Refurbishment & Regeneration

The Croydon Council Urban Regeneration Vehicle (CCURV), a joint venture between John Laing and Croydon Council, is developing a Public Service Delivery Hub as part of regeneration work across Croydon town centre.

CCURV is committed to ensuring that this post-recession building scheme will offer work and apprenticeship prospects for Croydon people.

Working closely with construction partners Sir Robert McAlpine, CCURV intends that the build phase should deliver significant socio-economic benefits and provide extensive community engagement and development opportunities for local people and businesses. These include:

• Meeting a target of 10% of the total workforce to be recruited locally
• Aiming for 5% of the workforce to be employed on trainee development programmes, providing valuable skills and experience
• Holding ‘meet the buyer’ events to introduce commercial opportunities to the local supply chain
• Working with schools, colleges and local training providers to identify work placements, suitable training opportunities and educational visits
• Creating opportunities for third sector organisations to join the supply chain as well as enabling employment and training for local disadvantaged people

Jamie Kerr, director of education & regeneration at John Laing, said: “The Public Service Delivery Hub is the first project for CCURV and marks the start of significant regeneration across Croydon town centre.

“Our detailed community engagement activities will provide lasting benefits for local people and for the community at large.

“Through the delivery of the first Urban Regeneration Vehicle, we are paving the way for this mutually-beneficial form of public private partnership to be used more widely.”

Councillor Steve O’Connell, Croydon Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, said: “I am delighted that the intention of CCURV is to recruit from the local employment area before considering candidates from elsewhere.

“The hub will be Croydon’s base for local services for local people. It makes sense, therefore, that local people should also be given every opportunity to actually work on the project and earn a living from it.”

www.laing.com