Glowing pride in force’s new £64m HQ

TOPPING out . . . Gloria Oates and Chief Constable Peter Fahy screw in a golden bolt

GREATER Manchester Police’s new £64 million police headquarters will glow blue in the night when it opens for business.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy and Gloria Oates, vice chairman of the Greater Manchester Police Authority secured the final bolt on the building in Newton Heath during a topping out ceremony to mark the completion of the structure’s highest point.

The 240,000sq ft HQ, built by Carillion and designed by Aedas Architecture, is made of coloured glass and stone. The six-storey building will be visible from Piccadilly and glow blue during darkness.

Mr Fahy said: “This modern, fit-for-purpose headquarters will encourage team-working and improve communication to enable us to work more efficiently and get the most value from our tightening budget so we can in turn spend more on frontline policing.

Mrs Oates, former chief executive of Oldham and Rochdale NHS Trusts, said: “The current HQ is out-of-date, exhausted and expensive to keep together. This new building will be more efficient.”

Building contractors, Carillion, placed the traditional evergreen yew branch on the structure to symbolise growth and to bring good luck.

The new development replaces the force’s current headquarters in Old Trafford and staff are expected to make the move towards the end of 2011.