PROJECT
SOUTHLAKELEISURECENTRE, CRAIGAVON
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soft play area, two squash courts and an outdoor watersports adventure centre. The venue is part of a wider and ambitious regeneration programme across the ABC area and represents the largest capital project ever undertaken by the Council to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of the whole Borough. GIVING BACK As part of ABC Council’s commitment to high levels of spend within the local market and small to medium sized enterprises, it commissioned Farrans as Main Contractor through the Scape Procure national construction framework. A key approach within the Scape procurement system was engagement with approved local businesses, sub- contractors and suppliers to deliver employment and skills opportunity to the local area. In this task, Farrans truly excelled. As well as creating more than 500 jobs during the project’s construction phase, the contractor committed to local skills development, education and capital investment. The construction phase alone
delivered an estimated £6.5 million in direct wages to the local economy, with 75% of labour employed within a 40-mile radius. 91% of the project budget was also spent within that same radius, exceeding an original target goal of 75%. The Dunmurry-based contractor also delivered significant added value through extensive engagement with local schools and colleges. Felim Blaney, Contracts Manager at Farrans, commended the efforts, “The impact that we are proud to leave beyond state-of-the-art facilities is a lasting and positive community legacy. To drive economic growth in the local economy, deliver more than 1,000 apprenticeships and almost 4,000 school workshops is to engage with a community in a meaningful way – within the most challenging of contexts, given Covid-19. “In supporting the local workforce, safety and wellbeing was always a top agenda item. This reflects the values of our company in taking responsibility for health, safety and wellbeing in the communities in which we work. The statistics show that our efforts continue
to pay off. In working more than 500,000 hours on-site, we had zero reportable incidents throughout the project. “With the project completed safely, on time and within budget, we have been grateful to work collaboratively with ABC Council in order to understand and help create their vision.” Lord Mayor of Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon, Councillor Kevin Savage, added, “We thought carefully about the procurement process because we wanted to make sure that no opportunity was wasted in adding value to our local community. “It is great to be able to say that Farrans delivered on their commitment – whether through job creation, skills development, education or showing positive female role models in the construction industry – they managed to maximise every opportunity to give back to our local people.” AWARD-WINNING WORK Testament to Farrans’ outstanding consideration of the public, the local environment and the direct team, the
“Specialist expertise is required todeliver a leisure centre of this scale and complexity.”
18 | NI BUILDER
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