The property private finance initiative (PFI) project will improve the Brigade’s property estate by rebuilding nine fire stations that are in poor condition. The Outline Business Case for the Property PFI submitted in April 2009 was approved by Treasury and CLG on 8 June 2009 (see ‘related documents’).
This project is a key part of the Brigade’s strategy to improve the estate and provide a flexible, efficient and effective fire and rescue service for London which meets the needs of our increasingly diverse workforce.
The PFI funded project will see London Fire Brigade receive £57.4 million to make major improvements to Dagenham, Dockhead, Leytonstone, Mitcham, Old Kent Road, Orpington, Plaistow, Purley and Shadwell fire stations. Eight of the stations are being completely re-built on their existing sites and one station, Mitcham, will be built on a new site.
The Brigade is experiencing considerable pressure on the already stretched capacity of existing facilities. The needs of the service have changed considerably and through this additional source of finance the Brigade will:
An open invitation to participate in the procurement of the PFI funded delivery of nine new fire stations resulted in to the submission of nine pre-qualification questionnaires. Six bidders successfully passed this stage and were invited to participate in Competitive Dialogue with the Brigade. Competitive Dialogue is a procurement process that aims to reduce the number of participants successively and in accordance with the Brigade approved selection criteria.
The procurement process is being managed to ensure fairness and transparency to all participants thereby ensuring that best value bids are achieved at every stage in the process and are based upon similar information provided on the same requirements.
The PFI Project is now at a key stage. Three bidders submitted solutions at Invitation to Submit Detailed Solutions (ISDS) to deliver the design, construction and maintenance of all nine PFI stations. The bids were evaluated by Brigade staff and external advisors and two bidders were selected to progress to the next stage of procurement – Invitation to Submit Refined Solutions (ISRS):
The ISRS stage of procurement commenced on 6 January 2011 with the two shortlisted bidders. This stage will continue until we are satisfied that a bid is acceptable to the Authority when the Call for Final Tender will be announced. Consequently the future timetable will remain flexible but the Brigade hopes to have a selected bidder identified and approved by October 2011. The Brigade will then work towards finalising designs (including gaining nine planning permissions) and confirming contract details to reach financial close with contracts signed in late 2012. After which construction will begin.
Business continuity is a key element of the project and the impact of the construction works on achieving target attendance times for emergencies has been fully assessed together with management issues, the impact of and on the Olympics and delivery of other services provided from stations such as training, Breathing Apparatus recharging, youth engagement projects and community engagement activities. It is vital that the efficient provision of emergency services is not affected by the construction of the new stations and this will be given full consideration in the production and agreement of the build programme.
A business continuity plan has been developed to accommodate the appliances and crews from PFI stations during construction, these solutions were approved after thorough research determined that good attendance times can be maintained:
This page will be updated regularly as the project progresses. Companies interested in the project can contact us by emailing PropertyPFI@london-fire.gov.uk.
Property Private Finance Initiative project - Outline Business Case (
PDF, 3.4MB)
