Procurement

A cooperative approach

We spend approximately £8.9m on annual revenue costs with the private sector and several more million pounds on capital schemes each year; the 4-year capital programme for 2019-20 to 2022-23 totals £22 million. These spending plans provide organisations of all sizes with a range of commercial opportunities.

We believe institutions need to use public procurement as a tool to deliver wider economic, social and environmental benefits and have implemented a Social Value Policy November 2021 outlining how we will deliver this through our procurement process.

We are working collaboratively with South Ribble Borough Council under our Shared Services arrangements and also with a wider group of Preston and Lancashire practitioners to share best practice and develop change.

The Preston and Lancashire Practitioners group includes representatives from local government, education, housing, police as well as business support organisations, who share a collective vision to deliver more for our place and our communities.

Going forward, we want to increase communication and awareness between buyers and suppliers, to improve suppliers' capacity to bid for tenders, to understand better how we can integrate social value in tenders and how we can monitor the impact of public procurement and the delivery of contracts.

View more information on the delivery of social value through procurement.

How to do business with Chorley Borough Council

We have produced a guide for contractors and suppliers which explains how we carry out our procurement activities, including the rules and regulations we must comply with and how you can apply for council contracts. View more information on the guide for contractors and suppliers.

We use the North West Regional e-procurement Portal known as "The Chest".

The Chest has been developed for use by councils across the North West and brings together buyers and suppliers on to a single regional website, making it easier for businesses to find out about new procurement opportunities and to grow and develop to the benefit of the local economy.

The Chest allows tenders and quotations to be received and submitted electronically and for suppliers to receive e-alerts for new procurement opportunities they may be interested in.

Supplier registration and use of the system is free of charge.

Register now as a supplier on The Chest to:

view opportunities for both Chorley Borough Council and other North West authorities
access and participate in tendering or quotation exercises free of charge
receive email updates on opportunities that match your profile.

You can also find our advertised procurement opportunities above £25,000 on Contracts Finder.

Our Social Value Policy November 2021 outlines our approach to social value and how we will integrate economic, environmental and social responsibility into our procurement processes.

For more information view our Procurement Strategy (PDF) [276KB] which describes our vision and priorities, central to our procurement processes.

You can also view our Sustainable Procurement policy and our SME Business Friendly Procurement Concordat.

If you have any questions, please email procurement@chorley.gov.uk.

What we are buying

We buy a range of different types of works, goods and services, varying in type and cost.

If you are interested in doing business with us, the list below highlights some of the main sectors we are currently buying from:

works and construction including repairs and maintenance services
grounds maintenance and parks
vehicles
consultancy
I.T.
waste and environmental services
arts and leisure services
financial

Please note this is not an exhaustive list, for more details about what we are buying, please refer to our Contracts Transparency Register. This is published on a quarterly basis.

Current opportunities

You can view all our current contract opportunities through The Chest.

Tips to view what we are currently buying:

in the portal's dropdown list: select 'The Chest'
in the organisation's dropdown list: select 'Chorley Borough Council' and update your search.

In addition to this, our Contracts Transparency Register lists all current contracts as specified by the Local Government Transparency Code which focuses on making local councils more transparent.

View Contracts Transparency Register.