1 February 2012
Avon and Somerset Police Authority has got the green light to construct a £129 million operations base.
The Home Office and HM Treasury have put their stamp of approval on a private finance initiative (PFI) led by Blue Light consortium to build and operate the base, said a police authority statement.
Blue Light is led by Bilfinger Berger Project Investments and comprises Miller Construction and Cofely, the energy, environmental and facilities management division of energy group GDF Suez.
“The consortium will design, build, finance and operate an operational base, two custody and crime investigation centres, two police stations and a tri-force firearms training centre,” the statement said.
“An allocation of over £129 million of PFI credits will be made by HM Treasury in order to deliver this ambitious programme.”
Planning applications for each of the four proposed developments will be submitted over the coming weeks.
Financial close – at which point the contract is signed – is scheduled for August, with construction to start in September.
The first building is set for completion in January 2014 and the last in March that year.
The operations base will be at Express Park in Bridgwater, south Somerset. The two custody and crime investigation centres will be built outside Bristol at Patchway and Keynsham.
The tri-force firearms training centre will be near police headquarters
in Portishead, on the banks of the Severn River, close to Bristol. It
will serve the police forces of Avon and Somerset, Wiltshire and
Gloucestershire.
“The new facilities will provide comfortable and discrete units for victims and witnesses of crime, and a flexible, modern, sustainable working environment for our staff,” said the statement.
"Thanks to the PFI, our custody capacity will increase by 27 per cent once the three new custody and crime investigation centres are completed,” said Chief Constable Colin Port.
“Their bespoke facilities will allow us to process offenders more swiftly and get officers back on to the streets as quickly as possible.”
Blue Light will also be responsible for delivering FM, including cleaning, maintenance and energy management.
Other news for Wednesday, 1 February 2012
DIO lists four in £1bn training estate deal
FM World launches 2012 Salary Survey
Blue Light nabs £129m police PFI
FM 100 Poll: budget revisions commonplace
Integral takes on HVAC at Yorkshire Water
Contracts round-up
FM World Blog: Have you thought through your processes?
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