Laganside Courts PFI (Northern Ireland Court Service)
North Consulting Limited, a specialist project finance consultancy and part of the Equity Solutions Group, were lead advisers and project managers for the Northern Ireland Courts Service on the Belfast Court Complex PFI Project, a project that recently won the PFI Accommodation Award 2000 and a RIBA design award.
This project involved a new 16 court complex for Northern Ireland Court Service in Belfast. The project scope increased from 8 – 16 courts within briefing yet still achieved financial close within 19 months of commencement in February 1999. The success was measured in achieving the client’s objectives, within affordability and achieving a significant public building in Belfast.
The success of the project as a whole was primarily due to our innovative approach to the project, particularly in relation to the role of the lead negotiator which enabled the project to reach financial close in record time.
Laganside Court Complex is the first crown and county court PFI to be completed in the United Kingdom. The new complex replaces old Court facilities at Crumlin Road Courthouse, Newton Abbey Courthouse and Belfast Magistrates’ Courts.
North Consulting set out the brief for the project by way of a PFI output specification identifying the functions and special needs of the client, requiring detailed design to stage D in competition as part of a PFI procurement.
The building accommodation consists of sixteen courtrooms, including five magistrates’ courts, five county courts and six crown courts. The courts offer high flexibility, including large secure to small informal courtrooms.
In addition to the courtrooms, the building includes custody accommodation, administration offices for Magistrates, Crown and County Courts, public counters, D.P.P offices, witness support areas, child, vulnerable and special witness facilities. There are also defendant and prosecution witness waiting rooms, Judges, Justices and Magistrates retiring rooms, lounges and library facilities together with jury retiring rooms, lounge facilities and a restaurant.
The building was handed over on 21st December 2001, with court sessions commencing on 28th January 2002.
