Triton wins £7.1m contract for Lincolnshire cadets

Triton Construction is building new training facilities for Lincolnshire Army Cadet Force (ACF), enabling it to run more local training weekends and so step up recruitment.

This £7.1m contract is Triton’s first for the East Midlands Reserve Forces & Cadets Association (RFCA) and follows its move tertiary education and training projects. Triton is contracted to deliver a full turnkey solution for the scheme.

The current ACF facilities are housed in an open-plan structure from the 1940s that is no longer fit-for-purpose.

Two sleeping blocks, amenities, storage space, more external training space and buildings are included in the expansion plans.

The facilities, due for completion in spring 2025, will also be available to other cadet forces from around the country, providing wider benefits.

Stuart Williams, chief executive of East Midlands RFCA, said: “This major new build at Beckingham will significantly improve the training of cadets across Lincolnshire, and nationally too, providing modern, purpose-built facilities. It will be a real game-changer and will help to inspire other children and young people to join a youth organisation that provides opportunity and life skills.

“At a time when the Ministry of Defence is experiencing fiscal pressures, I am heartened by the pragmatic and most supportive approach taken by senior decision makers to continue with this significant investment in our Army Cadet Forces.”

Triton Construction managing director Paul Clarkson added: “We have been working with East Midlands RFCA and consultant teams for a number of months following the competitive tender that was concluded in the autumn to develop the affordable and sustainable proposals that we will now construct.”

The new structures and connecting walkways will be be elevated off the ground, making them appear to float. This is to protect the ridge and furrows, which are a rare form of farming dating back to Anglo Saxon times, underneath.

Architects Maber from Nottingham will be working on this traditionally procured project

Nick Greenwood, Architectural Designer at Maber, said: “The driving design force behind the Beckingham Cadet Training Centre is limiting the impact on the natural environment and the historic site the facilities sit on.

“Minimising the training centre’s impact on the environment whilst preserving the site’s natural and historic setting has been challenging. However, it is these constraints that inspired our creative design approach. Our collaboration with the East Midlands RFCA, who are fully behind our innovative approach to sustainability, has been particularly rewarding.”

Representatives of East Midlands Reserve Forces & Cadets Association, Lincolnshire Army Cadet Force, Maber and Triton Construction attended a ground breaking ceremony in Beckingham last week.

Earlier this year, Triton completed the design and build of phase two for Mersey Reach industrial park in Aintree, which comprises 12 new buildings ranging from 4,036 sq ft to 29,719 sq ft. Chancerygate has since secured an investment sale for the site.

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