The national regeneration agency has announced plans to develop a new pre-qualification scheme under EU law and is seeking comments on the details from the industry.

The proposed scheme - expected to be in place for sites marketed from October - will allow developers to supply pre-qualification information required under EU law on a one-off basis, rather than site by site.

While individual site opportunities will continue to be advertised openly, developers accepted into the scheme will be able to 'short-circuit' the current process by submitting reduced levels of information when bidding for English Partnerships' sites.

John Walker, chief executive of English Partnerships said: "This move is a rationalisation of the way we do business, making our procurement process swifter and more cost effective. More importantly, it will speed up our decision making process by significantly reducing the administrative burden for both us and for housebuilders.

"In today's difficult economic climate, we need to work even more closely with our development partners to ensure the Government's housing targets are met, without compromising on quality."

To join the scheme developers could be asked to submit information on financial standing, diversity, environmental sustainability and legal status. In addition they will need to demonstrate how they intend to meet English Partnerships' Quality Standards and to outline their approach to planning and explain partnering arrangements. The pre-qualification scheme should allow developers to bid for sites without having to resubmit the information previously provided.

After the consultation period in late July the process for establishing the scheme will commence with an optional OJEU* notice placed to support the process.

English Partnerships is seeking comments from prospective partners by email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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