Hertfordshire County Council children's homes project scoops top national award
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A Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) PFI project that is transforming children's homes and resource centres and for which Mace is providing a full project management service was named winner in the Best Community/User Involvement in a project category at the recent Public Private Finance awards.
The ambitious project has been designed to enhance services for vulnerable young people throughout Hertfordshire and is the county's first PFI project. Mace provided project and cost management, technical and fm advice to HCC from the preparation of the outline business case to financial close in mid-2007. Since the contract was signed, Mace has continued to provide project and cost management to the council during the delivery phase.
The £24m scheme will provide ten new buildings: five new children’s homes, two adolescent resource centres, a disability resource centre, a family assessment unit and an enhanced children’s centre. In addition, five family centres will be refurbished.
The judges praised project partner Young Herts and HCC and its advisers for working closely with staff and young people to provide safe, flexible facilities with a homely feel: “An exceptional level of consultation and engagement with the community that will benefit from the facilities and services being provided has been shown by those involved in the project’s management”.
Young Herts includes the council’s Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), Hertfordshire Property and its adviser Mace, contractors and private investors. The project began in June 2007 and so far two family support centres in Cheshunt and Hemel Hempstead have been refurbished and construction is about to be completed on three new children's homes in Baldock, St Alban's and Stevenage with a further three specialist units due to be completed by the end of the summer. The project will then move into phase two with full completion due in August 2009.
Lynne Tyas, Mace’s project manager who has been involved with the scheme from the beginning said “This project has been extremely rewarding for the Mace team to work on particularly as the commitment of all parties embodies the spirit to which all community PPP projects should aspire. The commitment of all involved has not diminished since financial close and both Robert Balcombe (project manager for the construction phase) and I continue to be impressed with the level of enthusiasm and integrity within which the project is developing.”
Keith Jennings, head of quality and asset management at the county council, said: “What makes the children’s services project fantastic to work on is that it really is giving children who have had difficulties in their lives new opportunities to thrive and fulfill their potential. This is Hertfordshire’s first PFI, it’s the first award we’ve gone for and it’s wonderful to be recognised. Everyone in the team is absolutely delighted.”
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