Development Partner Appointed To Deliver £½bn Public Sector Infrastructure Programme For East Central Scotland

£½bn of infrastructure projects to be delivered through ‘hub’ over next 10 years.
Massive investment acts as catalyst to help secure hundreds of construction jobs.

The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) through its innovative ‘hub’ programme has today (2 November 2011) announced that the Amber Blue consortium, comprising of Robertson Group (Holdings) Ltd, Amber Infrastructure and FES, has been selected to deliver over £½bn of public sector infrastructure projects for the East Central Scotland partners*. One of the primary aims of the hub programme is to bring complementary public sector bodies together to provide a wide range of services for the benefit of local communities all under one roof rather than in remotely located buildings. As the appointment of the development partner now unlocks the massive £½bn investment programme to be delivered over the next ten years, work will start in earnest to further expand a number of outline plans for a range of health and education projects which have already been identified. The projects across the East Central territory will be delivered through a joint venture company (hubco) formed between the various public sector bodies and the Amber Blue consortium. The flexibility of the hub supply chain will offer many opportunities for local SMEs within the construction industry to become involved in building high-quality public sector buildings in their local area. The announcement of Amber Blue as the East Central Territory hub development partner marks a significant milestone in the delivery of the SFT hub programme which now takes the number of operational hubs to three with the last remaining hubs, West and South West, currently in procurement. Barry White, chief executive of the Scottish Futures Trust, said: “This is a great achievement for the East Central Territory hub team Board. I look forward to the East Central hubco working with local suppliers and contractors to deliver quality buildings to provide improved public services for communities right across the East Central hub territory. “Across Scotland, the hub programme is already building or developing in excess of £100m of essential projects to local communities which in turn will support service improvements to local communities.” Tom Steele who chairs the East Central Territory hub Programme Board explained: “Amber Blue, with its far reaching and dynamic approach is best placed to deliver better value-for-money buildings which will facilitate and enhance joint working across the public sector for the benefit of our communities.” Neil McCormick, bid director of Amber Blue, said: “Naturally, we are delighted with our appointment and look forward to working with the public sector partners to finalise the East Central hubco. Once this process is completed we will be looking to commence delivery of these vital projects which will generate multiple benefits for the communities which we will serve. “We have already commenced dialogue with a number of local businesses within the hub area who are well placed to become part of the teams for each identified project, in turn enhancing employment opportunities within the local economy.” Construction projects already identified within the East Central Territory hub, include:

Glenwood Health Centre, Glenrothes
Brechin High School
Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Dundee
Harris Academy, Dundee
St Johns/Claremont Primary Schools, Alloa

The current hub investment pipeline of projects across the two live hubs stands at nearly £700m and when all five hubs are operational, it’s predicted that over £1.4bn of public sector infrastructure projects will be delivered by 2020. For further information, please visit www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/hub For further information, please contact Jonathan Murray, Communications Manager at Scottish Futures Trust on 0131 510 0805, 07590 230645 or at jonathan.murray@scottishfuturestrust.org.uk *East Central hub Territory Partners The East Central hub partners include the following public sector organisations: Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Falkirk, Fife, Perth & Kinross and Stirling Councils, as well as Central Scotland Fire and Rescue, Central Scotland Police, Fife Fire and Rescue, Fife Constabulary, NHS Fife, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Tayside, Tayside Fire and Rescue and Tayside Police. Scottish Futures Trust Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is an independent company and was formally established by the Scottish Government in 2008 with a responsibility to deliver value-for-money across all public infrastructure investment. SFT operates at arm’s length from the Government but works closely with the public sector to seek and deliver improved value for taxpayers. The Scotland-wide hub initiative in managed by SFT and reflects a national approach to the delivery of new community infrastructure which is expected to be valued at more than £1.4bn over the next 10 years. It brings community planning partners, including health boards, local authorities, police, and fire and rescue services together with a private sector development partner to increase joint working and deliver best value. For example, in the South East hub, work is well underway at Drumbrae in Edinburgh, with handover of the new £5.7m library and community hub due in December. When complete, the new facility will offer a wide range of services on a single campus, including a library, office accommodation for a range of Council services, a Day Centre and Adult Learning facility and Councillor and MSP Surgeries. In addition, construction of Gullane Health Centre as well as Wester Hailes Health and Social Care Centre is due to start very soon. In 2010-2011, SFT delivered £129m of savings and benefits which was independently verified by Grant Thornton LLP and the London School of Economics. Added to the savings and benefits secured the previous financial year, SFT has delivered a total of £240 million of savings and benefits to the people of Scotland. Source: http://www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/news/development_partner_appointed_to_deliver_£½bn_public_sector_infrastructure_programme_for_east_central_scotland Press Contact: For any press related queries please contact: Annie Galbraith (Office Manager/ Administrator) Hub East Central Scotland Limited Tel: 01786 431627 Email: a.galbraith@robertson.co.uk