Homes and communities agency CEO visits Freeman's reach development
The Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Andy Rose, visited Freeman's Reach to review the progress of the regeneration of Durham City's Riverside being undertaken by Carillion.

Neil McMillan with Andy Rose.

28th August 2014

During a tour of the development Mr Rose helped lay the foundations for the new Durham base of Her Majesty's Passport Office and witnessed the impressive progress that has been made on the site of the former ice rink, since it was acquired by the HCA as a strategic site for regeneration.

In 2012 the HCA entered into a development agreement with Durham County Council and a consortium led by Carillion Developments and Arlington Real Estate, to invest £27m into the riverside scheme.

Phase 1 of the development is the construction of a new office for National Savings & Investments which will accommodate around 400 jobs in Durham City. The building is on course to be completed in early 2015.

Construction of Phase 2, the new Passport office, is taking place simultaneously with phase 1 and will secure 950 jobs (812 full-time equivalent) in the city. Completion is scheduled for 2016.

Mr Rose was also shown the recently-installed Archimedean screw, which will power a hydro-turbine and enable Freeman's Reach to become the first hydro-powered city centre development in the UK providing over 75% of its total power requirement.

He said: "Freeman's Reach is a great example of partnership working between the HCA and private sector developers such as Carillion and Arlington, with vital support from Durham County Council.  We work with local partners to meet their priorities and Freeman's Reach is on course to provide significant local employment opportunities as well as improving the quality of the riverside."

Neil McMillan, Development Director at Carillion Developments, said: "Working closely with our stakeholders, including the HCA, we're really pleased to be able to deliver this important regeneration project.  Mr Rose was impressed with our vision for Durham's Riverside and the contribution this development will make to the city."

Allan Cook, Director of Arlington Real Estate, said: "Mr Rose saw first-hand how we are delivering on our commitment to providing an attractive and sustainable long-term future for Durham's Riverside. He was particularly impressed with our use of renewable energy technology to harness the power of the river to minimise the carbon footprint of the development." 

About Carillion
Carillion is a leading integrated support services company with a substantial portfolio of Public Private Partnership projects and extensive construction capabilities.

The Group had annual revenue in 2013 of some £4.1 billion, employs around 40,000 people and operates across the UK, in the Middle East and Canada.

The Group has four business segments:

Support services - this includes facilities management, facilities services, energy services, utility services, road maintenance, rail services and consultancy services.

Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects - this includes investing activities in PPP projects for Government buildings
and infrastructure, mainly in the Defence, Health, Education, Transport and Secure accommodation sectors.

Middle East construction services - this includes our building and civil engineering activities in the Middle East.

Construction services (excluding the Middle East) - this includes building, civil engineering and developments activities in the UK and construction activities in Canada.

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