CONSTRUCTION company, Lend Lease, has handed over the keys for the stunning new Strathclyde Fire & Rescue training facility at Cambuslang – joined by some of the 15 young apprentices who helped build it.
The state-of-art £22m centre in Clydesmill, built for the UK’s second-largest fire and rescue service, has attracted the interest of other brigades across the world, including Australia.
It spans 30 acres, took 77 weeks to build, was completed on schedule and will officially open next month.
Lend Lease today marked a safe and successful project completion, with its Scottish boss Gordon Anderson presenting SFR assistant chief officer, Robert Scott, with the keys to the breathtaking 5,000m2 academic building.
In doing so they were joined by five apprentices – Alan Petrie, David Breen, Connor McNeil, Darren Milligan and Robert Love – whose electrician and engineer roles were created thanks to the Clydesmill Accord agreed by SFR and its construction partners.
Gordon Anderson, executive general manager for Lend Lease in Scotland, said: “We are immensely proud of this stunning new academic building which will help position Strathclyde Fire & Rescue as a truly world leading service.
“It also demonstrates the capability of Lend Lease in Scotland, in delivering an often complex project to the stated schedule and budget and to the safest and highest possible standard.
“Every bit as pleasing has been the fulfillment by Lend Lease and sub-contractors to create 15 apprentice positions during the course of construction. We are committed to helping young people into work through apprentice schemes and it’s only right that some of those who helped build the centre could join us today.”
Apprentice electrician, David Breen, 18, from Hamilton, said: “It’s was a great to be given the opportunity to work on this project and it’s amazing to see the building now that it’s finished.”
Darren Milligan, a 20 year-old apprentice engineer from Cumbernauld, added: “It was a really exciting project to be part of.”
The project comprised the design and build of new training facilities and realistic urban environment for SFR, which serves 2.3m people across a 14,000 sq km area including island communities.
Assistant chief officer Robert Scott, director of Training and Operational Review with Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, said: “This new training facility illustrates that Strathclyde Fire & Rescue is committed to ensuring its people are among the best equipped and most skilled anywhere in the UK.
“The Clydesmill centre has set the global benchmark for fire service training and we already have a waiting list from fire departments around the world eager to see for themselves what we have created here.
“Lend Lease has done a fantastic job and we are confident these facilities will play a major role in developing the skills of firefighters for many years to come.”
The new facilities consist of a two-storey academic base, a facilities building with an eight-bay fire appliance garage and three practical training zones.
The training zones have been fitted out to allow SFR to create real-life scenarios, which can stimulate different fire types within the building. The three zones are:
- Residential: with detached and semi-detached houses, multi-storey building, a tenement building and a church.
- Transport: with a section of motorway and railway line complete with platform, level crossing and tunnel.
- Industrial: with a petro-chemical plant and laboratory.
The project was designed to achieve excellent BREEAM rating and additional sustainability factors include sustainable urban drainage system ponds and drainage, wind turbine, biomass boiler and re-use of aggregate from enabling works. Strict air tightness requirements were set for the academic building.
As many as 15 fire crews, each with their own fire engine, will be able to train at once. Inside the central training building, a dummy fire command centre has been set up to allow high-ranking officers to practice emergency tactics.
Ends (4/4/12)
Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of Lend Lease
Contact Alex Hamilton on 0141 333 9585 or 07976 456 765
Notes to editors:
About Lend Lease:
Lend Lease is a leading international property and infrastructure group. In the UK, it is the only fully integrated retail, residential and commercial provider offering cohesive in-house solutions for mixed-use developments. The company has core capabilities in development, investment management, construction, asset and property management.
Lend Lease is behind some of London’s largest and most exciting mixed-use regeneration projects such as Elephant and Castle, The International Quarter and Greenwich Peninsula.
Lend Lease is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and operates in four key regions – Australia, Asia, Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). The group has over 17,000 employees worldwide.
Lend Lease is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and in 2011 achieved the highest score (100 per cent) across the real estate sector for the environmental policy and management category.
Dan Labbad, chief executive officer, Lend Lease – EMEA, is chair of the UK Green Building Council and is co-chair of the new Green Construction Board alongside Business Minister, Mark Prisk MP.
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Contact: Alex Hamilton
Phone: 0141 333 9585
Email: alex.hamilton@bigpartnership.co.uk
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