Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions has been appointed by infrastructure and utility service provider Amey to look after its fleet of over 8,500 vehicles. The exclusive six year vehicle leasing deal will see Hitachi provide Amey with vehicle management and funding for its whole fleet of over 8,500 vehicles and specialist
Balfour Beatty has been given planning approval to begin work on the ambitious £120 million East Slope student accommodation project at the University of Sussex. The firm is to redevelop part of the campus which will see the creation of 2,100 new bedrooms along with a new Students’ Union building
Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions has been appointed by infrastructure and utility service provider Amey to look after its fleet of over 8,500 vehicles. The exclusive six year vehicle leasing deal will see Hitachi provide Amey with vehicle management and funding for its whole fleet of over 8,500 vehicles and specialist assets. Including the utilities, waste management and highways sectors, Amey has over 300 contracts, many of which call for a fleet of specialist vehicles that must always be available. Amey’s Fleet and Plant Director, Tom Lawless, commented: “We need a fleet of specialist vehicles that are provided and managed to the standards of operational safety, compliance adherence and optimum availability that are also fit for purpose when considering required customer outcomes.” Lawless believes that Hitachi is “uniquely placed” to deliver the full support for Amey’s operations, adding that the new partnership will mean its business can make better use of its fleet of dedicated assets which will result in a better service for its customers. Meanwhile, Managing Director of Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, Jon Lawes, said that the appointment shows the company’s ability to manage and fund the most complex and mission critical fleets that operate in the UK. The deal came into effect last month and will run until 2022. Meanwhile, last month it was confirmed that Atkins has been awarded with the contract to supply Hitachi in the delivery of Network Rail’s Thameslink programme. Atkins will conduct several assessments which are designed to make sure that the TMS meets the standards set by Network Rail for being compatible with the rail network in the UK. Practice Director of Transportation at Atkins, Conor Linnell, commented: “It is very exciting for Atkins to be able to bring its extensive experience in the delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects to bear on a ground-breaking programme such as TMS for Thameslink, which marks the beginning of the digital age of the UK railway.”
Balfour Beatty has been given planning approval to begin work on the ambitious £120 million East Slope student accommodation project at the University of Sussex. The firm is to redevelop part of the campus which will see the creation of 2,100 new bedrooms along with a new Students’ Union building and social facilities. The new project will see the replacement of the existing East Slope student accommodation, which was constructed in the 1970s and is currently home to around 600 students. In conjunction with the university, Balfour Beatty will finance, build, design and operate the scheme under a 50 year contract. The first stage of the £500 million investment programme to improve and modernise the university’s campus will involve new bedrooms. The university was last year granted outline consent for its campus scheme, which will include most of this new student accommodation. The work on the site is to be carried out in phases, the first of which is expected to commence in January 2017 and should be ready by around September or October 2018, with all work expected to be completed by 2020. To make sure that the architectural legacy of the campus is not compromised, the university has been working in conjunction with Brighton & Hove City Council, Historic England and other local bodies. The university’s original architect, Sir Basil Spence, created a series of highly distinctive signature buildings, including the newly refurbished Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, the Meeting House and Falmer House. University of Sussex Registrar, John Duffy, commented: “We will be renewing the original Spence vision with the creation of new and equally distinctive signature buildings, as well as better pathways and movement through the campus, sustaining lines of sight to the South Downs.” He added that the choice of building materials to be used will also fit in with those favoured by Spence.