Beard Completes New State-of-the-Art Police Custody Suite for Newbury

25th November 2009: Under a strategic framework agreement with Thames Valley Police, Beard has completed the construction of a brand new custody suite at Newbury Police Station, providing officers and staff with modern, state-of-the-art, custody facilities and a safer detention environment for detainees.

Valued at £2.3m, the project is part of the Thames Valley Police Custody Estates Refurbishment Programme (CERP).  An existing outdated building was demolished to make way for the brand new facility, which comprises 14 cells, a number of which are shared with the adjoining magistrate’s court, together with a reception area, interview rooms and staff rest areas.

Beard was responsible for the implementation of all aspects of the project from design and build, through to the sophisticated mechanical and electrical fit out incorporating the latest computer monitored electronic locking system from Chubb. Other features include state-of-the-art CCTV, movement sensors and call strips - used to alert the attention of custody staff.

During the 12 month project the team had to overcome a number of issues including bad weather delays at the start of the year. In addition considerable ground improvements were required to reinforce the underlying subsoil of the site.

“The way we work with Beard is an effective working partnership, in co-operation with Thames Valley Police Property Services team”, said Judy Blake, Project Officer, Property Services, Thames Valley Police. “Custody is a very specialised area and Beard’s in-depth understanding of our needs and drive for continuous improvement in terms of materials, construction methods and sub-contractors used, has supported us in the delivery of a state-of-the-art custody environment for Newbury”.  

Craig Mitchell, Beard Contract Manager, said: “It’s all about learning and continuous improvement, so that we deliver best value. We work side by side with the Thames Valley Police project managers from the earliest stages of each project and use our value engineering processes to ensure that what works well on one project is adopted on the next and that together we make the best use of public funds”.