bid success! 29/04/2010

calderpeel consortium preferred for gloucester multi-million pound fire station project

Manchester based architects Calderpeel Carden Croft are delighted to announce that  Blue 3, a consortium comprising Kier, Reliance and themselves as co-investors, has been named preferred bidder to design, build and maintain four new community fire stations and a life skills centre in Gloucestershire on behalf of Gloucestershire County Council. The Government is providing £40million funding under the private finance initiative and Blue 3’s contract will run for 25 years

The fire stations, designed by Calderpeel and being built by Kier Moss, are community focused with a strong emphasis on sustainability. Stations at Churchdown and Tuffley will replace the current Gloucester fire station and in Cheltenham, a new station will be built at Uckington while the current station in Keynsham Road will be demolished and rebuilt at that location. These new fire stations have been located to improve average response times to emergency calls.

The innovative life skills centre will be based at Tuffley and will be used to provide training on safety issues to community groups within the county, as well as teaching young people about social responsibility and respect.
Detailed planning permission will now be sought for the four sites by Gloucestershire County Council.

Gloucestershire County Council’s cabinet member for community safety Cllr Will Windsor Clive commented: “The project team has done an excellent job of working with the bidders to find the best partnership to take this venture forward and I’m looking forward to seeing it take shape.”

Calderpeel’s managing director Ewen Miller commented: “It is absolutely fantastic to have been chosen for this project. This builds on our reputation as leading architects in this sector following the recent completion of two fire stations and a combined police and fire service headquarters in Dorset. The buildings are dynamic and sensitive design responses to the aspirations of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service”