Three in hunt for £40m fire services PFI

Three firms are blazing a trail towards a £40m PFI contract to build four new fire stations.

Kajima, Kier and Willmott Dixon are all thought to be in the running for the programme.

The winning bidder will design, finance and build two 4-bay community fire stations in Gloucester, replacing the current 6-bay facility.

The Shepherd Road site in Gloucester will also house a 'Community Life Skills Centre' to teach Gloucestershire schoolchildren about the risks and dangers of fire.

Meanwhile, there are also plans for an additional 3-bay community fire station in Cheltenham as well as the demolition and reconstruction of the current 6-bay station.

The firm will then operate and maintain the community fire stations and their associated facilities for a period of 25 years.

The news of the shortlist comes more than a year after Communities and Local Government confirmed a £40m PFI credit boost for the scheme, back in April 2008.

The investment will ensure that Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Services will be able to respond to any incident within Cheltenham and Gloucester within eight minutes.

A source close to the project said: "Although these three firms are battling it out at the moment, it will go down to two in about five weeks' time before a preferred bidder is named in either January or February next year."