Interserve also won in the Partners in Public Service category for its work with Croydon Council. In a seven-year contract with the council, the largest in London, the portfolio covers a listed town hall, office complexes, libraries, restaurants, sheltered housing, care homes, community centres, crematoria and cemeteries.

Services include building maintenance, security, cleaning, catering, mailroom, reprographics, energy and utilities management, room booking, porterage and major and minor projects. In the first year of operation, efficiencies of 20% were achieved (£2m p.a.), enabling the council to redirect savings into front line service delivery.

The judges commended "the clear and trusting relationship between Interserve and Croydon Council has demonstrated efficiencies and is expanding as time goes on. The model is recognised as one that other Councils could adopt".

MacLellan, part of Interserve, is the Overall Winner of the 2007 Golden Service Awards, scooping no less than three honours at the coveted Kimberley-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards, known as the 'Oscars' of the Cleaning Industry.  The prestigious ceremony was held on November 2nd at the Royal Lancaster in London.

MacLellan was presented with the award for the Public Sector category for its work with the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). MacLellan provides full cleaning services to two sites in Berkshire; the 775-acre site at Aldermaston and the 225-acre site at Burghfield. Services include office and window cleaning, hygiene and washroom services, consumables and laundry, and also extends to specialist areas such as biohazard and radiological cleaning. Due to the nature of the business carried out by AWE, MacLellan has had to consistently deliver a service with rigorous health, safety and environmental regulations. It also maintains stringent security measures, meaning that all MacLellan staff working on the contract have to undergo a meticulous vetting routine, which can take anything from six weeks to twelve months.

MacLellan was also recognised in the manufacturing category.

Interserve have been awarded the Dudley Food for Health Award this month for our commitment to providing healthy food in the 'Time Out' restaurant at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley.

The restaurant is used by hospital employees, patients and visitors and has been helping customers to eat more healthily through a number of initiatives implemented over the past six months.

Paul Farenden, Hospital Chief Executive said: " It is really important that we are able to offer our staff, patients and visitors healthy options on our menus. We are delighted to have won the award here in Dudley, as it is a testament to the hard work and commitment of staff within the hospital who work continuously to improve the range of food on offer in our hospitals, and ensure it is of the highest standard in terms of quality and its nutritional balance."

Congratulations to the team at Landmarc for winning the 2007 BIFM Award for 'Best Practice in a Fit Out Project'.

The award is for Project Spider, a £2.5million refurbishment project at Brunswick Training Camp, Defence Training Estates (Home Counties), to convert four basic accommodation blocks into permanent homes for around 500 new recruits. The project was delivered on-time and in-budget within a challenging six month period.  The team also worked closely with the Carbon Trust to introduce a number of energy saving measures resulting in a projected 50% reduction in carbon emissions.

Winners were announced at an awards ceremony in London in October. Landmarc and the DTE are delighted to win this award, which recognises not only the important role that facilities management plays in fit-out projects but the partnership between Landmarc, the Defence Training Estate, sub-contractor's T A Mather Ltd and the Carbon Trust.

Our project the  "The Culture Labs" for Newcastle University, has won a recent regional RICS Renaissance award for building conservation. The original Grand Assembly Rooms have been converted into 'Culture Lab', a new facility where businesses and other organisations can work with Newcastle University. The £4.5 million project has transformed the listed building, designed in 1879, and opened ten years later in King's Walk. Culture Lab is part of the developing 'Cultural Quarter' on the campus. It is a unique project aimed at bringing together artists, local organisations and researchers, enabling them to collaborate in new ways.  The project in the Grade 2 listed building retains original features such as decorative plaster work, columns and listed floors and introduces flexibility and future-proofing in terms of data and power infrastructure. The RCIS awards are designed to celebrate the most inspirational regional initiatives and developments in land property and construction in the North East. Professor Eric Cross said, " I am delighted that the quality of such a sensitive conversion has been formally recognised in this way".

Project Services have received a 'Considerate Constructor's 2007 National Bronze Award' on behalf of the Friarage Hospital site team. Commenting on the award the Considerate Constructor's site monitor Mike Brook: - 'The project included the construction of a new three-storey ward block and the renewal and reciting of the existing services, within the grounds of the existing, operational hospital.

The many and varied problems inherent in carrying out construction work within the environs of an operational hospital were well addressed. Not least of the problems facing the contractor at the commencement of the project was the total lack of available parking space within the hospital grounds. Parking space was rented some two miles distant and mini-bus transport was laid on for site operatives and visitors. Close liaison between the site management and the hospital administration ensured that potential problems were avoided. Disruption of the hospital's function and any disturbance to patients was kept to an absolute minimum.

The whole project was sympathetically conducted with great respect for the hospital staff, patients and the visiting public.

The client, South Tees Hospital NHS Trust, said that it had been "delighted with the commitment and professional approach that Interserve brought to the project."

PPF Awards 2007

At the Public Finance Awards 2007  the PFI scheme at Hadley Learning Centre in Telford won the Public Sector Joint Working Award and the Best Community/User Involvement in a Project Award.  The Defence Sixth Form College was also Highly Commended for the Operational Project with Best Design category. Congratulations to everybody involved in both of these PFI projects.

Hadley Learning Community wins top design

The revolutionary design of the state-of-the art Hadley Learning Community has scooped a national design award.

The new £70 million flagship learning campus, which opened this September, was named as the country's best building and learning environment in the first ever Education Business Awards.

A range of private industry and construction specialists voted for the HLC, praising its superb quality campus and ability to provide the best in education and development for its pupils and the community.

Dr Gill Eatough, HLC principal, was presented with the award in London by TV personality Michaela Strachan.

The HLC, which will have 1,120 school pupils on site in January, combines state-of-the-art education design and technology and is one of the first learning community of its kind in the UK.

Dr Eatough said: "The HLC's innovative design uses light, colour and technology to create an environment that inspires people of all ages to learn.

"I am absolutely delighted to win this award in our first three months. It recognises the superb partnership between ourselves and Interserve to give our students an innovative learning environment."

The HLC campus includes primary, secondary and special schools plus a wide range of community facilities.

The HLC is a blueprint for how other learning communities will be created across the borough.

Cllr Peggie Harrison, Telford & Wrekin's Cabinet Member for Children`s  Services said: "This is more excellent news for Hadley and Telford & Wrekin. It further supports the benefits of the approach that we are taking to provide groundbreaking education facilities for people of all ages."
                                                                                                                      
As well as school facilities, the HLC also has a range of community facilities including an extensive learning resource centre with ICT facilities, a heated indoor swimming pool, fitness suite, dance studio and 150 seat theatre. In addition there is a sports hall, outdoor facilities for tennis and netball, a bowling green and a range of meeting rooms and conference facilities.