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Back to main news pageFlood Control Headquarters
The recent floods which affected Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire saw one of Britain’s largest peace time emergency efforts. One of the worst hit areas was Gloucestershire where power supplies to 500,000 homes were threatened, with many properties loosing power, where 350,000 homes in Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury lost fresh water supplies and where numerous houses along the Rivers Severn and Avon were flooded.
Gloucestershire Constabulary was the lead voice on the area’s Gold Command Committee which involved the Police, Fire, Army, Royal Navy, local council and utilities companies. At the height of the floods, their highest since 1947, Gloucestershire police dealt with 1,600 incidents over a period of just eight hours.
As the floods receded Gold commander, Chief Constable of Gloucestershire, Dr Timothy Brain said, “After we solved one problem another one seemed to appear”.
One problem that Gloucestershire Constabulary didn’t have to worry about though was their headquarters from where Gold Command was managed. The building was built via a PFI contract with Gloucestershire FM Services Ltd, of which Reliance Secure Task Management is a leading partner. Reliance is also responsible for Facilities Management at the Headquarters, providing a range of services including security, cleaning, postal services, catering and building maintenance
During the floods the Police Headquarters operated as a 24/7 Strategic Command Centre with Gold Command running continuously. Even though the building itself was in danger of flooding and without mains water, many people were stationed and even sleeping within the Police Headquarters, requiring all facilities including the restaurant to operate almost continuously. Many of the building’s meeting rooms had been converted over to bases for the organisations stationed at the Police Headquarters. The sports hall was even used for the storage of drinking water prior to distribution and also acted as a make-shift dormitory for the military staff on site.
Many of the operational staff, employed by Reliance, demonstrated true team spirit to keep the building operational even though in some cases they were without water or power themselves in their own homes.
Managing Director of Reliance Secure Task Management, Mark Underwood said, “We are pleased that the building is performing so well. This is just one of the scenarios we obviously planned for with the building, but hoped would never happen. Our team was pleased to support Gloucestershire Constabulary’s response to this terrible situation.”
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Editors Notes:
Reliance Secure Task Management is part of the Reliance Security Group plc, an established market leader in the provision of support services, contract security, electronic surveillance and facilities management. The Group employs over 12,500 people from a network of offices throughout the UK.
Since 1995, when Reliance was awarded the contract for Prisoner Escorting in the South West Reliance STM has grown to a business employing over 2,600 people Nationwide and a turnover of over £80 Million.
From their permanent base in Bristol they operate a wide range of contracts, on behalf of the Home Office, Scottish Executive, Prison Service, Government Agencies and Police Authorities across the UK.
For more information please contact Scott Williams on 01454 634 242