Manchester university is struggling to put together a 拢22m-a-year framework after being swamped with about 600 applications

The institution鈥檚 estates department put the two-year design services framework out to tender in June and intended to have it in place by November.

But the timetable has been forced back to allow procurement officers to 鈥渨ade through鈥� hundreds of submissions 鈥� at least three times as many as it had expected.

Paul Williams, the university鈥檚 design services unit manager, said: 鈥淲e are still some way off understanding just how many applications we鈥檝e had, but it is fair to say we鈥檝e been inundated. The thought of having to wade through them all is not filling me with glee.鈥�

Jonathan Griffiths, business development director at local architect Leach Rhodes Walker, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a sign of the times. Architects are bidding for everything at the moment and that doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檝e got the necessary expertise 鈥� people used to working in the commercial sector are trying to get a share of public work.鈥�

The framework will cover eight disciplines, including architecture, cost consultancy and project management; projects covered range from 拢2,000 to 拢10m.

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