Property private finance initiative project

Rebuilding our fire stations

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: 

• provide new fire stations that can support the delivery of the varied emergency services required for a capital city exposed to an increasingly wide range of risks;
• facilitate fire prevention work through the provision of publicly accessible buildings with community engagement at their heart;
• deliver accommodation to support a diverse workforce representing the communities the Brigade serves;
• deliver adaptable accommodation;
• offer flexible facilities that accommodate and adapt to the evolving operational, equal opportunities and staffing needs of the Brigade; and
  improve some of the Brigade’s poor fire station stock and make headroom in the capital programme for the next tranche of ageing stock.

Project delivery

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. Five bidders submitted outline solutions to deliver the design, construction and maintenance of all nine PFI stations in January 2010. The bids have been evaluated by Brigade staff and external advisors. The three bidders to go forward to the next stage are:

1. Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue
   Main Contact: Nigel Blackbee (Bid Director)
   Tel 0207 121 3761 or email nigel.blackbee@bbcap.co.uk
   
   
2. Blue3
   Main Contact:  Richard Leaning (Bid Director)
   Tel 0207 462 4610 or email richard.leaning@kier.co.uk
   
   
3. John Laing Investments Limited
   Main Contact: Chantal Chaney (Bid Coordinator)
   Tel 0207 901 3466 or email LFB@laing.com

The next stage of procurement, invitation to submit detailed solutions (ISDS) started on 26 March. It is expected that the Brigade will choose a selected bidder by August 2011 and construction starting in July 2012.

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:

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, Local Intervention Fire Education 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 agreed to accommodate the appliances and crews from PFI stations during construction:

• Host stations - the refurbishment of nearby stations (not included in the PFI) to temporarily accommodate an extra appliance and crew. These works will be carried out directly by the Brigade prior to finalisation of the PFI contract. 
• Temporary stations - the provision of temporary stations on sites to be carried out by the successful PFI bidder, drawing upon the PFI credits. The locations will be secured by the Brigade and confirmed prior to finalisation of the PFI contract.
  

Further information

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

Related documents

Property Private Finance Initiative project - Outline Business Case ( PDF, 3.4MB)