Bison locks down police HQ precast order

Bison Manufacturing, the UK’s leading precast concrete manufacturer, has received a substantial order to manufacture and deliver its units for the construction of a custody suite at the new Lancashire Constabulary West Division HQ.

Specialist contractor PCE Ltd appointed Bison to manufacture and supply precast concrete units to the project – which is the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner’s largest ever investment in a new HQ building.

In turn, PCE is working for Main Contractor Willmott Dixon to design and build the semi-circular precast concrete building, with input from interdisciplinary design consultant McBains Cooper.

To create the 42-cell 1,020m2 custody suite, PCE called upon Bison to provide 95 internal walls, 26 corridor walls, 52 duct units and 88 of its 150mm thick solid slabs.

PCE selected Bison as its preferred supplier due to the company’s previous experience in manufacturing units for secure premises, as well as its high-quality standards, as Simon Harold, Business Development Director at PCE explains: “For any project, product quality is extremely important, but this is especially true in custodial buildings.

"High quality smooth finished concrete walls suitable for direct decoration are essential to ensure that the buildings required specification is met.

“Bison’s thorough offsite factory production quality control procedures mean they can make sure each unit is delivered to site without imperfection, giving us and the end user the quality of construction required."

Mike Nelson, Sales and Commercial Manager at Bison added: “The ongoing orders that we receive for custodial and secure projects prove that Bison is highly respected in the sector, and that our units are well suited to the job.

“As well as their structural and finish quality, Bison precast concrete units also provide fire and acoustic benefits over some other materials, reducing sound transmission between cells to improve conditions for detainees.”

Once complete, the custody suite and adjoining three-storey headquarters building will be home to specialist teams serving not only Blackpool, but the entire Fylde Coast, as well as Lancaster and Morecambe.

Work on the Lancashire Constabulary West Division HQ began in December 2016, and is expected to conclude in Spring 2018, however from initiation of design to completion on site PCE will have carried out their works in less than 24 weeks with Bison delivering units over an eight-week period.