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HQ Refurbishment allows Greater Manchester Police to Achieve Vision for Modern Policing

Delivered via the Procure Partnerships (North West) Framework, Morris & Spottiswood has completed refurbishment works within the Greater Manchester Police Headquarters, as part of a wider programme of re-organisation and relocation.

The Greater Manchester Police Headquarters opened in 2011. The new state of the art HQ replaced the old headquarters, located in Old Trafford, which were no longer fit for purpose. GMP has recently implemented a new programme of transformation works across their estate, which focuses around workflow and digitalisation. As part of this programme, they required various adaptions to the HQ building to provide a working environment which reflects this new vision. A key consideration in the refurbishment works was to better support staff in their duties and to provide access to new information technology systems. Greater Manchester Police required spaces which were flexible and adaptable in order to achieve their vision for the future of policing.

Completed across the live headquarters building, the refurbishment included the reconfiguration of existing areas to facilitate open plan working which could be used flexibly by staff. Mechanical and electrical works were completed to support the new digital and IT requirements and the areas were redecorated to transform the overall environment. A new command area was also created to provide a secure and enclosed space for sensitive police briefing activities.

The works were completed whilst the headquarters remained in operation and in close proximity to important areas, such as the Chief Commissioners office. In order to allow the facility to operate as usual, the construction works were fully segregated within a clear exclusion zone to ensure the safety of the GMP staff.

The on-site delivery team were in daily communication with the GMP Liaison Officer to understand the day to day running functions of the building and to implement a flexible and responsive approach. The team would stop work when required to take account of meetings or important events happening within the HQ. Through effective planning and good communication, all work activities which had the potential to generate a lot of noise or dust were completed outside of operational hours to minimise the disruption caused.

Procure Partnerships Director, Robbie Blackhurst, commented on the project: “These works were critical to Greater Manchester Police to support the many changes they wish to make as part of their current Target Operating Model. Buildings and working environments can often present many restrictions to staff and hinder their ability to effectively discharge their duties. Refurbishment and adaptation programmes such as this have the power to transform environments and to really make spaces suit their requirements. The modern facilities will be essential in supporting GMP to deliver the best service to the public.”