profit organisation, that owns over 25,000 affordable homes in more than 30 local authority areas across the North West and South Yorkshire. In the past 12 months it delivered 490 new affordable homes and sold 214 homes for shared ownership and has invested £164m into building new homes.
GPHG created the ICN framework to service its requirements and those of other clients. The framework enables it to operate a compliant procurement route to the delivery of high quality, sustainable homes that meet the current and future needs of the region’s residents.
It also encourages innovation, where contractors, consultants and clients all benefit from collaborative working. This enables them to collectively achieve efficiencies with the aim of delivering consistent and sustainable job creation and training within the communities in which they work.
Joanne Whitehead, Great Places’ Development Performance Manager, responsible for managing the framework, added: “We are delighted to be working with Cassidy + Ashton on our new ICN framework. We are confident the practice will be able to work with us and the clients of ICN in delivering the sector’s extensive development ambitions across the North.”
The new £1.5b framework will run until June 2028.
