A fire station and training centre has won an award.
Platinum House in Horsham was named the "Building Project of the Year over £20 million" at the SECBE Constructing Excellence awards ceremony.
The new building, which cost millions of pounds, was commissioned by West Sussex County Council and built by Willmott Dixon Construction and AtkinsRéalis.
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The facility has innovative equipment to prepare firefighters for real-life emergencies.
This includes the country’s first live-fire training facility, a four-story cold smoke training tower, a training area designed for road traffic collisions and space for incident command training.
Councillor Jeremy Hunt, West Sussex County Council’s cabinet member for finance and property, said: "I am delighted that the judging panel has recognised all of the hard work and collaboration from across all partners involved in delivering this industry-leading facility, which will benefit all the residents of West Sussex."
Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, chief fire officer of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Platinum House has set a new standard in firefighter training and showcases best practice and thoughtfulness towards gender equality in the workplace.
"The training centre will ensure that West Sussex’s firefighters continue to have the skills and knowledge to keep residents safe for years to come."
Construction at the site began in November 2021 and it was completed in September 2022.
The site was named Platinum House in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
From July last year, the building has been used by firefighters to respond to 999 calls.
Richard Poulter, managing director for Willmott Dixon Construction, said: “Platinum House is a showcase. The commitment to building excellence is second to none.
"Everyone working on this project was passionate about equality, diversity and sustainability. By working truly collaboratively from conception, it has allowed us all to create a best practice blue light facility for the community”.
Alex Kaitsis, associate director at AtkinsRéalis, said: “We are honoured to have been part of such a successful project.
£A project that contributes to a better society and one that will be there for generations to come, training the firefighters of the future.”
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