Greater Manchester Police Estates Department has submitted proposals to the Treasury for a £47m PFI deal for 18 stations in Greater Manchester. It is due to hear next week whether the plans have been approved.
The deal is part of a wider programme to modernise the property of Greater Manchester Police. A spokesperson for the force's estates department said that, as well as the PFI deal, the programme included £33m of traditionally funded refurbishment projects. These will be let as a series of packages.
Greater Manchester Police is interviewing project managers for the traditional work.
Although individual police stations, such as the sub-divisional headquarters at Ilkeston, Derbyshire, have been let through the PFI, this is the first deal to bundle a number of new-build stations in one package, in the same way that some local authorities have procured schools.
The process to improve the police stations got under way two years ago, said the spokesperson. “We did a property audit and then looked at the business, where we wanted stations.” A 12 month public consultation followed, culminating in the mixed PFI/traditional procurement proposals.
Greater Manchester Police has an estate of 93 000 m2 with properties ranging from dog-handling centres to tactical firearms units. More than half the properties are over 35 years old, with many nearer 100 years.
The force has an annual budget of £2m-3m for investment in property.
Turner & Townsend is one of the firms interested in winning work. It said that it had made the bid list for both quantity surveying and project managing the traditionally procured projects.
Other forces are thought to be going down the PFI route. It is understood that Strathclyde police in Glasgow intend to let a PFI deal for a number of stations.
