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NEWS INDUSTRY UPDATES

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

Diamond Build appointed for primary school revamp G F Tomlinson appointed to £7bn DfE framework

Suppliers appointed to £500m public sector framework

Following a successful tender process, Haringey Council has appointed building contractor Diamond Build to refurbish and remodel elements of a primary school in Tottenham, London. The £3.7m of onsite works will provide Chestnuts Primary School with two new classrooms, which will enable decanting during the programme and be retained on completion. Diamond Build will also be responsible for refurbishing sections of the building’s fabric, including the school’s roof, and installing new windows and repairing brickwork. To improve energy efficiency, the team will upgrade the heating and water system along with new loft insulation and install new emergency lighting, fire alarms and data cabling. Matthew Thomas, Operations Director at Diamond Build, said: “This is a crucial project for the school, which will overhaul many of the existing services. All the work will be carried out while the school remains open, so will require a carefully-managed decanting programme. This will enable the staff to continue with the day-today delivery of education on site while we deliver the upgrades.” The works are scheduled to be completed by autumn 2022.

AccXel is welcoming its VIP guests to celebrate the launch and success of a collaboration of the public and private sector as it pioneers the way in construction education. AccXel has been co-funded by HM Government, GFirst LEP and the family-owned construction business, K W Bell Group. The school has been established to tackle the severe skills shortage plaguing the construction industry, by recruiting new talent to the sector, helping the existing workforce progress to the next phase of their career and connecting both the education and industry sector to accelerate new skills. Nicola Bird, AccXel’s Founder and Managing Director, said: “We are so pleased to be finally opening the doors to AccXel. Over the past year, we have garnered a huge amount of support from within the construction industry, which has highlighted how desperately an education facility, like AccXel, is needed. We are so excited that our school has completed its construction phase, and we can finally put our plans to support the future of the construction workforce into fruition.” G F Tomlinson is celebrating its re-appointment as an approved partner for the new £7bn Department for Education 2021 Construction Framework, a four-year framework for the delivery of both education and non-education projects in the public sector. The framework supports the delivery of the Department for Education’s school building programmes, with an emphasis on achieving net-zero carbon in operation. Following a rigorous selection process, G F Tomlinson is one of only 26 contractors to be selected nationally, and will deliver projects valued between £0.5m and £6.0m across the East and West Midlands. This is the third consecutive Department for Education framework the regional contractor has been appointed to since 2014. Over the last eight years, the company has delivered more than £55m of new-build and refurbished primary, secondary, SEND and alternative provision schools, providing 4467 new pupil places across the Midlands. The new framework will be available to local authorities, schools, academies, FE colleges, universities and other public bodies which provide educational facilities in England, whilst also being available to central Government, including Government agencies.

Worth £500m over six years, the Multi-disciplinary Consultancy Services framework (MDC1) is available to public sector organisations across two of LHC’s divisions; CPC, which covers the north of England, the Midlands and Anglia, and LSE, covering London and South East. Gary Cawley, CPC Regional Director, welcomes the new construction framework with 12 workstreams – which can be used by a wide range of public sector clients including local authorities, registered social landlords, tenant management organisations and arm’s length management organisations, health authorities, councils, boards and trusts, publicly-funded schools and further education establishments, and registered charities. He comments: “This framework enables these organisations to access high-quality, pre-approved suppliers to achieve a compliant asset management regime across a range of buildings including education, healthcare and service stations, community buildings, residential properties (when part of a mixed-use development), commercial to residential conversions, and their associated works.”

The UK’s first co-funded, industry-led construction school opens its doors

Construction underway as former Slough council block gets set for residential transformation

Slough Borough Council’s former high street contact centre is undergoing a £26m transformation after property developer Kings Oak Capital secured support from Shawbrook Bank. Landmark Place, which used to house the council’s MyCouncil customer drop-in centre, is being redeveloped into 89 apartments with work due to complete by the end of 2022. A mix of studio, one- and two-bed flats will be listed from £260,000. The four-storey development will provide residents with car parking spaces, cycle lock-ups and extra storage space, while the ground floor will also include new retail space. Kings Oak Capital turned to Shawbrook Bank to help finance the project, securing a £26m finance package to help buy and redevelop the building. It’s the developer’s largest project to date. The firm, run by brothers Deepak and Sumeet Khullar, specialises in the conversion of former office spaces and recently completed a 73-apartment scheme in Harrow and a 40unit project in Staines.

Up to £4bn of new public sector civil engineering projects for local communities across the UK are set to be accelerated as part of a new set of frameworks being launched by SCAPE. The new format puts net-zero carbon construction and work for local SMEs at the heart of delivery. The public sector procurement authority has published details for its third generation civil engineering frameworks, with major contractors from across the UK invited to take part in the re-procurement in 2022. The re-procurement includes a £3.25bn framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a separate £750m framework for Scotland, managed and operated by SCAPE Scotland. Running for a period of four years from 2023, with an option to be extended for a further two years until 2029, the fully-managed frameworks will more than double the capacity of infrastructure-focused activity procured through SCAPE. This follows the success of its existing frameworks which have commissioned more than 250 projects to date for public sector clients across the UK. The current frameworks are due to expire in January 2023. Morgan Sindall Construction has completed work on a comprehensive refurbishment and expansion project at Ramsden Hall Academy in Billericay, Essex. The transformational project was delivered by the main contractor for the Department for Education (DfE), and is managed by the multi-academy trust, Parallel Learning Trust, whose mission is to build cultures of ambition for pupils from all backgrounds. Through this project, the trust aims to contribute to a vibrant population of thinkers, voters and entrepreneurs, especially within those groups historically excluded by deprivation and low attainment. Works included the construction of a brand-new threestorey residential block which will provide beds for 40 students, bolstering the academy’s ability to develop the pupil’s independent living skills. Peter Whitmore, Managing Director for Morgan Sindall Construction’s East region, said: “We’re delighted to have handed over this significant project, providing Ramsden Hall Academy with the space and facilities within which to provide a first-class education for those more vulnerable pupils for years to come.”

Independent property, construction and infrastructure firm, Pick Everard, is celebrating its latest strategic appointment, having been selected as a supplier of choice by Surrey County Council. The council is driving forward with its ambitious programme of transformation. This is being supported by a significant capital programme across Surrey over the coming years, which has seen the local authority seek strategic partners from across the construction supply chain. The council has set out an ambitious £1bn capital investment programme over the next four years over a number of directorates. Pick Everard will be supplying architecture, lead design, interior design, landscape design and principal designer services for all of the council’s upcoming major and education projects. This range of design services will be available to support all manner of education schemes, as well as larger-scale programmes under the major projects appointment. John Sharp, Operations Director at Pick Everard, said: “This was a competitive tender process, which saw the council seeking strategic partners from across the construction supply chain to support it in delivering excellent, high-quality new schemes for its constituents. We are thrilled to have been identified as the design services supplier of choice for major works and education projects, which will allow us to bring forward our extensive experience to assist the council in creating the best possible facilities for its people.”

SCAPE unveils £4bn national civil engineering frameworks Morgan Sindall Construction grows new SEMH school in Essex woodland