Consortium selected for £150m police HQ projects

The consortium will deliver two new divisional headquarters (DHQ) for West Yorkshire Police, custody suites and a specialist operational training facility.

Interserve along with Equitix, the infrastructure developer and fund manager, will head up a consortium that will design, build, finance and operate the new facilities.

The new £100m DHQs and custody facilities will be based at Elland Road in Leeds and Havertop Lane in Normanton.

The Elland Road station, to be built on the former greyhound stadium, will replace outdated facilities at Millgarth police station, in Leeds city centre, and Holbeck police station.

Last year, it was revealed that Balfour Beatty and Interserve had been shortlisted to build two new divisional police headquarters and a specialist operational training facility in West Yorkshire.

In 2010, the Home Office endorsed the decision to give the scheme £216m of credits under the Government’s Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

An Interserve spokesman said: “These schemes will provide a modern, flexible working environment and, importantly, support West Yorkshire Police’s drive to modernise services that are provided to local communities.”

The new specialist operational training centre will be based on a site next to the force’s operational support division at Carr Gate in Wakefield.

It will include state-of-the-art firearms training ranges, along with training facilities for drivers and officers who deal with public order incidents.

Interserve will be providing support services to the project worth £47m over the 25-year life of the deal.

The contract is expected to be signed by June this year, and building work is due to start soon afterwards. The building are expected to be completed in 2014.

Once the buildings are finished, Interserve will take responsibility for the delivery of facilities management services, including cleaning maintenance and energy management. Adrian Ringrose, the chief executive of Interserve, said yesterday: “Our team is really looking forward to delivering such a high profile project. It will have a major impact on the community it serves, providing modern facilities and enhancing service delivery to local people. We are committed to working closely with the community to ensure the local economy benefits from our involvement over the long term.”

Nick Parker, the chief operating office for Equitix, said: “We look forward to working with our partners, Interserve, to delivering the three new facilities and are committed to delivering excellent design and value for the West Yorkshire Police Authority as well as the local community. This project represents an excellent fit with our funds.”

The chairman of West Yorkshire Police Authority, Coun Mark Burns-Williamson, added: “Throughout the development of the proposal the consortium has demonstrated commitment, vision and a proven ability to deliver innovative facilities on time, on budget.”

Widespread consultation has been carried out by West Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police Authority to assess local residents’ views on the schemes.

Previously, concerns had been raised about the impact on parking at Elland Road, as the site is close to Leeds United’s ground. Some people had been worried about the affect the police station and the crowds attending football games would have on surrounding streets.

However, in 2010, authority members were told that a travel plan had been drawn up which aimed to stop people parking in the surrounding residential streets.

Other proposals have been devised to encourage greater use of public transport around the site.

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