January 2020 update
Despite the large, extremely visible, high-profile, multi-million pound projects that naturally attract a lot of attention, the majority of the work of the Infrastructure Department is focussed on a huge number of smaller-scale tasks which are arguably more important, especially for the end users in more than 450 units served by the largest department in NW RFCA. Last year we completed over 4,500 separate, routine tasks ranging in value from £15 to £180,000.
These jobs are the normal, run of the mill activities that makes all the difference to the Reserves, cadets and other people who use the estate; the almost cliché broken toilet seats and faulty light fittings right through to new boiler installations or roof systems. In all, £7M – £9M is spent annually on this aspect of work and throughout the year we receive multiple injects of funding for specific projects. This year we are working with an additional £7M of funds directed at specific projects for all branches of the Reserve forces and the uniformed cadet organisations.
Meanwhile we continue with the construction of our new HQ building at Altcar Training Camp, new boiler installations throughout the region, replacement of failing roof systems and a number of major refurbishments of Air Training Corps squadrons. All of the work we undertake, with a small number of exceptions, have to be completed in this financial year which drives additional pressures on the small number of staff that are managing the projects.
