Barnsley Custody Suite

Barnsley Custody Suite is a key part of South Yorkshire Police's plan to rationalise its estate to improve custody facilities across South Yorkshire and provide a more efficient, modern environment for law enforcement. It compliments a larger new custody suite in Sheffield - also built by our team of secure environment specialists.

Entrance to the new custody suite

By operating out of larger custody suite facilities, it will also save the force millions in operating costs.

Next generation policing

The suite’s modern design is in line with the latest Home Office standards and supports the main Sheffield custody suite.

Situated on a tight city centre site next to the operational DHQ, our specialist team worked closely with the police force to create an access and logistics plan to minimise disruption and sustain health and safety throughout the project.

Chief Superintendent Tim Innes:

“The new custody suite and enquiry desk are long overdue. It’s part of a project to deliver new custody facilities for Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley and replaces the old suites that were no longer fit for purpose. They are great facilities and provide much improved conditions for staff and visitors.”

Commander’s Commendation

South Yorkshire Police were so impressed with how the project was run they awarded Wayne Bramley, our senior building manager and Colin Tilley, building manager, a ‘commander’s commendation’ for their work!

Our team with South Yorkshire Police

Chief Superintendent Tim Innes said of Wayne and Colin:

"From the outset you built and maintained excellent relationships with the existing site team to ensure that the impact of this major construction project was minimised. Your activities in engaging with the wider community in Barnsley has also complemented South Yorkshire Police’s engagement activities and improved the lives of a number of vulnerable people and charitable organisations. The Commander’s Commendation is awarded to you in recognition of your dedication and collaborative working to deliver the new custody suite in Barnsley.”

Want to know more? Contact Chris Farr

Paula Ibberson, Programme Manager, South Yorkshire Police:

“It has been great to be able to move quickly from one project to the next and carry over a great team and all the lessons learnt from the Sheffield Custody Suite project. While the Barnsley project was of a smaller scale, it was infinitely more complex as it involved maintaining services to the remainder of the site which continued to be live throughout the build. It was delivered ahead of programme, with minimal disruption and with outstanding quality.”

Working with local communities

As with all Willmott Dixon projects investing in the local economy and community is very important, throughout this project 88% of onsite labour was from within a 40 mile radius, 75% of total spend was within 40 miles and 95% of waste was diverted from landfill.Our team also provided 16 weeks of work experience to local students helping to encourage the next generation in to careers in construction.

Anthony Dillon, managing director of Willmott Dixon construction in the north:

“We are really proud of our new custody suite designs, they are modern and functional, allowing police forces to get on and do their jobs in an efficient manner and with the correct resources. We're also proud of Wayne and Collin, and indeed the whole team for their excellent work.”

New generation of custody suite design

Police forces are investing millions in moving to larger custody suites to create better working environments for staff and detainees and provide more efficient use of property that will save millions in running costs each year. This includes Willmott Dixon recently delivering 50+ cell custody suites for police forces in South Yorkshire, South Wales, Newcastle and West Midlands.

In South Yorkshire, the police force expects its new purpose-built 50 cell centre in Sheffield to replace inefficient custody suites in Rotherham and Sheffield and save £1.2 million a year in running costs. Likewise, West Midlands Police expects its new 60 cell Central Custody Suite in Perry Bar to save the force £1.3 million per year.

A code customised suite

To support the move to a new generation of modern, energy efficient custody suites, Willmott Dixon has developed a standardised offering called CODE with a range of pre-designed custody suites to suit different police force budgets and requirements. CODE models have been designed in partnership with NORR Architects, our supply chain partners, the Home Office and over 20 different police forces to tackle issues such as minimising the risk of detainee injury, increasing security of evidence and providing a better working environment that is more efficient and sustainable.

CODE has three models; Alpha providing up to 28 cells, Bravo up to 36 cells and Charlie for forces that require more than 36 cells; police forces can also completely customise their suite to ensure it meets their individual needs. All CODE projects are delivered with a fixed cost, timescale, quality and minimum risk; they also provide significant social value and community engagement commitments, a defining factor of Willmott Dixon projects.

CODE custody suites can also be procured through the Scape National Major Works framework, an OJEU-compliant procurement route that allows customers to engage directly with Willmott Dixon and reduce the time and resources spent on a lengthy tender process.