Chartered civil and structural engineering consultancy Sutcliffe has been appointed to the Communities and Housing Investment Consortium (CHIC) Consultancy Framework 2026 to 2030, giving housing associations and local authorities across the UK a direct and compliant route to its building surveying and party wall services.
The framework covers built environment professional services at every project stage, from inception through to post completion, and has national coverage across the UK. CHIC is a not for profit asset management and procurement consortium serving the affordable housing sector, and its members are predominantly housing associations and local authorities.
Because CHIC frameworks are unranked, members can appoint Sutcliffe through direct award, which CHIC says can be completed in as little as two weeks, or through a mini competition. The appointment builds on Sutcliffe’s existing place on CHIC’s newbuild development framework, where it was named on the consultancy services lot in 2024.
Founded in Liverpool in 1985, Sutcliffe is involved in the design of around 5,000 homes a year and works from offices in Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales, London and the Midlands. Much of that work is delivered for registered providers and councils, the client base CHIC was set up to serve.
Social value is written into every CHIC contract, with suppliers required to deliver a minimum of 1% of contract turnover in social value outcomes. Sutcliffe brings a strong record to that commitment, including a pledge to train 40 new apprentices over the next decade through apprenticeship and graduate routes with The City of Liverpool College and Liverpool John Moores University, and more than £320,000 raised for its NHS charity partners.
Sean Keyes, CEO of Sutcliffe, said: “Housing associations and councils are under real pressure at the moment. They’ve got existing stock to look after, building safety duties to meet and new homes to deliver, and they need consultants they can bring in quickly and rely on to get it right. Whilst a framework appointment can look like a procurement formality from the outside, for our clients it’s a very practical thing. It means they can appoint highly experienced engineers and surveyors they trust without running a full tender every time.
“CHIC’s members are exactly the kind of clients we’ve built this business around. We’re involved in the design of around 5,000 homes a year and a large share of that is for registered providers. However, I’m equally pleased that CHIC holds every supplier to a clear social value commitment. We expect to be measured on what we deliver, and that includes the apprentices and graduates we train along the way.”
Find out more at sutcliffe.co.uk, or follow Sutcliffe on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/sutcliffe and Facebook at facebook.com/Sutcliffe1985.
