Fire college bidder has big plans for the future (From Cotswold Journal)

Fire college bidder has big plans for the future

11:30am Saturday 12th January 2013 in News

CAPITA has been named as the preferred bidder in the sale of Moreton’s Fire Service College.

Fire minister Brandon Lewis announced the firm is proposing to buy the facility and secure its future as a fire training facility.

The sell-off was announced last March following a “premarket engagement exercise”

by the Department for Communities and Local Government in response to the Fire Futures reports, which were published in April 2011.

The department concluded that selling it as a ‘going concern’ was the best option as it “fully removes from Government the ongoing financial risks of ownership of the college”.

Mr Lewis said they were “making real progress” in securing the future of such an “important facility.”

It is expected that the sale will be completed in the coming weeks.

Andy Parker, Capita joint chief operating officer, said the company hoped to be able to develop the facility, which currently generates annual revenues of about £17m, into an organisation capable of generating more than £200m a year.

“Our transformation and development programme will re-affirm the college’s position as not only a UK centre for national resilience and interoperability training but also its emergence as a world class organisation,” he said. Robert Dutton, ward member at Cotswold District Council, said he was “pleased” at the news.

“It is important for Moreton that the future of its principal employer has been safeguarded,” he said.

“We look forward in due course to learning more how Capita plan to develop the activities here and safeguard the college facilities.”