Leeds City Council has appointed Kier Living to design and build 71 new homes across three sites.
Kier will build 25 council homes at the Garnets in Hunslet and 24 properties at the Broadleas in Bramley, both of which have planning permission in place. Plans are yet to be drawn up for the former Whinmoor pub site in Swarcliffe, where the council expects a further 22 properties to be built.
The construction value of each site is £3.5m, £3.4m and £3m respectively.
Bringing a construction partner on board at this early stage is a new approach for the council. As well as offering financial savings, it allows Kier to influence the final designs and suggest its own solutions.
Councillor Debra Coupar, executive member for communities, said: “Rather than ask a contractor to build to a set specification, we’ve asked Kier to become an integral part of creating a new generation of council homes. We can work together to deliver a higher standard of home that reflects the needs of communities now and in the future.”
Kier operations director Jon Rukin said: “Kier is pleased to have been selected for this exciting opportunity to deliver much needed affordable homes and to be an integral part in the delivery of the council house growth programme in Leeds. The council’s innovation in the procurement process allows us to become involved much earlier in the design and development stages and to use our breadth of capability to bring these projects to site.”