Carmarthenshire County Council’s Contractor Framework Agreement provides the umbrella under which many of the partnership projects pull together. In effect, it is the feeder - providing the investment and opportunity for the projects to develop and grow.

The first four-year Framework Agreement was established in 2007 to facilitate a £160million construction investment in Carmarthenshire, including renovation of housing stock and the build and refurbishment of schools, leisure centres and theatres.

The Framework has brought together almost 20 contractors, and several supply trade organisations. It also involves key stakeholders, such as CCTAL, Coleg Sir Gar and Communities First, as well as acting as a source of knowledge and expertise for partner organisations including police, fire and health services. The collaborative nature of the Framework has allowed every one of these companies, organisations and stakeholders to work together, with the council as the central gateway.

The investment, and the nature of the Framework, has provided a secure platform from which local contractors have been able to develop and safeguard jobs in a time of economic downturn. Indeed, several contractors have grown from small to medium sized businesses as a result of their involvement with the Framework. It has also enabled the local development of a skilled workforce and a more consistent management of the supply chain.

From its inception, a strong element of the Framework has been to provide additional community benefits, and this has remained a strong ethos throughout – not only via projects led by Carmarthenshire County Council and its partners, but also by smaller projects led by the Framework contractors themselves.

Such has been the success of the Framework, that the council proudly received the Construction Excellence in Wales Award for Integration and Collaborative Working in 2011.

Find out more about the various projects, and how they have benefitted communities, on this website.