Shovel-ready projects & the £1.3 billion investment

Shovel-ready projects will account for over £900 million of the Government’s £1.3 billion investment in homes, infrastructure and jobs. £360 million will be used to build 26,000 new homes. Overall, the funds are predicted to deliver up to 45,000 homes and create up to 85,000 jobs. The work will also help to upgrade skills and infrastructure, contributing to building a greener economic recovery.

What is it?

The Housing Secretary, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick, announced the nearly £1.3 billion investment earlier this month (August). The project will see the build and implementation of vital infrastructure across England.

Over 300 projects throughout the country have been told that they will be receiving a share of the £900 million. This is being referred to as the ‘Getting Building Fund’. The fund was announced by the Prime Minister in June as the COVID recovery plans stepped into action.

The Housing Secretary said:

“As we get Britain building, we are also laying the foundations for a green economic recovery by investing in vital infrastructure for local communities, creating jobs and building environmentally-friendly homes with a huge £1.3 billion investment announced today.

This Government is determined to level up all parts of the country and this funding will not only give a much-needed boost to our economic recovery, it will help build the good quality, affordable homes the country needs.”

What is the goal of the projects?

Not only focussed around infrastructure, the shovel-ready projects are also in aid of boosting the economy as we recover from the pandemic. Whilst creating around 85,000 jobs, the projects offer a chance to boost skills in the construction industry.

Creating a greener England is also one of the main aims of the work. It is expected that the new infrastructure will reduce around 65 million kilograms of CO2 emissions across the country.

The successful projects

Some of the 300 successful shovel-ready projects include;

Mayfield Park in Greater Manchester. They were granted £23 million for the first phase for the development of commercial space. The project is predicted to open 3,200 jobs and attract around 1 million visitors per year.

The National Brownfield Land Institute was granted £14.88 million. The project aims to create a leader in sustainable construction to drive levelling up across the region.

Support for a high-speed railway station in Thanet, Kent. The project was funded £12 million and aims to improve transport infrastructure in the area, as well as creating 800 jobs.

A total of 21 projects in the North East have been granted a combined £64 million. These projects include the Gateshead Quays convention centre and the development of a new business park. These schemes are expected to create over 4,200 jobs and safeguard a further 3,500.
In total, the successful shovel-ready projects are expected to deliver;

85,000 jobs;
1 million sqm of commercial space;
45,000 homes;
Almost 1 million sqm of the public realm or green space (improved or created).
Developing 26,000 new homes

The government has also confirmed a further £360 million investment in Mayoral Combined Authority areas. This investment will help to develop 26,000 homes, whilst protecting greenfield sites.

Additionally, another £8million of funding has been confirmed for brownfield sites. The funding will speed up the build of new homes on these sites. These leaves £40million of funding remaining, for which the Government is now inviting ambitious bids from Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Green Homes grant scheme & required accreditations

The new Green Homes grant scheme will see the government offer £2billion of funding. This will fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements for over 600,000 homes.

However, please be aware that tradespeople must register for a TrustMark accreditation in order to take part in the scheme.

The Business and Energy Secretary, Rt Hon Alok Sharma said:

“Green home improvements will save people money on their energy bills, help to cut carbon emissions, and create new work for many thousands of builders, plumbers and other tradespeople.

Our TrustMark scheme will guarantee that building work is completed to a high standard by accredited tradespeople, ensuring consumers are fully protected.”

Households on low incomes can receive vouchers which will cover 100% of the cost of their home improvements. This support carries a maximum of £10,000.

Are you looking for new construction projects?

Does your construction business need to secure new contracts? We know that the opportunity tracking process can be time-consuming. There are numerous tendering portals available to you that can make the process more efficient. However, when we conducted research, we found that over a third of the opportunities on these portals were tagged with incorrect CPV codes.

In a nutshell, CPV (common procurement vocabulary) is how the algorithms on these portals find and identify tenders. The problem is that buyers don’t always know which CPV codes to use when publishing tendering opportunities.

We decided to eradicate this process altogether. When we developed Construction Tenders, we decided not to rely on CPV or to leave decisions at the mercy of computers. Our team of Opportunity Trackers manually searches thousands of sources every day. They identify new opportunities in the construction sector and upload them to one central system. They then tag the tenders with industry-specific keywords. This means that all the tenders you see are relevant to your business. No more searching and scrolling through endless, irrelevant contracts.

But don’t just take our word for it. Book a free live demo and trial the system for yourself. The demo will allow you to access the system, see the current opportunities and understand how the portal can help your business.

We source tenders for services including;

Refurbishment Tenders

Brickwork Tenders

Scaffolding Tenders

Insulation Tenders

Small Construction Tenders

Building Works

Civil Engineering Tenders

Electrical Tenders

Surveying Tenders

Demolition Tenders

Flooring Tenders

Glass Tenders

M&E

Cost Consultancy

Painting & Decorating

Masonry and many more.

Do you need bid writing support for a construction tender?

We understand how important the process of tendering is to the construction industry. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, houses our five dedicated bid writing services. The Succeed team has vast experience with writing and winning tenders in the construction sector. They proudly hold an 87% bid success rate and are trusted by over 700 businesses globally.

Each service was created to ensure that the team can support businesses of varying sizes with different levels of tendering experience.

For example, the Tender Ready package was designed to support those who are new to tendering. During the service, our bid writers will work with you to develop the corporate literature you will need when you begin tendering for work. Not only that, but our Bid Designers will also ensure that your documents are professionally branded and stand out from your competition. They will then help you to identify the right tendering opportunities for your business. Then, they will offer to write your first bid on your behalf or guide you through two.

Tender Writing is the perfect ad-hoc solution if you require support with a one-off bid. The team will write your tender responses, attach the required documents and then submit the bid on your behalf. They will work with you to respond to any technical questions to ensure that your bid showcases your business in the best light.

Tender Improvement was developed to help you see success from your tendering efforts. During this service, our consultants will assess your previous tender responses and identify any areas of improvement. They will also assess your corporate literature and either create or re-develop any necessary documents. Once this is complete, the team can either write your next bid or guide you through two.

Further support

For further support or more information about how we can help your construction business grow, please get in touch. Our team will be happy to take you on a tour through our Construction Tenders portal or discuss your tendering strategy in more detail.