Four fight for œ90 million Stonehenge PFI project

Four consortia have been shortlisted for the œ90 million Stonehenge PFI project to design, build, finance and operate a new visitor centre outside the World Heritage Site with a transport link to the new Stonehenge Millennium Park.

Heritage Projects is a management company which runs heritage sites such as the Jorvik Viking Centre in York. It has enrolled Ove Arup as project manager, MacCormac Jamieson Prichard as architects and Event Communications as exhibition designers.

The York Consortium is made up of Past Forward, a creative consultancy, formerly part of York Archaeological Trust. Shepherd has been brought on board as the contractor and RJE Retail Directions, the UK's second largest retailing company will advise on the commercial and operations side.

The Imagination Group, which is developing the œ350 million Millennium Exhibition in Greenwich, is heading-up the third group. Also included are Ove Arup on the development side and Gardiner Merchant who will look after the operations side.

The final consortium is headed by the Tussauds Group, which refused to give details.

The four bidders will outline their general approach to the project and then two consortia will be selected in November. They will put forward detailed submissions to enable an application for grant-aid to be submitted to the Millennium Commission for the Stonehenge Millennium Scheme as a whole

The application will be assessed in early 1997 and if successful English Heritage will then choose its preferred bidder, which will design, build, finance and operate the visitor centre. English Heritage will manage the 1,616ha park that surrounds Stonehenge. Crucial to the future of this area will be the decision on the future route of the A303. Ministers are expected to decide by the end of the month.