Burning Desire for Tenders

Balfour Beatty has reached financial close on the country’s largest PFI fire station deal across Lancashire and Cumbria.

The £48m deal with Cumbria County Council, Lancashire Combined Fire Authority and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority will see the contractor design and build 16 fire stations.

Seven will be built in Merseyside, five in Cumbria, and four in Lancashire. As well as modernised operational facilities, the stations will provide resources for community use, such as meeting rooms, multi-function lecture rooms and gyms.

Balfour Beatty will invest £5.5m of equity into the wholly-owned concession which will run for 25 years.

The stations will be constructed on a mixture of new and existing sites in a range of locations from rural stations with retained crews, to busy inner-city stations with full-time crews.

Construction of five of the fire stations will start immediately with all construction work to be completed by 2013.

Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said: ”We are delighted that Balfour Beatty has reached financial close for the UK fire service’s biggest PPP project to date.

“The upgrade of the stations will help meet the changing needs and support the modern practices of the fire and rescue service, and provide a better environment for working, learning and training.”