Henry Brothers celebrates key development stage in Staffordshire project
The leading UK construction company has held a topping out ceremony to mark a key stage in the project to deliver new facilities at Beacon Barracks.
Henry Brothers have been building a new, two-storey facility for the Squadron – the only British Army unit permanently assigned to NATO – which is set to move from Dorset to Beacon Barracks near Stafford.
The facility in question will include new offices, conference rooms, a reception area, workshops, garaging, storage rooms, welfare facilities and mechanical and electrical plant rooms. In addition, to ensure the new development meets sustainability requirements, it will also feature solar panels on the roof.
As well as constructing this new development, Henry Brothers are also working to create a single-storey satellite communications building, which, as a Deployable Communication Module, has a role to install and control strategic communication and information systems supporting a deployed NATO headquarters.
Personnel at the topping out ceremony for the new facilities, which cost around £22m included representatives from NATO, 280 (NATO) Signal Squadron, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), Beacon Barracks, contractor Henry Brothers Construction, project manager Mott MacDonald and multi-disciplinary design consultants Pick Everard.
Ian Taylor, MD of Henry Brothers Construction, said: ‘We are very pleased to see this significant milestone being reached on the new facility that Henry Brothers Construction is delivering at Beacon Barracks for 280 (NATO) Signal Squadron. The squadron plays an important role in NATO, and we are proud to support our armed forces.
‘Henry Brothers has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) to deliver many improvements and new developments over the years. It’s great to see one of our current projects proceeding well and on track for completion next year, providing 280 (NATO) Signal Squadron with a new base to relocate to from Dorset.’
Steve Cummings, operations director at Pick Everard, who also helped design the project, said: ‘This is an exciting project to help deliver, supporting our troops as well as NATO. We’re delighted to be working collaboratively with Henry Brothers as well as the Ministry of Defence, to design facilities that operate with efficiency and security front of mind, utilising the latest techniques to assist the 280 (NATO) Signal Squadron’s aims.
‘It’s been a great pleasure to help reach this important milestone collectively, combining expertise across the construction supply chain and build on our strong reputation in the defence sector. We look forward to playing an active role as the project progresses through its development stages.’
Image: Henry Brothers
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