MANSELL Construction Services at Swaffham has landed a recession-busting £38 million deal to design and build 182 homes for families at the USAF base at RAF Lakenheath.
Defence Estates has appointed Mansell to handle the fifth and final phase of the extensive Liberty Village development at the Suffolk base, on which work is due to start next month and be completed by October 2011.
It means continuation of work fo
r many local sub-contractors and staff based at the firm's Swaffham offices in Roman House, Turbine Way, on the EcoTech Business Park, despite the current slump in the construction industry, a company spokesman said.
Mansell has been involved in the Liberty Village development since 2005 and has been responsible for the planning, design and construction of all four previous phases.
On completion, the project will have provided 606 homes on a 78-acre site in contracts worth a total of £127 million. About 300 homes have been handed over to date.
The homes in the final phase will be a mix of two, three and four-bedroomed properties, two or three storeys high and constructed in timber frame from sources approved by the Forestry Stewardship Council.
Defence Estates and Mansell reached a partnership agreement in 2000 for the planning, design and delivery of USAF housing across the UK, and this was extended to the Liberty Village projects.
"Sustainability has been a key objective of the agreement," the spokesman said. Wherever possible, materials resulting from demolition have been re-used and a sustainable drainage system services the development.
Last year, Defence Estates and Mansell jointly won a prestigious "Long Term Partnering" award in recognition of their successful collaboration, which generated effective and efficient working practices.
mike.last@lynnnews.co.uk
