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NEWS INDUSTRY UPDATES

Each month PSBJ rounds up the latest public sector construction updates, from new contracts to industry awards.

Works complete on new Urgent Treatment Centre at Lincolnshire hospital Specialist school, The Avenue, on track for completion

John McAslan + Partners awarded George Square design contract

Construction works to build a new Urgent Treatment Centre at a Lincolnshire hospital – an emergency-funded project which was fast-tracked to help ease COVID-19 pressure – has now been completed by Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson. The £2.4m project involved the construction of a single-storey extension at Lincoln County Hospital, expanding the facility’s existing accident and emergency department, to create an urgent treatment centre, which also includes a new entrance into the accident and emergency department. Secured through Pagabo’s National Framework for Medium Works – which covers schemes between the value of £1m and £5m in the Midlands – the project was completed over a period of 24 weeks following planning approval, with the official handover taking place at the end of April. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust submitted plans to City of Lincoln Council last year, after receiving a £7m national funding boost from the Department of Health and Social Care, which is part of a £150m capital funding programme to expand and upgrade 25 A&Es across the UK, to reduce overcrowding and improve infection prevention control in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CUBE, an innovative competition that enables commercial buildings in both the private and public sector to make a genuine contribution to net zero, has launched in the UK. Organised by Ampersand Partners alongside founder A4MT, the competition introduces gamification for energy consumption, cutting energy usage and equivalent costs by an average of 12% and up to 55% in a single year. Set up for landlords, building managers and occupiers, including local authorities and public sector tenants, CUBE is a community which understands that achieving net zero starts with reducing energy use in their buildings. For users and employees, it engages everyone in a friendly, fun and collaborative competition to facilitate improved energy performance – one building at a time. CUBE is about simple interventions that make a big difference. It sets a baseline based on the previous one to three years of energy consumption data, then collects utility bills monthly to assess performance, improvements and highlight successes. With a range of support, tools and ideas from previous competitions, it helps firms identify how to continue to slash energy use. Work is progressing at pace on The Avenue, a new school which will meet the growing demand for special school places by further improving provision for pupils with autism and complex needs within the London Borough of Brent. Sat on an extremely constrained site, the new inclusive learning environment has been designed by Pozzoni Architecture and will eventually cater for up to 104 pupils from the ages of four to 18. The school is being constructed by Galliford Try Building Southern as part of a £50m contract to build five SEND schools in the south of England, three of which (including The Avenue) are in Greater London. Pozzoni Architecture has designed four of these five schools. The team working on site anticipates the school will be ready for its planned completion date in February 2022. Catherine Mulley, Director at Pozzoni and head of the practice’s education team, said: “The Avenue is testament to how great things can come in small packages. Everyone involved in the project is working collaboratively to deliver a school that provides everything its pupils need – a safe, happy and secure learning environment where they can ‘love, learn and laugh’ together.”

Glasgow City Council has appointed John McAslan + Partners as the architect for a major public realm scheme focused on George Square. The commission is for Block C of Glasgow City Council’s ambitious Avenues Programme – funded by the Glasgow City Region City Deal – comprising George Square and approximately 2.5km of the surrounding streetscape. John McAslan + Partners has been commissioned to reconsider the synergy and balance between George Square and the surrounding streets in relation to contemporary life. This involves clarifying the architectural and spatial qualities of the Square and its relationship to the surrounding urban context. The scope of the improvements will include George Street and St Vincent Street as well as John Street and Dundas Street. The scheme is part of the wider £115m Avenues initiative aimed at improving pedestrian connectivity and priority throughout the city, amid new tree planting, rain gardens, cycleways and improved public transport. Sustainability and community are at the heart of the brief with the aim of substantially enhancing the urban environment and opportunities for residents and visitors.

New competition set to deliver significant energy savings

Latest milestone celebrated at £73m aquatics hub

National contractor Wates Construction has reached its latest significant milestone in the construction of the £73m Sandwell Aquatics Centre, in Smethwick, procured through SCAPE, one of the UK’s leading procurement authorities, with the laying of the first of 190,000 pool tiles. The occasion was marked with a ceremony held at the site, attended by the Minister for Sport and Tourism, Nigel Huddleston and the leader of Sandwell Council, Councillor Rajbir Singh and other partners. The first tile was laid by Nigel Huddleston, MP and Councillor Rajbir Singh, leader of Sandwell Council, along with other dignitaries and two work experience students, Howard Dunn and Kye Roseblade. With less than a year till handover, Wates is now focused on completing the interior of the state-of-the-art facility and finishing its three pools. This will see up to 190,000 tiles laid carefully to waterproof the 50m Olympic-sized pool, 25m diving pool and community swimming pool ready for use. Some 3000m3 of concrete were used in the pools’ creation, which had to be carefully poured to an accuracy of mere millimetres to comply with Olympic standards.

Modular construction specialist Darwin Group has started construction on a new Learning Resource Centre and set of classrooms for Halliford School in Shepperton. The 805m2 build for the selective independent school is expected to be handed over in just 21 weeks to minimise disruption to the school and its local residents. Darwin Group will use its unique turnkey service, which covers all stages of design, planning and construction from start to finish. The eye-catching exterior of the brandnew build has been designed with numerous windows on each storey, creating a well-lit and spacious learning environment for the students and staff. Darwin Group will use modern methods of construction for the build utilising its highly controlled environment at the Shrewsbury-based factory. This will allow for quality control checks of the modules and means that, now works have started on site, waste will be minimised during installation. National contractor Wates Construction has begun work on a new £17m secondary school serving the local communities of Heywood, Middleton, Birch and Langley in Rochdale. The Edgar Wood Academy will be operated by the Altus Education Partnership (Altus), a multiacademy trust. The project was procured via the Department for Education’s (DfE) Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Framework and is the first of six MMC projects to hit site that Wates is undertaking since its appointment to the framework in January 2020. Designed by architectural practice, Sheppard Robson, the 900-pupil school for 11 to 16 year olds, which has a footprint of 6720m2, is being developed in response to increased demand for secondary places following the expansion of local primary schools and will be ready for September 2022. It will comprise a three-storey teaching block containing 23 general classrooms and 34 specialist classrooms, a sports hall, sports pitches, soft and hard play areas, car parking and drop-off areas. At the same time, Wates has worked closely with the DfE to develop temporary accommodation to house The Edgar Wood Academy’s first 120 year 7 students when they arrive in September 2021. The accommodation will be located on a site about three miles away at Hopwood Hall College.

Building product manufacturer IG Masonry Support is the first masonry support manufacturer to achieve carbon-neutral status and is on its way to becoming a net-zero energy company – the latest stage in IG Masonry Support’s sustainability journey. A manufacturer of innovative brickwork support systems, IG Masonry Support is leading the way in the Keystone Group, becoming the first company within the group as well as its sector to achieve carbon-neutral status. Speaking of IG Masonry Support’s latest achievement, Andy Neal, IG Masonry Support Managing Director, said: “We take our environmental responsibility seriously and are making the necessary changes within our business practices to become a net-carbon-zero company. I am proud that we have now achieved carbon-neutral status and are the first masonry support manufacturer in the UK to reach this goal. It is testament to our team’s passion and commitment to operating a sustainable business and to delivering sustainable products and solutions to our marketplace.”

Darwin Group to deliver a unique new build for Halliford School Wates Construction begins work on new Edgar Wood Academy