Young Herts wins at Public Private Finance Awards
6 May 2008The Hertfordshire County Council Children’s Services PFI consortium, also known as ‘Young Herts’, has been recognised at the 2008 Public Private Finance awards.
The £24 million PFI Project, which will provide new and refurbished homes and facilities for vulnerable children and young people across Hertfordshire, won the ‘Best Community/User Involvement in a Project’ category in recognition of the unique user engagement initiatives that took place during the formative stages of the project. These initiatives enabled those who would ultimately use the facilities to shape and influence both the contract and the design.
The Young Herts consortium, formed and led by Osborne, working with investment partners UMEI and FM partners CBS, was praised for working closely with staff and young people. Workshops, activity days and consultation sessions took place to engage those who would live and work in the homes. This extended to encouraging children to choose the colour schemes for the interior decor and allowing children and staff to influence how their homes and gardens will look and feel. These initiatives contributed to the provision of welcoming, safe and flexible facilities and homes.
Roger Simons divisional director consortium leaders and investors, Osborne comments:
“We are delighted that the project has been awarded in this way. The success builds on the very real partnership we have with Hertfordshire County Council’s Children, Schools and Families Service and is an award for the whole team. We are really proud to have been involved in bringing about homes that young people and children wish to live in. Our continuing strategy is to bring the children and young people who will live in the homes into the process.”
The Young Herts project began in June 2007 and so far two family support centres in Cheshunt and Hemel Hempstead have been refurbished and construction is about to be completed on three new children's homes in Baldock, St Albans and Stevenage. In total 14 facilities will be delivered by the team.
The Public Private Finance Awards, which have been running for ten years, are the biggest event of the year for the public private partnerships industry. The event recognises the teams and the individuals that drive PFI. A panel of experienced
Public and private sector professionals, led by Tim Byles from Partnerships for Schools judged the Awards
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