Invitation for firms seeking flagship scheme contracts

A meeting is to be held on the flagship project to create a new headquarters for Selby Council, as well as a community hospital, to see how the community's building and service industries measure up as potential partners.

The Selby Community Project involves both Selby Council and NHS North Yorkshire and York Community and Mental Health Services. The two organisations plan to move into a new building by the existing War Memorial Hospital next year to share the costs.

Now contracts are up for grabs for construction work, plus services such as security, catering and cleaning. Potential bidders are invited to a special Meet the Buyer event taking place at the Civic Centre on February 2.

NHS bosses and business leaders have underlined that it is an excellent chance for firms to meet the project leaders and get informal advice about the sort of skills that will be needed.

By engaging with firms face to face the company in overall charge of the building programme, BAM Construction, will see whether they meet the necessary criteria to be eligible to apply for contracts.

Council leader Mark Crane said: "The recession has hit many companies hard over the last year and this is our chance to give local firms a chance to compete for work on an important scheme for the local community.

"There are strict criteria for companies who want to be involved, to ensure the project runs smoothly, to time and to budget. This Meet the Buyer event gives people a chance to find out more and see whether they'd be eligible to get involved."

Anyone interested in attending can contact Dave Fisher at BAM Construction via email: [email protected]. Details of the scheme can be found at www.selbycommunityproject.org.uk