The charity’s Former Chairman, Admiral the Lord Boyce, was given the honour of unveiling the commemorative stone as a way of the RNLI thanking him for his commitment during his time as Chairman.
Building works are due to complete this winter, with operations being phased in gradually. Once the ALC is fully operational, the RNLI is to produce, maintain and refit its fleet of all-weather lifeboats in-house for the first time saving over £3M every year.
Current RNLI Chairman Charles Hunter Pease attended the ceremony and said: ‘The local community will start to see the ALC taking shape now that the steel frame structure for the building is going up. The construction of the ALC is a significant milestone in the charity’s history and it was fitting to ask our former Chairman, Admiral the Lord Boyce, to unveil the ALC commemorative stone as a way of thanking him for his dedication to the RNLI. The decision was made to build the facility during his time as chairman and he played an important role in helping to make this exciting project a reality.
‘We’re building the ALC as fewer suppliers have the ability to meet our specialist requirements so we have less control over quality and cost. Bringing our all-weather lifeboat production in-house is vital to ensuring the future supply of fit for purpose lifeboats that will go on to protect our courageous and willing volunteers when they risk their lives to save others at sea.’
Current RNLI apprentices also attended the unveiling of the commemorative stone to represent the important part apprenticeships will play in the future of the ALC. The apprenticeship roles will help to provide the specialist skills the charity needs to build and maintain lifeboats in-house. Matthew Camp, an RNLI Apprentice Electrician who is in his second year, represented all RNLI apprentices and presented a thank-you gift to Admiral the Lord Boyce – a copy of photographer Nigel Millard’s book entitled The Lifeboat: Courage on our Coasts.
Matthew said: ‘I’m presenting this thank-you gift to Admiral the Lord Boyce on behalf of all of the RNLI apprentices. I’m looking forward to working within the new All-weather Lifeboat Centre and all of the practical training opportunities. It’s great to be an RNLI apprentice as we get to learn from the best in the industry while helping to provide the best possible lifeboats for our volunteer crew. It’s good to see that the RNLI apprenticeship programme is expanding so that other people can also benefit from the opportunities that I’ve had.’
Notes to editors
• The commemorative stone will be placed in its final position by the entrance of the ALC when the construction phase is complete.
• Admiral the Lord Boyce was RNLI Chairman between 2008 and 2013.
• The ALC is aiming to be a centre of engineering excellence where the latest technology will be used to push the boundaries to improve lifesaving at sea while protecting volunteer crew. Each year the ALC will produce six new all-weather lifeboats, refit up to 20 more, carry-out upgrade work to double each vessel’s operational life, and maintain many of the 160 vessels in the current all-weather fleet. The Shannon class all-weather lifeboats will be built at the new facility and the charity will need to build at least 50. During their operational lives, these 50 vessels are expected to rescue over 56,000 people and save an estimated 1,500 lives.
• The ALC will have a workforce of 150, around 90 of which represent new jobs for the Poole area; these will be gradually recruited over several years. The charity has filled some positions already and will phase in operations until fully up and running by 2019.
• First operations within the new facility are expected to begin towards the end of 2014 when the RNLI lifeboat maintenance team re-joins the HQ site from its temporary work base at Cobbs Quay.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact RNLI PR: Pamela Saunders on 01202 336260 pamela_saunders@rnli.org.uk, or Roselyne Crowther on 01202 662218; or Luke Blissett on 01202 663184; or email pressoffice@rnli.org.uk.