Police £129m building scheme gets the nod (From Bridgwater Mercury)

Police £129m building scheme gets the nod

8:15am Tuesday 31st January 2012 in News

Police £129m building scheme gets the nod

WORK will start this summer on a £129million building project for Avon and Somerset Police.

The force and the police authority have been granted permission by the Government to appoint Blue Light Partnership consortium as their Private Finance Initiative partner.

The consortium, led by Bilfinger Berger Project Investments and comprising Miller Construction and Cofely, will design, build, finance and operate a new operational base, two custody and crime investigation centres, two police stations and a tri-force firearms training centre.

An allocation of over £129million of PFI credits will be made by the Treasury in order to deliver the programme.

The new Somerset operations base will be located at Express Park, Bridgwater, and two custody and crime investigation centres will be built in Patchway and Keynsham.

A force spokesman said the increased capacity to hold criminals will support Avon and Somerset Police's drive to protect local communities by improving the detection of crimes and bringing more offenders to justice.

The new facilities will provide comfortable and discreet units for victims and witnesses of crime and a flexible, modern, sustainable working environment for staff.

The tri-force firearms training centre will be located at Portishead, near to police HQ and will serve the forces of Avon and Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire and enable officers to be trained to the same standard and promote greater coordination and deployment across the three forces.

Avon and Somerset Police Authority deputy chairman Cllr Claire Gordon said: "This is a good news story for Avon and Somerset.

"It has been a long journey, and I am delighted that in approving the business case, the Home Office and Treasury have recognised the strength of these proposals and the value for money they will deliver.

"This project has met many tests for being affordable and cost effective for taxpayers and will provide many jobs for the local area.

"This much needed investment will deliver an important part of the constabulary's programme to re-organise our workforce so they are where the public need them.

"It will provide flexible, responsive and sustainable buildings that will leave a lasting legacy for the delivery of police services in Avon and Somerset."

Chief Constable Colin Port said: "We are wholly committed to making the communities of Avon and Somerset feel and be safe by improving our performance and providing the best service we can, in spite of the financial challenges we are facing.

"Thanks to the PFI, our custody capacity will increase by 27% once the three new custody and crime investigation centres are completed, and their bespoke facilities will allow us to process offenders more swiftly and get officers back on to the streets as quickly as possible.

"As a police service and a major employer it is even more important at times such as these to channel investment and employment opportunities back into the local economy.

"Blue Light Partnership will build on our work with young people and offenders and place a high level of orders for service and sub contracts within our force area."

Planning applications for the four proposed developments will be submitted over the coming weeks.

Financial close - at which point the contract is signed - will take place in August.

Construction will start in September 2012, with the first building completed in January 2014 and the last in March 2014.

The Blue Light Partnership will then be responsible for delivering facilities management services, including cleaning, maintenance and energy management, once the buildings are completed.