The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Skanska UK a £259 million contract to deliver the Vehicle Storage Support Program (VSSP) at Ashchurch, Tewkesbury.
Contracted via the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), Skanska together with the Technical Services Provider, MACE, will provide modern, sustainable and effective storage and maintenance solutions for the British Army’s land equipment fleet.
“We are very excited to be working with Skanska to deliver this project which will bring the Ashchurch site back up to full operating capability,” said Belinda Lunn, Senior Responsible Owner for VSSP. “Whilst the majority of the Army’s vehicle fleet is either on, or training for operations, a sizeable fleet is centrally stored to ensure that they are ready to deploy when required. VSSP will redevelop this centralized facility and deliver a modern, sustainable storage solution that ensures operational readiness of the Army’s vehicles by minimizing the need for maintenance.”
“It’s great to see this project take a major step forward as we award the contract,” said Warren Webster, DIO’s Program Director for Army Major Projects and Programs. “This important work will future-proof the Army’s vehicle storage and maintenance facilities at Ashchurch for years to come and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners in the Army, Skanska and Mace to support this significant capability improvement.”
Demolitions will begin September 2022 enabling regeneration of the site by providing brand new infrastructure and updates to existing buildings. Once complete the Ashchurch site will provide Controlled Humidity Environment (CHE) storage for 4100 vehicles.
“We’re delighted to continue supporting modernization of the Defense estate following completion of Worthy Down in 2021, so we’re excited to help transform this site to protect and maintain this vital asset for the Army,” said Katy Dowding, Executive Vice President, Skanska UK.
Steve Holbrook, Managing Director for Skanska UK’s construction arm, added: “We’re also proud to continue to help drive greener solutions as part of this complex project and plan to make significant use of modern methods of construction to drive down carbon emissions.”
The project will employ up to 400 people, a number of whom are expected to be employed from the Tewkesbury area. Employment opportunities include demolition, groundworks, structural steelwork and scaffolding. In addition, the project will also support 10 apprenticeships. All construction activity is expected to complete by 2027.
