Nottingham-based design and fit-out specialist, Paragon
Interiors Group Plc (Paragon), has secured a major contract win
with South Yorkshire Police Authority for a new training centre
near Rotherham.
South Yorkshire Police Authority agreed the development of the
former 60,000ft2 Callflex Building, on Golden Smithies Lane, in the
summer of 2009. A Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) for the
design and fit out of the new Training Centre was then placed on
the electronic bid process known as the "blue light" system, with
32 companies scoring sufficiently to be invited to place a tender.
The bids eventually went to a final six companies before Paragon
secured the contract. Works will include lighting, air
conditioning, flooring, electrics, interior construction and minor
external works. As main contractor Paragon will be taking all of
the risk.
Alan Hardy, managing director of Paragon said; "This is
another big win for us within the public sector and is the result
of a great deal of hard work from the whole team. We have built up
a huge amount of experience within the sector and we knew that
value for money was always going to be crucial.
"Being able to provide a complete design and build solution was
the key in helping us to deliver that value and our previous work
for organisations such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency helped
us to prepare a superb bid that demonstrated a deep understanding
of the specific requirements of such a sensitive project."
Paragon is now on site, with the project expected to take
between 16-18 weeks.
Assistant chief constable, Mark Whyman, who is heading the
project, said: "This comes at a time when there is an increasing
demand for training and sharing good practice.
"The new training school will provide 20 classrooms and mean
that training can be undertaken at one location in the centre of
the county, boosting efficiency and providing a purpose-built
facility for the 21st century.
"We aim to continue to improve the service we provide to
communities and we need well trained, well motivated and well led
staff to achieve that. This new site offers that opportunity.
Paragon was able to demonstrate that it had the technical
expertise, in-house design flair and fit-out skills that we
required and allied that, with a great enthusiasm for the
project.
"Every member of South Yorkshire Police staff will pass through
this learning environment at some point and the investment that we
are making here will allow us to deliver excellence in policing.
Where appropriate, the facility can also be used by other police
forces and partner organisations."