02 / 03
FINLEY STRUCTURES WINS 12,000-METRE
STEEL DEAL FOR DURHAM COUNCIL’S NEW HQ
Finley Structures has won a contract to fabricate 12,000 metres of steel for
Durham County Council’s new futuristic offices on the banks of the river Wear.
Staff at Finley Structures are
celebrating a record order book.
W
ork to build a smaller, more
efficient headquarters for the
region’s largest council began
earlier this year, paving the way
for a new multi-million-pound business district
at Aykley Heads, creating up to 6,000 new
jobs and delivering a £400m boost to the
county.
Aykley Heads in Durham is already home to
more than 30 businesses employing 1,300,
people but in order for the site to realise its full
potential, it is necessary for Durham County
Council to relocate its headquarters from
Aykley Heads.
The authority is, therefore, creating a new,
more modern, base in the heart of the city
centre, which will be less than a third of the
size of the current County Hall.
As part of the construction approximately
250 new jobs have been created by main
contractor Kier, which will be building the new
headquarters.
The multi-national, £4.5bn group awarded
Aycliffe firm Finley Structures a contract to
fabricate and erect 12,000 linear metres of
steel for the new office development.
It comes after the family-run steel
specialists completed major works on the
Riverwalk development in the city two years
ago.
Finley managing director Julie Raistrick
said: “After the completion of the Riverwalk
development in 2018, it’s great to be back in
Durham, working on another project which is
on our doorstep.
“We work on projects across the country, but
as a North-East firm, we love working on local
projects, particularly in Durham – given that
our founder, John Finley, was born just a few
WHO WE WORK WITH...
We’re currently working
with all these major
national contractors...
ISSUE 17 | SPRING 2020
Finley Structures contracts manager Fred
Searle (left) and trainee contracts manager
Jack Burleigh (right) with Kier Construction
project manager Jason Hartnell.
short miles away.
“We’re now helping to change the skyline
of Durham for a generation, so we’re very
proud to be leaving our footprint on the huge
developments that are happening in the city.
“It is vital that local contractors are being
given the opportunity to work on such an
important local project, which will be Durham
County Council’s new headquarters for
decades to come.”
It isn’t the first time Finley Structures has
worked with main contractor Kier, after the
Aycliffe firm completed a 330-tonne project
for them at Bishop Barrington School in the
county earlier this year.
Phil McDowell, operations director of
Kier Regional Building North-East England
& Scotland, said: “We are proud to be
working collaboratively with local company
Finley Structures to deliver the new steel
structure for Durham County Council’s new
headquarters.
“We are dedicated to leaving lasting
legacies in areas in which we build.
Currently, 95% of our supply chain for this
project is within a 40-mile radius and we
have three apprentices learning all about a
career within the built environment.”
The new building on the Sands car park
in Durham City centre will not only mean
a reduction in the local authority’s running
costs, it will also enable staff to embrace
modern ways of working and boost trade
within the city centre.
The new headquarters will accommodate
1,000 staff from the current County Hall
site with 700 workstations, whilst a further
850 staff will be relocated to one of four key
council office sites being developed across
the county, also providing a boost to the
local economy.