Premier Construction Magazine 16-9

Roma Publications

Volume 16 - Issue 9

The Crossings Homeless Centre Fantastic new centre is bringing back hope to Hull’s homeless

Dunfermline East Church Prayers, worship and Zumba lessons for new church centre

Birmingham New Street Station New Street, new start: £600m improvement project to benefit passengers

Tate Modern ‘Inspiring creativity’: £215 project to coincide with the Olympic Games

Contents PREMIER CONSTRUCTION Dear readers, This month’s edition of Premier Construction focuses on new beginnings. We explore how buildings are not only an opportunity to reach towards the future, but a chance to build on the past.

T.S Eliot wrote: “What we call the beginning is often the end.

And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

This is nowhere more apparent than in the construction industry, where structures are demolished and land obliterated in order to create new buildings. It is a continuous cycle that ensures an endless supply of opportunities for growth and development.

The new Devilla Sawmill in West Fife has been built using the client’s own standard production timber. The trees that are cut down will live on through the new building, which will supply FSC certified timber for many more construction projects.

In April 2012, the new Sea City Museum in Southampton will open on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster. This building will celebrate the tragic demise of the RMS Titanic and the rich history that it has brought to Southampton, in the process creating job opportunities for the local people.

Our history is also celebrated by the impressive new facilities at Tate Modern, whilst at Trumpington Meadows, remains from the Neolithic and Iron Age periods have been discovered.

Birmingham New Street, which has undergone little improvement since the 1960s, will see the old and tattered

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facades of the station renewed and the area renovated.

Meanwhile in Cuckfield, the beautiful Ockenden Manor spa retreat is to be built in the derelict walled garden, which in the Victorian era was home to accommodation and workshops for the gardeners.

New starts can also be seen in the new The Crossings Homeless Centre in Hull, which will give hope back to the homeless, and the construction of a centre for the Dunfermline East Church of Scotland.

We now invite you, readers, to join us as we unearth our past to build our future.

North West Radclyffe Park ....................................................................................................8

North East & Yorkshire The Crossings Homeless ................................................................................18

Midland & East Anglia Birmingham New Street Station......................................................................22

South West Drift Water Treatment Works..........................................................................36

London & South East Orbit Housing...................................................................................................40 Tate Modern.....................................................................................................46

Wales Pembroke Power Station.................................................................................70 Shotton Converter Station ..............................................................................80

Scotland Rosehall Wind farm ........................................................................................86 Dunfirmline East Church.................................................................................98

Ireland Ballycastle Marina..........................................................................................100

Heritage Restoration & Conservation Mortars............................................................104

Associations Construction Skills.........................................................................................112

Managing Director: Marcus Howarth Editor:

Charlotte Emily Brazier

Editorial Assistant: Lesley Coward, Joanne Binns Production Manager: Nicola Owen Advert Co-ordinator: Joanne Murphy

Published by:

Roma Publications Ltd.

t: 01706 719 972 f: 0845 458 4446 e: admin@romauk.net w: www.romauk.net Graphic Design by:

www.marcusmacaulay.co.uk

© Roma Publications Ltd. All contents are copyright. All rights are reserved. No part may be stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the publishers.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies however caused. Contributed material does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. the editorial policy and general layout of this publication are at the discretion of the publisher and no debate will be entered into. No responsibility can be accepted for illustrations, artwork or photographs whilst in transmission with the publishers or their agents unless a commitment is made in writing prior to the receipt of such terms.

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Wilson Bowden gets green light for 30-hectare Leicester scheme Wilson Bowden Developments has been granted planning permission for a major employment-led development which is set to create 2,500 jobs in Leicester and the surrounding areas over the next 10 years.

Following a public local inquiry and appeal by Wilson Bowden earlier this year, planning permission was granted by Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles.

The 30 hectare strategic employment site will be located to the west of Glenfield on the north-western fringe of Leicester just off Junction 21a of the M1.

The mixed commercial scheme will include 80,000sqft of office space as well as 1.1sqft of warehousing and industrial units. The scheme also incorporates 250 new family homes as well as a new local centre, creating a sustainable location and development mix.

£50m Wolves academy gets planning approval A £50 million football training facility for Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, plus a new secondary school and homes, have been given planning approval.

The plans include creating a new home for St Edmund’s Catholic School, whose site the club will take over.

Wolves chairman Steve Morgan’s building firm, Redrow Homes, has also won permission to build 55 homes at the Compton Park site.

The FA Category One Academy will feature a full-size indoor training pitch and an all-weather outdoor pitch.

Redrow will now buy the Compton Park campus of the University of Wolverhampton and build houses on some of it, handing over the rest to the school. Redrow will also make a £2.45m donation.

Wolves will also hand St Edmund’s £2.5m for the existing school site, whilst the school has £7.9m of Building Schools for the Future money to spend on the project.

The scheme will go ahead as long as it is not called in by Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles.

Carillion wins £450m energy services contracts Carillion has won a pair of support services contracts in the energy sector that are together worth approximately £450m.

Carillion has signed a five-year framework contract to provide gas and multiutility services for Fulcrum, potentially worth £70 million.

Secondly, in joint venture with Eltel Networks, Carillion has been named preferred bidder by National Grid to provide refurbishment and upgrade services for its 400kV overhead transmission network in England and Wales, potentially worth up to £375m over five years.

Under the framework contract with Fulcrum, which starts immediately, Carillion will deliver gas and multi-utility connections across the north of England, north and central Wales, West Midlands,

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East Midlands and East Anglia.

Carillion-Eltel Networks, a 50:50 partnership, will work in alliance with National Grid under a framework agreement to deliver overhead line transmission services. This work forms part of National Grid’s £22bn investment programme.

The main contract starts in April 2012, with the volume of work allocated to the JV increasing annually, subject to performance. This deal follows the award last week of a £500m power line construction contract by National Grid to MSVE Transmission, a joint venture of Morgan Sindall and Vinci Energies.

Balfour Beatty wins £290m Scottish electricity contract Balfour Beatty has been awarded a £290m contract by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission to replace the electricity transmission line between Beauly and Wharry Burn, 20km north of Denny.

The contract is a significant part of the overall Beauly-Denny scheme and involves the project development, design, material provision and installation of a 200km double circuit 400kV overhead electricity transmission line and associated civil and access works. This includes the construction of temporary access roads and associated improvements to some private roads.

It will replace an existing 132kV overhead transmission line that will be dismantled during the contract period including reinstatement of the existing sites.

Work being carried out by Balfour Beatty is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Mike Sparrow, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions managing director, said: "We are delighted to be awarded this complex project to upgrade the electrical infrastructure from the Highlands to the central belt of Scotland. We look forward to working with SSE and local communities to sensitively and successfully deliver this contract which will ensure that Scotland has the robust electricity network necessary to enable it to become a European leader in decarbonisation, through connection of its targeted growth in renewable generation."

“Housing market is improving,” reports the latest poll of Surveyors.

The UK housing market showed signs of life during October, according to the latest poll of surveyors.

“Sales and new buyer enquiries edged up compared with the previous month,” the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.

One theory is that sellers were becoming more realistic about pricing homes.

However, other surveys have shown that prices have remained relatively static. Nationwide Building Society recently described house prices in the UK as “treading water.”

Some surveyors have now reported that some sellers are becoming more willing to take lower offers to secure a sale.

This meant 8% more surveyors reported a rise in newly agreed sales than those

Morgan Sindall returns to Old Trafford Morgan Sindall has signed a £12.3m contract to build two new grandstands at Old Trafford cricket ground.

This is the contractor's second project for Lancashire County Cricket Club, having built the £12m conference and events venue, The Point, which opened last year.

In the next phase in the redevelopment of the ground, Morgan Sindall will build two new grandstands with a combined capacity of more than 7,000 seats and a four-storey player and media centre.

Ground-clearing work is already underway and the first foundations are now being laid. Work to this phase will be complete in the summer of 2012, well in time for The Ashes to return to Old Trafford in 2013.

who reported a fall.

This was the highest level on this measure since April 2010.

Completed sales and new buyer enquiries also rose compared with September, the Rics survey showed.

A greater proportion of surveyors reported that prices had fallen, rather than risen, and they expected this trend to continue.

“It is encouraging that activity levels appear to have edged upwards over the past month. Indeed, chartered surveyors are generally upbeat about the near-term prospects for transactions,” said Ian Perry, housing spokesman for Rics.

This comes the day after the Halifax said that housing market activity had been “highly resilient” despite weakness in the UK and global economy.

However, Mr Perry warned that the effects of the eurozone crisis would mean any recovery in sales would be modest, and affect the ability of UK banks to lend.

This could mean that first-time buyers will still need high deposits.

“This will inevitably leave many people who would like to own a home unable to access the market,” he said.

Five win place on EN’s £975m framework Five contractors have secured a place on the £975 million Efficiency North (EN) Procure Elemental Framework for the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Procurement consortium EN has setup the four-year framework to deliver works for seven different registered social landlords.

The chosen five are Bramall Construction, Forrest, Lovell, Vinci and Kier.

The framework includes several refurbishment work streams including solar PV panel installation, external doors, electrical installation, bathrooms and plumbing, kitchens and joinery, external rendering and roofing.

Forrest chief executive Lee McCarren said: “This is a landmark framework for Forrest.

Collaborative procurement bodies like EN provide an innovative way of delivering major works programmes across multiple, large frameworks simultaneously while guaranteeing delivery standards.”

EN’s members are; Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC) and its ALMO Berneslai Homes, Doncaster MBC and ALMO St Leger Homes, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Kingstonupon-Hull City Council, Selby District Council, Sheffield City Council and its ALMO Sheffield Homes and Wakefield & District Housing.

£6.8m Strand office block redevelopment ISG will reconfigure and retrofit Manfield House in the Strand to deliver commercial office accommodation rated as BREEAM excellent.

The contractor will strip out the eight-storey, 1930s building and carry out major internal structural alterations to create a central core with three passenger lifts, service risers and toilet facilities.

Complex temporary works are required to enable a ground floor retail unit and restaurant to continue to trade unaffected throughout the duration of the project.

A new enlarged reception area will be created at ground floor level, and the existing feature staircase to first floor level will be refurbished and modernised.

Approximately 40,000 sq ft GIA of open plan office accommodation will be fitted out to Cat A standard and externally, the building’s Portland Stone façade will be cleaned and repaired, windows replaced and a plant deck and screen installed at roof level.

The project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2012.

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Regeneration of Salford begins at Radclyffe Park Russells Construction has almost completed a £50m mixed-use development project in Radclyffe Park, on a four acre site on the corner of Trafford Road and Phoebe Street in the Ordsall area of Salford.

Designed by Liverpool-based architect Falconer Chester Hall, Radclyffe Park is the latest phase in the £150m regeneration of Ordsall by LPC Living, in conjunction with Salford City Council.

The developer has already delivered a range of exciting new benefits for the area, including the Primrose Hill Primary School, the first phase of a planned 500 modern affordable homes and improvements to parks and open spaces. The overall scheme also includes a hotel and large and small retail opportunities, and is expected to create more than 500 jobs, with priority given to those in the local community.

Simon Ashdown, development director for LPC Living, said: “With MediaCityUK on the doorstep, this part of Salford is a hub for new and exciting development at the moment. Although MediaCityUK will be a huge boost in terms of attracting new people to the region, it is equally important to make sure that local people have the top class facilities and quality housing that they deserve. LPC Living is committed to delivering more new homes which will be realistically priced to ensure the local community will benefit, and a great new shopping area.”

This phase of the project at Radclyffe Park has comprised: a 50,000ft² Morrisons supermarket; a two-storey, 359-space car park; 79 new homes (a mixture of apartments and mews houses); 12 non-food retail outlets, and a 156-bed Travelodge hotel. The construction of the Morrisons supermarket is now

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complete and the small retail units and residential sections are set to be complete between November and February.

Russells Construction won the contract for the Radclyffe Park project after a five way pitch. Andrew Russell, managing director of Trafford-based Russells Construction, said: “It is always very satisfying to win a contract in a tender situation, even more so for a scheme which is set to bring such benefits to the local community. I believe we were successful because of our strong credentials in both the retail and residential sectors, and because we have a track record of delivering complex schemes on time and on budget. The Radclyffe Park development is

an important milestone in the regeneration of Ordsall and one we’re delighted to be involved with.”

Alastair Shepherd from Falconer Chester Hall Architects described the layout of the Radclyffe Park project. He said: “This was a large scheme on a tight site, bounded by four roads. There were some difficulties regarding the supermarket servicing and restricting the amount of vehicles on site, as we did not want vehicles to dominate a largely residential area. We therefore had to make sure that the trucks and cars were hidden as much as possible. In addition, the whole project team is working very closely with the local community to ensure that they are fully informed of what is going on and are engaged in the regeneration process. As the Radclyffe Park development

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N o r th We s t comprises simultaneous projects, careful site management has been required throughout the programme of works.

“The apartment duplexes offer an innovative solution to housing; each of them is dual aspect with an upstairs and a downstairs and every apartment has outside space. The properties are BREEAM Code level 3 so each of the apartments is environmentally sound. In addition, we have selected brickwork that is suitable to the area and have used inset rainscreen cladding to add colour.

“The project is progressing extremely well. The contractors are doing an excellent job and have been very proactive, particularly considering the tight time scales they have had to work to.

We are delighted with how the project has turned out and there has been some great feedback from the community. We have worked with LPC Living in the area for a number of years, and

this is the next step in the regeneration of Salford.”

Russells Construction and developer LPC have now handed the shell to Morrisons, who have commenced the fit-out of the store in preparation for its opening before the end of this year.

Andrew Russell said: “This handover is an important milestone in the regeneration of Ordsall and we are looking forward to supporting the Morrisons team as they take over the building and ready the store for opening. I’m pleased with how smoothly the project has run considering what a busy development site this is. We have worked closely with an expert team – the architects, our valued supply chain, LPC Living and Morrisons – to ensure the timely delivery of this scheme and understand how important the new store is to the local community, with whom we have been working with very closely, in particular through the schools project we are running with LPC Living.”

The Barlow RC High School to be transformed in £11.2m project The Barlow RC High School in Didsbury, Manchester is undergoing a major remodelling, demolition and new build scheme. Under the project, the existing buildings will be modernised to complement the already completed new two-storey science building constructed in order to express the school’s Science Specialism.

Main contractors Cruden Construction and architects Ellis Williams are carrying out the £11.2m project, which began in April 2010 and is expected to be complete in February 2012.

Funded by the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment programme, the project enables the school to provide students with a state-of-the-art education in an attractive modern setting.

The existing school buildings are being completely refurbished with all existing services stripped out and replaced. In addition, the walls will be replaced to better utilise the space available and ease circulation. Externally, the buildings will be completely reglazed and will either be finished with Sto render and rainscreen cladding to complement the new building or the original buff brick will be cleaned. The furniture and equipment of these areas is also being replaced to service the new Maths, Music, Art, Design and Technology and Food Technology faculties.

The new two-storey science block faces the courtyard and comprises glazed curtain walls combined with terracotta rainscreen panels. In addition, there is also a white render to tie in the new building with the treatment of the external facades of the old. A flat roof consisting of a single ply membrane covers the external wall on the courtyard side to form a covered colonnade and walkway around the internal elevation of the building.

Landscaping has included the creation of a landscaped courtyard, which has become a social heart for the school. This area includes a single-storey ‘pavilion’ providing a food servery, toilets and student services.

Head Teacher, Claire McCarron, said: “The new state-of-theart science building and ICT facilities have delighted our students at the Barlow RC High School. These excellent facilities are long awaited. The children in this area truly deserve the opportunities the Building Schools for the Future project offers.

We hope that the new facilities are not only good news for the pupils and the dedicated staff but for our local community, with primary schools, groups and other organisations benefiting too.

With the launch of the new science department and the GCSE results that placed us as one of the top 3 schools in Manchester, these are certainly exciting times for The Barlow.”

The founding member of the Cruden Group, Cruden Construction enjoys an enviable reputation for consistently high standards of workmanship, flexibility and approachability.

Extensive expertise in social housing, extracare, educational, leisure, industrial and commercial sectors is demonstrated through a comprehensive portfolio of completed projects throughout the Northwest.

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Praise for contractors on superb new care centre scheme A brand new state of the art care centre has just been completed in a development which has produced a striking building incorporating the front facade and side gables of the Victorian former St James Primary School which previously occupied the site in Millbrook, Tameside.

The scheme was carried out for Meridian Healthcare. Main Contractors were HH Smith & Sons who have been praised for their performance on the project by Mr Tony Greenhalgh of Quadrant ABS, who provided architectural services for the scheme. “HH Smith & Son did a fabulous job. I would highly recommend them,” he said.

The development, designed to provide hotel style residential accommodation, included the demolition of the remainder of the former school building, which was constructed in 1847.

In addition to the main building with the retained facade, the development included the construction of a single storey link connecting the main building to a further two storey new building with basement to the rear. This design has resulted from the fact that the project is within a conservation area and the construction of the link building allows the new two storey building to be set sufficiently far back so as not to detract from the architecturally significant retained facade of the main building.

The main building has been re-roofed using the original slates to the front elevation, with matching reclaimed slates to the rear.

The new link and two storey building feature external elevations in stone with hardwood sliding sash windows throughout and an artificial slate covered pitched tiled roof

The Millbrook care centre has 46 large single bedrooms, all over 12 square metres and all with full en suite facilities with walk in showers. All rooms are tastefully decorated, fully furnished

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N o r th We s t and finished with high quality carpets, curtains and bedding, with enough space for personal belongings. The development also includes specialist bathing and showering facilities.

A variety of communal areas are also provided, including an attractive reception area, a sun lounge with folding patio doors leading onto secure landscaped gardens, as well as a light and spacious lounge and dining room divided by a 2.4 m high partition over which is a 5.5 m high vaulted ceiling. Five original Queen Post trusses have been refurbished and retained to form a feature within the lounge. Other facilities include further lounges, a cinema room, a family room, a kitchen, laundry, staff facilities, a hairdressing salon and nail bar.

External works include the creation of a 13-space car park to the front apron of the development as well as a new egress road to one side of the scheme. South facing landscaped gardens have also been created.

The Millbrook development forms part of a wider investment programme across the group. Meridian plan to add over 400 new beds to the existing 1338 bed stock in the next four years through development and acquisition. In the medium term, Meridian have earmarked £12m for further investment within the Tameside area alone.

Meridian Healthcare is an independent provider of care services. The company strive to improve the quality of life of older people through the provision of excellent long term care services and accommodation.

Meridian Healthcare’s services are influenced by their 1300+ residents, their families, day care users, health professionals and staff. A continual programme of improvements to both facilities and services reflects the company’s goal to provide the best possible care and accommodation for residents. Meridian employs over 1200 people across 28 sites.

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World class healthcare facilities to be provided by £350m programme The state-of-the-art Whiston Hospital is being developed alongside the St. Helens Hospital, in a £350 million PFI redevelopment programme to provide world class healthcare facilities for the people of St. Helens, Knowsley and Halton.

Architects Capita Symonds Ltd, main contractors Vinci Construction Ltd and St. Helens & Knowsley Healthcare Trust are working together to deliver the project, which is expected to be fully complete in 2012.

The £250m Whiston Hospital is an acute facility and restructures all of the Trust’s main clinical services and wards into a single building, whilst the £100m St. Helens District Treatment Centre (DTC) provides out-patient-style services in an alternative environment to traditional hospital planning.

Ann Marr, Chief Executive, said: “This is a very exciting time for the Trust. Our new facilities at St. Helens and Whiston have been purpose-designed with the involvement of the clinical staff who will be working here.

“This is the biggest investment in healthcare in the community since the NHS was founded 60 years ago and it will bring real benefits to the people of Knowsley, St. Helens and Halton.”

MP Shaun Woodward added: “You have to see it to believe it. This is mind blowing. But no more than my constituents deserve. And to see this world class facility going up next to the old hospital is even more stunning. It will be fantastic for patients and will give staff the facilities they need.”

The new £250m Whiston Hospital has been constructed on

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the grounds of the existing hospital and construction and therefore complex planning was required in order to keep existing services running whilst a fully integrated and efficient 90,000m² hospital was built. The clinical requirements of the hospital meant that the development was built with functionality in mind;

in order to create efficient circulation and interconnection, the wards are satellited to a clinical core.

The building was constructed using a large scale panelock system, with panelled MDF and brick slips. Each of the 3m x 3m strips was delivered on site and fixed onto the wall by metal bracings. The panel lock system is an interesting aspect of the development as it has not been used for such a large project before.

Landscaping has comprised a large plaza, which creates an attractive entrance. The materials used around the site are in keeping with the existing site materials, for instance the use of sandstone for the boundary walls. Additional parking space has also been created. There are attractive courtyards across both hospitals to add to the Trust’s ‘Healing By Design’ principals, which aim to create a more peaceful atmosphere in order for patients to better recuperate.

The new £100m St. Helens hospital is designed around a dynamic central atrium. From the outside, the interior design – which has incorporated different colours to identify the different wards – can be seen, especially at night. The 30,000m² hospital also features large curtain wall facade with terracotta tile cladding.

Because the site slopes significantly, the stepped building is accommodated on four levels, framed in reinforced concrete to achieve a flat slab construction.

Mark Vaughan from Capita Symonds Ltd, Cardiff Office said: “By standardising clinical layouts across both hospitals, St. Helens and Knowsley Trust have a strong basis for providing consistent healthcare throughout.

“The project has progressed extremely well: all the teams have worked well together and have delivered it at ease without any major problems. I believe that group relations have been built between Capita Symonds, Vinci and the St. Helens/ Knowsley Trust.”

Capita Symonds Ltd is one of the UK’s largest multifaceted companies, delivering property and infrastructure projects on a local, national and international scale. They deliver a comprehensive service to clients across their portfolio through an unrivalled scope of services and a unique blend of professional and technical expertise. With 4,000 staff in more than 50 offices in the UK and internationally, Capita Symonds Ltd design, manage and partner projects, focusing on building strategic relationships with their clients. They support their clients at all stages of a project or programme, in the process optimising the benefits of continuous improvement in design quality, efficiency, cost reduction and knowledge retention.

Capita Symonds Ltd is a wholly-owned division of The Capita Group Plc, a FTSE 100 member and the UK’s leading provider of integrated professional support service solutions.

KaVo Dental Provides Top of the Range Dental Equipment KaVo Dental is a German company established in back in 1909 and committed to providing Dental Excellence around the world.

The company is part of the Danaher Corporation, who operates a portfolio of premier brands with 59,000 associates working in companies in 125 countries around the world.

KaVo have been established in the UK for almost 50 years (in 2012) and provides a wide range of treatment centres, handpieces and imaging equipment that is designed and manufactured with the common aim of providing the dental professional with outstanding, ergonomically designed, high performance clinical equipment.

KaVo recommended one of their most reputable dental seating units in terms of design and performance, the Primus 1058, renowned for its outstanding ergonomics and beautiful shape.

KaVo and Taylor Woodrow (Vinci) have worked closely together on several projects over a number of years, and as such were

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N o r th We s t recommended to provide the dental equipment for this project, working with Capita Symonds on the vision and architecture, and Vinci Construction to bring it to life.

Next year, KaVo will celebrate 50 years of providing Dental

Construction News

Call our news team on 01706 719972

Sir Tommy Finney Sports Centre is finished

conferences, exhibitions and student events. To cater for the University’s diverse range of students, the building also incorporates a 90 pupil nursery, Muslim prayer facilities and the provision of out-of-hours services. The facility will also act as a venue for international sporting events and the university’s summer schools.

Tom Finney is already an honorary fellow of the University and has enjoyed an exemplary sports career. He scored 30 goals in 76 England appearances and played 433 games during his 14 year career with the Deepdale club. The eighty seven year-old was overjoyed by the news. He said: “I am delighted to have the building named after me and to help put Preston and UCLan on the sporting map. Sport plays a key role in the whole student experience and many will benefit

A new £12m sports centre for the University of Central Lancashire opened its doors on Friday 4th November 2011. Named in honour of the former Preston North End player Sir Tommy Finney, the centre is aimed to help the University achieve its ambition to become one of the top ten providers of sports education in the UK – delivering high quality courses under its sub-brand, UCLan Sport.

The state-of-the-art indoor sports facility was designed by ADP: Architects and comprises four floors. On the lower ground floor, there are two sports halls, a squash court and bleacher seating for 300 people; whilst on the upper ground floor there are changing areas and a viewing area. The first floor contains two purpose built studios which house a variety of dance, martial arts and fitness classes and the second floor contains an air conditioned fitness suite comprising: 60+ CV equipment, 25+ resistance, free weights and a ‘Cardio Zone.’

The large flexible spaces can be used for

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Excellence to the UK dental market. The company have a large team of Sales Representatives across the country who are ably assisted by a team of nationwide technicians and support staff in commercial areas at the head office in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.

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www.romauk.net

from these fantastic new facilities.”

Tom Finney’s son unveiled the plaque at the University of Central Lancashire, along with football pundit Mark Lawrenson, UCLan vice-chancellor Dr. Malcom McVicar and former Blackpool player Jimmy Armfield.

The centre is open to all UCLan students and staff as well as to the university’s extensive partner college network based across the North West.

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All in a day’s work: WWII bombs and an archaeological dig for The Crossings homeless centre A new £5m centre that will provide temporary accommodation, support and training for homeless people has opened its doors at Great Union Street, Hull.

Community regeneration specialist Frank Haslam Milan (FHM) completed the project for Riverside-ECHG following a 12-month construction project that included searches for unexploded World War II bombs and an archaeological dig for Roman artefacts. Riverside-ECHG and local charity HULLHARP will now take over the running of the scheme.

The new centre has 46 beds and will provide health services and employment skills training to residents, along with a community cafe that will also be open to the public. The development has been designed with high levels of insulation and low air permeability in order to provide an energy efficient building fabric. Solar thermal hot water heating, air source heat pumps, under floor heating, MVHR, low energy lights, high efficiency gas back up boilers and rainwater harvesting for the flushing toilets are also included to reduce running costs. The architects for the project were Browne Smith Baker, one of the Northeast’s leading architectural groups.

FHM’s Project Manager, Gary Williams, said: “This is a project that we are very proud of. The land The Crossings is built on has a very rich history. It has been inhabited by Roman communities and was repeatedly bombed during WWII. This meant that a lot of work was we needed before we could even begin the development.

“We used bomb disposal experts to excavate the site and catered for archaeologists who wanted to carry out digs for Roman artefacts before we could begin to take down the engineering works that were on the site.

“It is fantastic to see The Crossings completed and I’m sure it is going to play an important role in supporting the local community.”

The idea behind the scheme is not just to provide homeless people with somewhere to stay, but to help them find a job and their own permanent property. The cafe will be ran as a social enterprise and staffed by volunteers who have suffered different types of homelessness. It will be open Monday to Friday and will be open to the public as well as residents of The Crossing.

It is hoped that the cafe will attract other agencies working on homeless issues as well as members of the public.

In April 2011, homeless people from the Roper Street hostel helped to bury a time capsule – containing high-visibility jackets, images of Hull, artefacts from the city’s bombing in World War II and a photograph of one of the resident’s children. Later that month, homeless people from the city took part in a training programme in which they were allowed on the site to help work on finishing the building, for instance painting and decorating.

Gary Williams’ extensive preparation work for the develop-

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ment has earned him a series of health and safety awards. He received a commended and a highly commended award in the multi-storey category of the National House-Building Council’s (NHBC) Health and Safety Awards, and was then crowned as the regional winner for the development. He has also been shortlisted for a NHBC Pride in the Job award.

He said: “The awards highlighted how much emphasis we needed to put on health and safety preparation. This was a complex build with many obstacles to overcome.”

Development Manager for Riverside-ECHG, Andrew Williamson, praised FHM’s work on the project. He said: “FHM’s strong project management process ensured the timely delivery of the scheme and importantly gave the opportunity for our clients to gain basic construction skills raining by working alongside FHM’s own workmen towards the final stages of the build process.”

He concluded by saying: “The finished scheme is a credit to all those who have been involved in the project.”

Chartford Homes prove their worth in the residential sector Chartford Homes, one of the up-and-coming frontrunners within the residential sector, are completing a range of new build housing developments across Leeds. With their wealth of experience, Chartford aim to make purchasing a new home a straightforward and stress-free experience for all buyers. Recently completed developments include: Bentley Mews, Hazel Mews, Kerry Mews, Park Way Lodge, Lime Tree Lodge and Shiredene.

One of the projects currently underway is The Park in Cookridge, a new development of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom family homes, set in the mature grounds of the former Arthington convalescing hospital.

Phase One of The Park, the completion of the show houses, is due to finish in around a month’s time, whilst the remaining 19 plots on the phase are still under construction.

There is a good mix of house types on the development; the two-bedroom homes will be perfect for first time buyers, whilst the four-bedroom homes could easily accommodate families.

Chartford Homes are currently in talks with the local council to agree the numbers for Affordable Housing.

The show homes feature a facing brick exterior, with timber windows and natural slate roofs. The windows are particularly impressive as they are traditional sliding sash with horns and are cream in colour, standing in stark contrast to the red brickwork.

Each Chartford home is carefully and thoughtfully designed by a team of professionals, ensuring a high quality finish. The master bedrooms will benefit from an en suite with a contemporary white suite, whilst kitchens and bathrooms will be finished to

a high standard with chrome fittings and stylish ceramics. All homes will feature gas central heating and double glazing.

The development has been thoughtfully designed in conjunction with local authority design standards and careful consideration has been given to the landscaping and green space alongside the spine road which sweeps through the development.

Dan Saxton from Chartford Homes commented: “The project has been carefully designed after lengthy consultation with the Leeds City Council Planning Team and we believe that our scheme delivers much needed housing for the local community.”

Chartford Homes are also currently developing 14 exclusive

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three-bedroom detached homes at The Oval in Farsley and 14 three-bedroom semi detached homes at The Hawthorns in Skelton Woods.

architecture, through contemporary apartments offering stylish interiors and design, to the refurbishment of existing buildings restored to the highest standard.

Chartford Homes say: “Here at Chartford Homes, we consider every detail of our developments to be special. We focus on the requirements of each purchaser to create quality living space and seek to add that special ingredient which makes it your home.

“With years of experience behind us, Chartford make buying a new home a straightforward and stress-free experience for you.

“The Chartford team will strive to deliver your ideal Chartford home.”

“From classic new build homes inspired by solid traditions of

Harrogate International Centre means big business An exciting £12m project to construct two new event halls for the Harrogate International Centre in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, is nearing completion. Works began on

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site in August 2010 and are expected to be complete in a matter of weeks.

The Centre has been opened since 1982 and over the years

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has hosted such prestigious events as the Eurovision Song contest. Indeed, it is the third largest integrated venue in the UK, inferior in size only to the SECC in Glasgow and Alexandra Place in London. Under the project, two additional halls – intended for use as exhibition centres or conference halls – have been constructed in order to cement the Centre’s reputation as one of the most important event facilities in the UK. Wates Construction have been contracted to complete the build, whilst the Borough Council’s Building Management Team will provide the internal project management and Turner Townsend will provide the external project management.

Ingenium Archial are the architects for the £12m project, which was jointly funded by the local authority and Yorkshire Forward.

The two new halls are located to the north east edge of the existing venue, along Springfield Avenue. The new facilities will link directly to the main auditorium and Queen’s Suite, therefore allowing two large scale events to run simultaneously and providing an additional banqueting capacity of 1,800 guests.

Sustainability was key to the project and this was key to the design from the outset; a number of cutting edge features have been incorporated into the design. These include: enhanced insulation levels to reduce energy consumption, sustainably sourced timber, rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing, efficient automatic controls and energy metering, and a CHP engine that burns fish oil in order to generate heat and power for the site.

In addition, the halls have a Sedum roof in order to encourage

biodiversity. There was a requirement in the contract to achieve BREEAM ‘Very Good’ - however, subject to final approval, the development is on anticipated to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’.

In addition to the two new 1600m² event halls, there are new and improved public areas and public realm improvements along King’s Road, with a new entrance building giving direct access to Queen’s Suite, Hall D, King’s Suite and the new outdoor piazza.

An improved street level entrance direct to Hall Q has also been created, along with a 50-space basement car park.

The project was not without its complications, as Simon Bell from Ingenium Archial explains: “The main issue in terms of the building process was that the building completely covers the available site - therefore there is no space around the building to construct. In essence, the below ground car park was constructed, and utilised as a storage and build whilst construction proceeded above.”

The project will not only cement HIC’s reputation as a leader in the events business, but it is also hoped that it will generate business for the local economy. It is estimated that 3-4,000 local jobs are reliant or substantially dependent on business tourism, whilst events at HIC can generate over 300,000 bed nights for local hotels. Indeed, it is estimated that business tourism brings in over £150 million annually to the local economy through visitor and organiser expenditure, with a large proportion of this attributable to events taking place at the HIC.

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New Street, New Start New Street Station, one of the busiest and most important rail hubs in the country, will soon be transformed into a world-class interchange through a £600 million improvement project, known as New Street Gateway.

The improvements will create an icon for Britain’s second city, and set new standards for comfort and convenience which will benefit rail travelers up and down the country.

The project began in September 2009 and is expected to be complete in early 2016. The first phase (the construction of the concourse) is expected to be complete in 2012/13 and the second phase (the atrium) the following year. The New Street Gateway will remain fully operational throughout.

Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency (RDA) for the West Midlands, have contributed £100m – the largest investment in a single project by any RDA in the country – whilst the Department of Transport is providing a total of £288m, pledged in two stages. The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will provide £100m, and the Government will provide £388m. Network Rail (Britain’s railway infrastructure operator) committed £128m and Centro a further £10m, along with other contributions from the private sector.

The programme is being delivered by a heavyweight team comprising Advantage West Midlands, Birmingham City Council, Centro and Network Rail. The partnership was formed to deliver an iconic landmark befitting Birmingham’s status as a fulcrum for the British transport network, and relieve the strain which has blighted New Street in recent years.

Approximately 60% of the trains travelling between London and the North of England each day pass through New Street

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and the total number of people who use the station each week equates to the entire population of Manchester and Liverpool combined. Yet New Street has received little improvement or enlargement since it opened in the 1960s, and now receives more than double the number of passengers it was originally designed to handle.

As a result of this onerous workload, the existing facilities have come under increasing strain and the facades of the station have become aged and tattered. The Gateway project will make the station wider and more accessible, reducing congestion and inconvenience for passengers, and give the facility a fresh, dynamic image for the 21st century.

Specific Improvements The existing platforms will be made brighter, clearer and more accessible, with 8 new entrances, 14 new lifts and 42 new escalators providing better access for all.

Meanwhile an iconic new façade will build on Birmingham’s emerging reputation for good design: a grand concourse (three and a half times bigger than the present hall) will create a new focal point for the building, enclosed by a 2,800m² atrium filled with natural light.

In addition to these essential improvements, the shopping centre above the station will receive a complete makeover, and the exterior of the station will take on a gentle curving form, and will be covered in reflective sheets of metal.

The façade will incorporate three high-technology digital displays reporting train timetable information, which will enhance movement through the station and make the entrances to the

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Finally the project will facilitate a major commercial mixed-use development opportunity for two 30-storey towers to the southern aspect, all surrounded by pleasant new public spaces and squares.

Several sustainable and environmentally considerate features have been included in the design. Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) will help manage storm and surface water that runs off surfaces, preventing flooding and the overloading of sewers, whilst systems for harvesting rainwater and grey water have been included to facilitate essential functions such as toilet flushing.

Green roofs will provide a plethora of environmental benefits, soaking up storm water and air pollution while absorbing carbon dioxide and providing a valuable city centre wildlife habitat.

Recent milestones The project reached a major milestone when Birmingham City Council completed the purchase of The Pallasades shopping centre, directly above the station.

The Pallasades is key to the redevelopment of the entire area as part of the flagship scheme, a fact recognised by Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council and chairman of the New Street Funders Board.

Cllr Whitby said: “This is a significant development in the Gateway project and its speedy acquisition means that the momentum is building towards delivering a completely new rail station for Birmingham, the region and the UK. “The purchase of the Centre was an important component of the plan, and shows our commitment to the project and our determination to ensure Birmingham has a station fit for the future.

“Network Rail is a key partner in our proposals and they will continue to undertake the day-to-day management of the Centre, through their current agents Savilles. So, it will be ‘business as usual’ for tenants, staff and shoppers alike – a New Start for New Street begins now.”

Mick Laverty, chief executive at Advantage West Midlands, said: “This is an important and positive step forward for the Gateway project, particularly in such a challenging time for the economy.

“Our £100 million investment is still the largest investment in a single regeneration project by any regional development agency in the country and shows our commitment to creating a worldclass rail hub for West Midlands.

“During the downturn it is vital that government funding from Advantage West Midlands and partners in the public sector keep major physical developments moving forward, creating jobs and changing lives long after the global economy has picked itself up and brushed itself down.”

Neil Thompson, construction director for Network Rail, said: “The commercial agreement is a significant development for the project. Network Rail has been working on detailed designs for the station, following the launch of visionary concepts last year, which will enable us to start on site as early as possible.

“The public has made it absolutely clear they back our plans to transform New Street and this deal means passengers are one step closer to the station they deserve.”

A boost for the economy Along with creating a 21st century transport hub for the region, the New Street Gateway is also expected to deliver substantial economic benefits. In total, the scheme is estimated to produce over 10,000 new jobs across for the city, in the process boosting the economy by £2.3bn.

Hoardings experts are first choice for Network Rail Specialist hoarding contractors approved by Network Rail, Brighouse-based Kwik-Klik, were appointed by Mace in Sept 1

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2009 to supply all the specialised hoardings for the Birmingham New Street Station project.

These include the Kwik-Klik Soundmaster (Fire Barrier) hoardings designed to create 1 and 2 hour fire compartmented areas around hot works on site. In this project the hoardings have been used around hot works to pierce through to the Palisades shopping centre immediately above the train station, in order to create openings for the installation of new escalators leading down to the station platforms.

Other specialist hoardings used include Ultrahoard hoardings (a water filled counterbalance hoarding system). This freestanding hoarding is being used alongside railway platforms to screen construction works to avoiding distracting drivers on trains entering and leaving the station.

Kwik-Klik also installed Managed Station R-11 Network Rail specification hoardings for the site perimeter in Network Rail’s corporate grey colour, adding a corporate look to the development. These hoardings are manufactured from 100 per cent recycled plastic and can be moved to different locations on the site, as required. The hoardings are also re-usable and recyclable at the end of the project.

Network Rail chose the hoardings because of their ecofriendly properties and have also specified them on numerous other rail contracts including London Bridge, Blackfriars Station, Edinburgh Waverley Station, Manchester Piccadilly, and many others.

Kwik-Klik is the original pioneer of high quality, innovative, sustainable hoardings for screening internal refurbishment work and securing external construction sites. The company offer bespoke systems and configurations to match the site terrain.

EMDD – arrived on time at Birmingham New Street Station East Midlands Diamond Drilling, working as sub contractors to Coleman and Company Ltd (demolition contractors), completed all the required concrete cutting and ancillary processes on the Birmingham Gateway Project ahead of schedule.

The requirement was to remove large sections of slabs and beams in the existing NCP station car park, to begin to create a new concourse and atrium some three and a half times larger than the existing one. One of the difficulties encountered was that much of the work had to be carried out over live railway lines, making deconstruction problematic. EMDD drew on its 30 years of experience to give advice to Network Rail, their engineers and Coleman and Company Ltd on the practicalities of diamond drilling, sawing and robotic demolition and generally working within the restrictions imposed.

Work commenced with the drilling of 3000 holes and the floor sawing of 4000 linear metres between 150mm and 400mm deep. EMDD went on to wire saw 1000 sq metres of heavily reinforced concrete beams and to wall saw 750 linear metres through 200mm thick reinforced concrete. With 4,000 litres of water a day being used to lubricate and cool cutting equipment, over 1,000,000 litres (or 1000 tonnes) of concrete slurry needed to be recycled for reuse in cutting operations or filtered to a level of purification, whereby the end product was almost drinkable, before being allowed to enter the drainage system.

Where diamond cutting techniques could not be utilised, one example being above the main service spine containing all the communication cables for the whole of the station complex, alternative methods were sought. EMDD carried out the removal of slabs and beams above the spine by using a remotely controlled robotic crusher.

In total, over 7,500 tonnes of reinforced concrete were removed... and all ahead of schedule.

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Call our news team on 01706 719972

Major new care home takes shape in prestigious project The major new 75-bed stand-alone Moundsley Hall Care Home is under construction in an impressive two-phase development at Walkers Heath Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham.

Moundsley Hall Care Home is set in six acres of tranquil landscaped grounds and woodland.

Its unique location, accessed via a tree lined avenue, provides a country setting whilst enjoying the amenities of an urban location.

The home provides accommodation for those requiring continuous nursing care, residential care, convalescence, or respite care and can also cater for younger adults and for clients with physical or learning disabilities.

The design and build project is being carried out by Main Contractors Lawson Construction for Moundsley Hall Healthcare Group. The project commenced in September 2010 and is due for completion in January 2012.

The new building is being constructed on a level site in a Green Belt area, and the project is now progressing through its second phase. The three storey building is divided into three blocks - two containing 30 bedrooms with an

approximate gross external area per floor of 608m² - and a third containing 15 bedrooms. Each block has its own kitchen, dining and lounge facility.

The building incorporates 22 dormers to each block with main entrance porticos and is of traditional brick and block construction with feature render panels and Georgian style UPVC framed windows which incorporate toughened external K reflective glazing. Roofing is in pitched, traditional style.

External works on the project include the creation of a car park and landscaping.

Moundsley Hall pride themselves on the quality of their in-house activities: each unit has its own dedicated activities area full of board games, crafts, puzzles, etc. and there are three full time activities co-ordinators who provide an innovative, stimulating and diverse weekly programme. Each unit also has its own weekly Residents Committee Meetings which leads the

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quality cycle of continuous service improvement.

Lawson Construction has achieved turnovers of up to £6 million over the last few years over a wide spectrum of construction projects. The scope of work ranges from commercial, industrial, new build and refurbishment, to private and public sector housing.

The company was founded in 1966 and has expanded over the years, thanks to its good reputation for high quality, completion to time and working within cost budgets.

Care Home construction is “a fantastic job” In a project where the contractors are described as “doing a fantastic job”, a new 34-bedroom care home for older people is under construction, adding to existing facilities on the Westerlands Care Home site at Elloughton Road, Brough, Humberside.

The project is being carried out for Prime Life Ltd by Main Contractors G.S. Kelsey Ltd; Architects are Corporate Architecture and Quantity Surveyors are ADM Surveyors.

“The contractors are doing a fantastic job, on programme and on budget and have overcome all challenges so far - including having to carry out the construction with the existing care facility in full operation. The residents have been able to see the new building take shape and have been involved in selecting the colours for the decor schemes. In the coming months we will be taking them round to see the new building inside,” said Mr Simon Van Herrewege, Director of new developments for Prime Life.

Initial works on the scheme included the demolition of a day centre to make way for the new facility.

The new building, under construction on a tiered site, is of three storeys with lower ground floor, ground floor and first floor levels. All of the 34 bedrooms measure 15 sq m or more, with many having fitted furniture and all having full ensuite bathrooms including level access showers. All of the ground floor bedrooms will have patio doors leading onto private patio areas and overlooking secure landscaped gardens.

Communal facilities include a lounge and dining room, all fitted out to an extremely high standard, a hairdressing salon, fully fitted clinic areas, standard bathrooms with baths and fully fitted adapted bathrooms for assisted bathing incorporating jacuzzi spa functions.

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The building will be served by Wi-Fi throughout and Sky satellite TV. Other facilities include care stations, staff meeting rooms and offices.

The building is of traditional load bearing construction with brickwork externally, incorporating stone and lead detailing, wooden framed windows and a pitched tiled roof.

Due to difficulty with sandy ground, and unusually high water retention on the site, it was necessary to install water storage tanks.

Other external works include extensive landscaping with block paving and feature focal points and lighting. The garden will be accessible to all, and will be fully secured to ensure the safety of clients with higher end needs.

“This scheme gives the whole site greater longevity. Where some care homes across the country have been designed to comply with older standards, this facility will meet people’s expectations in providing an environment that is comfortable and attractive to live in, but also fit for purpose for those who need varying levels of assistance. Modern facilities offer choice, ranging from the type and style of accommodation, to the wireless nurse call systems being installed, and all level access throughout with wider doors and corridors,” said Mr Simon Van Herrewege. The accommodation will offer the comfort and

aesthetics older people deserve, but as importantly the care delivered will be able to cater for those with higher end clinical needs, where for some the alternative would be a hospital.

Currently the building is being decorated and the mechanical and electrical second fix is underway. The external works are soon to commence and have been left until now due to the shortage of space required for site welfare, parking and the storage of construction materials on the very tight site.

These are very exciting times for Prime Life’s new development activities with two new care villages - Phoenix Park in Scunthorpe, and Peaker Park in Market Harborough - having also been completed by the company.

These two new facilities provide much needed modern, spacious accommodation that will meet the expectations of stakeholders. They will cater for clients with a range of care needs and requirements, and enable individuals to feel they live in an attractive and comfortable setting where care and support is delivered to them, and they are not moved to suit the needs of others.

GS Kelsey Ltd has its roots in a family with a history of building in North Lincolnshire for over 100 years. Arthur Benjamin Kelsey, established a contracting company in Crowle, north Lincolnshire at the turn of the last century, working mainly for the district councils, the railway and local farmers.

Arthur Snowden Kelsey succeeded his father and continued the business until retirement in 1982 After working as a quantity surveyor for several years, his son Geoffrey Snowden Kelsey established the current company in 1996 with the intention of providing local authorities within the immediate vicinity of Scunthorpe with a small, professional contracting service, Today, G.S. Kelsey Limited has grown to become a small to medium sized company with an annual turnover of £8 million, operating throughout Humberside, Lincolnshire, south Yorkshire and north Nottinghamshire.

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Nuneaton and Bedworth council homes to be renovated Council homes across Nuneaton and Bedworth are to be renovated over the next three years under a new partnering agreement awarded to Apollo Group. The contract comprises kitchen and bathroom refurbishment works and partial or full electrical rewiring of domestic dwellings in order to bring them up to the Decent Homes standard. This year, the re-procurement was awarded to Apollo Group for the next three years following a series of rigorous assessments by a panel of officers.

Yvonne Davis, Performance Monitoring & Development Officer for Nuneaton and Bedworth Council, said: “Our previous Partnering contractor, Bullock Construction worked with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council (NBBC) for five years and was responsible for the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms, along with rewiring. Under the scheme, kitchens and bathrooms have been completely refurbished; this has included stripping the rooms, plastering, flooring and decoration. In addition, disabled walk-in showers were installed after tenants were assessed for their needs. Bullock Construction Limited delivered an excellent service to our tenants, members of the general public and the Borough Council.”

All proposed refurbishment work is generated from condition surveys carried out by Michael Dyson Associates and the results formulate a programme of works.

In 2010, 1,800 housing stock surveys were completed. The £2.6 programme of works comprised: 327 kitchen renewals, 43 shower adaptations, 98 bathroom renewals The Decent Homes standard was introduced in 2000 when the Government made a commitment to improve the quality of council housing. In order for homes to meet the Decent Homes standard, homes must: be in a good state of repair, particularly with regards to the roof and walls; have a kitchen not more than 20 years old that provides adequate storage and layout; have a bathroom not more than 30 years old; be free from damp, and have effective insulation and heating.

Various environmental works have comprised works to various sites throughout the borough, including: security fencing, redesigned flat block gardens and car parking. In addition, fire alarms and PVC-U fire doors have also been fitted after consultation with the Warwickshire Fire Service.

Bedworth Heating and Plumbing have been the gas central installation contractor, and have installed A-rated energy efficient boilers, radiators and associated pipe-work. The energy performance of the developments has been improved by meeting the Standard Assessment Procedure ‘SAP Rating’, with a target of 70.

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Hi-Vision Systems Ltd Specialising in the supply, installation and maintenance of satellite TV systems, CCTV and door access systems and solar panels, Coventry-based Hi-Vision Systems Ltd have carried out aerial repair services for Nuneaton and Bedworth Council for many years and recently secured a new contract for aerial maintenance and repair for the council’s entire housing stock.

Hi-Vision commenced trading in 1972 as Hi-vision Aerial Company, with main activities in the domestic aerial market.

During the next 15 years the company grew to take in other areas of works such as communal aerial systems, intruder alarms and CCTV. In 1987 Hi-Vision secured the maintenance contract for communal TV systems for Coventry City Council, shortly followed by Birmingham City Council. The contract for Coventry (Now West Mercia Group) has been successfully won every three years to date.

A family run business, Hi-Vision Systems Ltd is approved and registered with Construction Line, and has been a Member of the Confederation of Aerial Industries since 1983.

Client satisfaction is of paramount importance to the company and clients can be assured that given the opportunity, Hi-Vision Systems Ltd will treat its clients with respect, care and consideration.

£21m Catthorpe Viaduct Replacement scheme progressing well A £21m scheme to replace the 45-year-old Catthorpe Viaduct – which carries M6 southbound traffic over the M1– is progressing well, with a practical completion date of Spring 2012.

Ivan Marriott, Highways Agency project manager, said: "This traffic management is being implemented for the safety of road users and to provide a safe working environment for the construction team.

The Highways Agency had monitored the existing viaduct for several years due to its deteriorating condition. The area suffered from congestion, delays, long queues, accidents (sometimes fatal), conflicts between local and long distance traffic and barriers to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. Temporary measures were put into place to safeguard the travelling public; however the monitoring identified a need to replace the viaduct and works commenced on site in July 2010.

"We are advising drivers to allow extra time for their journeys and asking them to drive safely while the roadworks are in place."

The replacement is part of the M1 Junction 19 Improvement scheme, which itself is part of a £6 billion project to boost some of Britain’s busiest roads. The objectives of the Catthorpe Viaduct Replacement scheme are as follows: to relieve congestion at the junction and improve journey reliability; improve road safety; separate local traffic from long distance traffic; improve conditions for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, keep adverse environmental impacts to a minimum, and provide good value for money.

Due to its important strategic location on the highway network, the viaduct was given a high priority for replacement as there would be severe disruption to the network if it became unserviceable. Indeed, it is estimated that around 100,000 drivers pass through the junction every day and another 23,000 vehicles use the viaduct.

The replacement structure will be built within the existing highway boundary, south of the present viaduct, which has enabled the network to remain operational whilst the new structure is being built. The existing viaduct will be demolished during a series of overnight closures once the new viaduct has been constructed and is open to traffic. Coote Construction provided all the access scaffolding to the project.

The environmental effects of the scheme were considered and measures were taken to alleviate these effects. These included: tree and shrub planting combined with earth mounding; protection of wildlife and the creation of new habitats; drainage ponds to reduce the risk of pollution and flooding; and new routes for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.

Two lanes will be kept available through the junction in both directions on both the M6 and the M1, with a temporary 50mph speed limit in place for the safety of road users.

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Tresham College celebrates new £32m campus A brand new £32m campus for Tresham College in Corby, Northamptonshire has been successfully completed. The college became one of only thirteen in England to be granted project funding approval from the Skills funding Association and was officially opened in September of this year.

Mark Beecroft, Estates Manager for the College, said: “Works progressed well and everyone worked well together. I am extremely pleased to say that it was completed both on time and to budget.”

Main contractors for the project were BAM Construction and the architects were Bond Bryan.

The college is centred on vocational education and core subjects include: motor vehicle, engineering, construction, IT and Hair and Beauty. The modern, flexible style of the new build on the 16-acre site accommodates advancements in technology within education, with 4 learning pods designed to give open access to materials provided to support the varying curriculum topics.

The campus was innovatively designed to complement Tresham’s long history of providing high quality skills-based courses and therefore the approach to its structure was primarily geared towards practicality and facilitation. The structure is both functional and attractive: along with a front feature glazed block of coloured panels and a profiled surround with infill brick panels to ground level, the steel frame campus has a stone clad spine wall, which separates the front atrium space from the rear metal clad workshop and teaching areas.

An interesting feature of the building is that, because it is built into a bank, it effectively has two ground floors. The learners enter on the ground level where the reception, student/staff restaurant and Hair and Beauty facilities are. The workshops are located on the first floor from the entrance, but also on the ground floor via the service Yard, which is a valuable resource for the learners as it resembles a true construction environment.

Above this is the second floor providing further teaching and admin rooms .

Built to BREEAM ‘Excellent’, the building also houses several sustainable features – these include 168 photovoltaic (PV) cells, a biomass boiling system and rainwater harvesting.

Exterior landscaping has comprised the leveling of various banks and the planting of 200 trees.

Director of Technology & Resources, Elspeth Sully said: “The new Tresham Campus at Corby was not only built and delivered on time and to budget but also provides an excellent teaching and learning resource for both staff and learners. The new resources will enable learners to meet the needs of employers by giving them realistic working environment and a set of skills to be valued within the employment market.”

Acting Principal at Tresham, Paul Fletton said: “The opening of this facility marks a very important stage for Tresham College

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and I am immensely proud to be part of it.”

The eventuality of the development is a success of dimension. The nature of the structure is unlike anything of its kind in the region, but it is its primal function which will really benefit the people of Corby. Project manager at BAM Construction, Andy Knott said: “I was glad to be involved in the production of what I’m sure will be a cherished and fantastic addition to the Tresham landscape. The project was an exciting challenge and went stupendously well and the campus forms an essential part of core development plans for Corby in the future.”

Increased access to modern education facilities is vital to the growth and prosperity of the North Northamptonshire region and the new Tresham Campus is right at the forefront of providing this.

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New flagship centre of excellence in dementia care takes shape A state-of-the-art intensive care centre is under construction in Norwich to provide specialist care to help people with severe dementia.

The £13.7 million project is being carried out for the Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust by Main Contractors RG Carter, who are reported to be making excellent progress. Architects for the scheme are Ingleton Wood Architects.

The new centre, to be known as Hammerton Court and geared to become a centre of excellence for dementia care and staff training, is being built at the city's Julian Hospital, and will have 36 beds.

In addition to the treatment aspect, the centre will serve as an academy to help professionals with dementia training, education and medical research into the disease.

The new building is mainly a single storey structure incorporating a small two storey element at the entrance and is being constructed on the former site of an outdated ward building, which was demolished.

Structured around a prefabricated timber frame, the building features external elevations in a combination of brick, render and zinc cladding, with both aluminium and timber framed windows and a combination of pitched slate, flat and sedum roofing.

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Within the new building the 36 bed spaces will be split into three wings, each with 12 single-bed en suite rooms, with each bay laid out around a large internal courtyard and having its own a large day room, smaller ‘quiet’ rooms, clinical rooms and a ‘reminiscence’ room.

There will also be care provision within an annexe for end of life care and to accommodate visiting relatives.

External works include substantial soft landscaping, including themed landscaping of the building’s internal courtyards, with one being reminiscent of the Norfolk Broads, another recalling a country garden and a third designed on a beach theme. Further works include the provision of car parking.

Other facilities include an entrance area and administration and training facilities, a small cafe for staff, patients and visitors, a training gymnasium for occupational therapy, a hairdressing salon and a launderette, and accommodation for visiting clinicians.

The upper storey of the building will incorporate the main staff offices and a large dementia care staff training and research facility.

The centre is due to open in spring 2012.

Gaia Climate Solutions Gaia Climate Solutions of Bury St Edmunds provided the complete floor solution to the Julian Hospital project involving 3,600 sq m of floorspace. Gaia designed, supplied and installed the hospital’s wet underfloor heating system and also carried out all the floor screeding works.

New enterprise centre is the business for start-ups A new business enterprise centre to be known as BG Futures and designed for start up businesses is being created in a refurbishment and extension project nearing completion at Bishop Grosseteste College in Newport.

The project is being carried out by Main Contractors Taylor Pearson; Architects, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, Quantity Surveyors and CDM Co-Ordinators are Mouchel.

“In Lincoln there have been quite a few projects to crate managed workspace for established businesses, but this development has been specifically aimed at the start-up market for which there is not a great deal of provision. This objective certainly seems bearing fruit as six of the units have already been let and their is continued interest in the remainder,” said Mr James Toyne of Mouchel Business Services.

The extensions feature external elevations primarily in render with feature cast stonework to blend with existing architecture on the campus. Windows are aluminium framed with solar controlled glazing on the south and west elevations and roofing over the second storey extension is in an aluminium standing seam system.

The building will incorporate eco-friendly features such as a 15 KV solar array on the roof, a solar water heater, underfloor heating and a high level of insulation over and above the requirements of current regulations, as well and extensive landscaping around the new facility, and is on course to achieve a ‘Very Good’ BREEAM rating.

Completion is scheduled for the end of November 2011.

The centre is being created through the refurbishment and considerable extension of an older business centre containing five units, and has expanded the size of the old centre by around 200 per cent. The new centre will include 15 business units together with a management support office, three conference rooms (available to both tenants of the building, the campus and external businesses).

Refurbishment of the original building includes re-plastering, re-decoration, complete internal reconfiguration and the installation of new building services and new windows and doors.

A single storey ground floor extension is being constructed, together with a second storey steel framed extension over the footprint of the original building. The roof of the ground floor extension will incorporate a roof terrace.

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Midlands & East Anglia

60 more visitors to ‘sleep tight’ in Eastleigh Cordwell Property Group are carrying out a £5m project to build a 60-bed Travelodge hotel with ground floor leisure space in Eastleigh, Hampshire. The project is expected to create up to twenty jobs for the long-term unemployed and increase tourist and leisure spend in the town.

Main contractors for the development are Anglo Holt and the architects are AEDAS. The Eastleigh hotel is one of 22 new hotels announced around the country as part of Travelodge’s plans to invest £165m on the back of strong performance in the first half of 2011.

Travelodge Chief Executive, Guy Parsons, said: “Despite the challenging consumer market, the demand for low-cost, good quality hotels is a growing trend across the UK. “We have been looking for some time to find the right site in Eastleigh, and we are delighted to be building a hotel on Southampton Road. We will be offering hotels from £19, which will certainly help attract new business and leisure visitors to the town, helping boost the economy.”

Councillor Keith House, leader of Eastleigh Borough Council, said: “Eastleigh town centre is a buzz of activity, thanks to our cinema, bowl and restaurant scheme launched with Cordwell in 2009. Travelodge will be a great addition to our town centre offer and its location opposite the railway station and three minutes’ walk from our regional dance and arts centre could not be bettered.”

The structure of the building is steel frame on the ground floor with timber construction above. The external fabric is a mixture of render and rainscreen cladding with a flat roof and a sedum green roof. The building is also highly insulated in order to conserve energy.

The 60-bed Travelodge hotel includes a reception area and 5,000 sq ft of retail space on the ground floor. As the units do not have tenants yet, they may be used for cafe, restaurant or retail purposes.

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Steve Miller from AEDAS Architects said: “The project is making excellent progress; the local planning authority has been extremely helpful and there has been a good team effort throughout.”

Midland based Cordwell Property Group have called upon the expertise of Birmingham based companies to assist in the development of a new 60 bedroomed Travelodge hotel with ground floor retail and leisure space in the town centre of Eastleigh.

Having developed the £25 Million Swan Centre Leisure scheme in the town centre in 2009 Cordwell have now turned their attentions to the creation of more hotel accommodation in this rapidly expanding South Hampshire Town.

The same Edgbaston based development team which Cordwell used to develop the Swan Centre is being deployed to deliver the hotel and consists of Edgbaston -based Aedas Architects, Frances Graves Cost Consultants, Nolan Associates Engineers, and letting agents Wright Silverwood. The construction contract will be placed with West Bromwich based Anglo Holt Construction who has extensive experience in constructing Travelodge Hotels.

Delivering such a high quality development will reflect the experience, knowledge, enthusiasm and capability of a wellchosen team.

Tom Wilcox, Development Director of Cordwell Leisure said, “The decision to employ the same Birmingham design team to deliver this hotel was an obvious choice having already worked together with them on the Swan Centre and Anglo-Holt’s obvious experience and track-record with Travelodge secured the construction contract.

The airport and railway station made Southampton Road an obvious site for the development of Travelodge’s town centre hotel and we are delighted to be working again with Eastleigh Borough Council in procuring and delivering this high quality scheme.”

The new Eastleigh hotel is due to open in April 2012.

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S o u th We s t

Project puts higher quality drinking water on tap A £4 million project to upgrade Drift Water Treatment Works in Penzance and geared to removing trihalomethane precursors and pesticides from the water in line with Drinking Water Inspectorate requirements, is making good progress.

The project is being carried out for South West Water, who are working in conjunction with Construction Partner Interserve and Design Partner Hyder Consulting on the scheme.

“The aim of the scheme is to achieve compliance with set standards for the level of pesticides in drinking water and improve the water quality,” said Jenny Thorne of South West Water.

The works include the provision of a conventional granulated activated carbon contractor process (GAC), as well as replacing an inter-stage pump, demolishing the current clean back wash water tank and installing a new two-cell final water tank. The GAC is a large plant housed within its own building.

Granular activated carbon (GAC) is commonly used in drinking water treatment to adsorb synthetic organic chemicals and natural organic compounds that cause taste and odour, colour, and can react with chlorine to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs).

GAC is an effective adsorbent because it is a highly porous material and provides a large surface area to which contaminants may adsorb.

“The reason why the cost of this project is relatively high is because it is situated on a site with former mine workings underneath it and this has resulted in the need for extensive piling and ground stabilisation works prior to construction - even more than was revealed by the initial boreholes,” said Jenny Thorne, adding that this required the extension of the contract programme.

The construction is being carried out on a fully operational site and requires close and complex working arrangements with the existing plant and staff in order to maintain full operation.

Currently the project is making good progress and is expected to meet its operational date before 31st March 2012.

Interserve is one of the world’s foremost support services and construction companies, operating in the public and private sectors in the UK and internationally. The company offer advice, design, construction, equipment and facilities management services for society's infrastructure. Interserve is based in the UK, has revenue of £1.9 billion and a workforce of nearly 50,000 people worldwide.

Interserve’s ability to support clients at any point in the life cycle of their assets – buildings, associated land and other infrastructure – begins with consultancy and planning advice, ranging from sustainability and energy management to health-

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care planning and cost management.

The company’s design and construction expertise covers the full spectrum from strategic projects to programmes.

Travelodge bucks the recession as another new hotel takes shape Part of a major expansion programme for budget hotel chain Travelodge – whose South West hotels are bucking the trend in the recession – is taking shape on a site at Harbour Road, Portishead. The impressive new fourstorey building incorporates a 60-bedroom Travelodge hotel and a Lidl store.

The development is being carried out for Developers Loc 8 (Portishead) Ltd by Main Contractors Jehu Project Services.

The architect is Simon Kennedy of Kennedy James Griffiths and Structural Engineers are Shear Design.

The building is being constructed on a Brownfield site.

Remediation works were carried out in an earlier, separate contract.

The building is designed to encourage a busy frontage along Harbour Road, with glass frontages to the ground floor level food store and a feature curved glass wall to the hotel, which celebrates arrival at the site and provides a landmark to the development. The building it has a high quality design and material specification to deliver a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating.

Above the 14,617 sq ft Lidl, the three-storey Travelodge incorporates a reception area with vending facilities, together with the 60 ensuite bedrooms.

The ground floor of the building is a steel frame structure, with timber frame on the floors above. External elevations are in rendered blockwork, incorporating aluminium framed windows and a metal standing seam roof.

The hotel is one of two new Travelodges opening in the Bristol area.

Guy Parsons, the chief executive of Travelodge said: "Our hotels in the South West performed extremely well throughout the recession so I am delighted that we will be opening these new hotels. The locations are perfect for both business and leisure visitors to Bristol and Portishead and I have no doubt the two locations will soon be among our top-performing hotels anywhere in the country."

The addition of 35 new hotels across the UK is part of a £300 million investment programme by Travelodge. In total, the hotels will add 3,667 rooms to the original Travelodge 32,000-room estate, creating 700 jobs.

Mr. Parsons added: "The hotels we built this year have been a result of Travelodge's commitment to expand during the recession while many companies put their development on hold.

"Last year we exchanged on 96 sites, making it a record year.

Fifty-two of these exchanges were part of the biggest transaction in the hotel sector since 2008 with the pub chain Mitchells & Butlers.

"As a result of the recession, we have successfully acquired superior sites due to lower market property prices, which otherwise would not have been available for hotel use.

Externally the works include the creation of a 138 space car park and landscaping has comprised tree planting and stone paving.

The external shell of the building is currently being completed, together with the lift and stair core. The ground floor slab has now been laid for the Lidl foodstore.

Commending the Main Contractors, Mark Kennedy, Director of Loc 8 Developments commented: “I have known of Jehu Project Services for many years and their reputation in this sector precedes them. We are confident that the project will not only be delivered on time but also that it will be finished to an exceptionally high standard. We look forward to working with Jehu again in the near future.”

The project commenced in January 2011 and is due for completion in November 2011.

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S o u th We s t "We have demonstrated our commitment to expand and have a clear growth plan laid out which means we will reach over 1,100 hotels and 100,000 rooms by 2025."

One of Wales' largest independently owned construction companies, Jehu Projects has a proud heritage in construction that spans over 70 years.

Jehu is strategically based with offices located in Bridgend and Haverfordwest and employs more than 80 staff.

The company’s business has been founded on a balanced approach to the market place and the ability to avoid over reliance

on any particular construction sector. This ability is reflected in Jehu’s staff and resources and jointly the company has significant experience and strength in the commercial and Industrial, healthcare and education, residential and retail and leisure markets.

Jehu Project Services is committed to delivering a top class service to its clients and its expertise embraces public and private sectors which includes partnering alliances. The Jehu family of companies is set to turnover in excess of £35 million in 2011/2012.

Exciting new transformation for University of Gloucestershire A £5.3m project to transform existing facilities on the Hardwick and Park campuses at the University of Gloucestershire is now complete. Speller Metcalfe Limited were the main contractors and Architect Design Partnership the architects for the project, which began in March 2011 and was completed over summer.

The scheme has comprised three separate projects: the refurbishment of the sports hall on the Hardwick site in order to develop an Art & Design photography centre, and the simultaneous refurbishment of a refectory and the development of a media centre at the Park campus.

The Hardwick development was originally a sports complex, comprising a large sports hall that covered around two-thirds of the floor space along with a gymnasium and work room. The building was stripped back to the original structural frame and the windows were installed at a higher level before the building was completely refitted and the space subdivided in order to

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provide an Art & Design facility at one end and a photography unit at the other.

External works comprised the demolition of an old swimming pool and the installation of car parking for the side and front elevations. In addition, a significant CCTV system was installed and all of the external perimeter fencing was replaced and upgraded. A significant aspect of the project was the removal of asbestos from the old building prior to demolition.

At the Park campus, the existing refectory was combined with the student union to provide a daytime refectory and an evening bar facility. In the old student union, the existing bar facility was demolished and the building was stripped back to the original structural frame before being subdivided and extended in order to house the new media centre. Inside, there are a number of specialist facilities – including a news room and performance bases – which are soundproofed in order to meet DBA ratings.

The Park campus remained operational throughout the pro-

ject, whereas the Hardwick campus was completely closed.

moving asbestos.

Nigel Wichall from the University of Gloucestershire said: “At both the Hardwick and Park campuses, we took existing buildings that were quite tired and dated and made them into modern spaces for students.

“All of the contractors worked very well together and works have been finished to a high quality. This project was interesting as we have utilised the old facilities in order to create some rather exciting new ones. We are extremely pleased with the outcome.”

“It was mandatory to get planning consent for both sites, including for the small extension at the Park campus and also the external works and modifications at Hardwick. The only real restriction that we had was the demolition and preparation of the buildings for refurbishment, especially with regards to re-

The University of Gloucestershire has been educating students for almost 200 years, offering cutting edge facilities in inspirational locations. The University says: “We believe in education for all, not just in the classroom, but in how we live our lives.”

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Potential buyers and tenants are sold on ‘exemplar’ development Already generating sales and intense interest from potential buyers and tenants, the first phase of a major new 321-home mixed affordable and private housing development to be known as Aspire, is well underway on Norse Road, east Bedford, in what is considered an exemplar development for Orbit Homes, part of the Orbit Housing Group.

The scheme is under construction on a 33.15 acre greenfield site overlooking the village of Renault and the development layout has been designed to retain views of the village from the site after the scheme has been completed.

Buyers have already snapped up 13 of the homes within the first phase, which comprises a total of 88 homes and five showhomes.

48 of the properties will be for affordable housing, with the remaining 40 being for private sale. Orbit Homes are Principal Contractors for the scheme, with the affordable housing element being delivered by Bullock Construction. Architects are RCD Ltd. The scheme includes 19 different house-types ranging from two to four bedrooms and comprising semi detached, terraced and detached properties, as well as a small number of apartments. The homes range in size from 635 sq. ft to 1,324 sq. ft, with the average sized home being 744 sq. ft.

The site is arranged around a cruciform main road layout, with smaller roads branching off and culminating in a large central roundabout.

Paul Sewell, Technical Manager responsible for architecture and engineering within Orbit Housing Group said: “We are aiming to provide housing on a par price-wise with our competitors, but with the extra quality and detail that you would expect from a higher priced product.

“The development has been designed to provide an uninterrupted view from the front of the site right through to the church spire of Renault Village.

“Unlike a private developer who completes a development and then walks away - the Orbit ethos is to provide the community aspect. The site has therefore been designed as a community with public open spaces throughout, including play and sports facilities.

We have put a great deal into this project, which is a five year build scheme with an expected seven year sales programme (based on the current market). The interest being shown in the homes gives an indication of the quality of build which is being achieved.

“The show-homes have been a great success. We have used

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three different interior designers to show a broad cross-section of design taste and this has worked very well.”

He added that Orbit homes will be providing site maintenance services for both the affordable and private housing elements of the scheme, including all the public open spaces.

Paul High, Managing Director of Orbit Homes said: “This development is very exciting for us as it is our first large-scale development where we will build, develop and sell all homes”.

“Our aim is to build a community where people Aspire to live and as such the development has been carefully designed to hold onto green spaces and provide homes across a range of tenures to create a real neighbourhood spirit.”

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Lo n d o n & S o u th E a s t Completion is due at the end of May 2012.

Orbit Homes is the development and sales arm of the Orbit Group and was launched in March 2010 to build and sell homes across a range of tenures including outright sale, HomeBuy Shared Ownership and Intermediate Rent.

Orbit Homes is different from other house builders in that as a social business, any surplus made by the company is recycled and used to develop more affordable homes.

Aspire is a flagship development for Orbit, as it’s the first to be built and sold entirely by the organisation and includes a full range of tenures including outright sale, HomeBuy Direct, HomeBUy Shared Ownership, Intermediate Rent and General Needs Rent.

Bullock is a construction service provider founded in 1955.

With an outstanding commitment to customer service, the company has built on the cornerstone of their expert knowledge and diversified into new sectors such as commercial, education and care.

Bullock’s work covers the length and breadth of the UK and they continue to innovate, embracing new partnerships and added value within their service. Their impressive portfolio includes outstanding new builds, refurbishments and maintenance repairs.

The company’s dedication in adhering to environmental initiatives shines through their work, laying the foundations for a sustainable future in the communities in which they work.

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Local interest goes into Orbit over exceptional extra care housing scheme An impressive new extra care housing scheme, which includes the refurbishment of two Victorian villas and a former school building, as well as a larger new build element, will provide 106 one and two-bedroom luxury apartments, plus additional facilities for the over 55s on the former St Bede’s School site in Bromham Road, Bedford.

The new build and refurbished elements of the scheme will be interconnected to create a complete self-contained environment including landscaped courtyards and gardens, a coffee shop, dining facilities, a hairdressers and medical facilities.

The project is being carried out for Orbit Housing by Mansell Construction. Orbit will also man and manage the completed scheme.

Mr Paul Sewell, Technical Manager responsible for architecture and engineering within Obit Housing said: “This is something which is going to be fairly unique to the area and has generated a tremendous amount of interest - in fact when the scheme was first announced we received enquiries from interested people before anyone had so much as put a shovel in the ground on the development.

“This picturesque scheme, which forms an ‘L’ shape and has a very large footprint, will provide a much needed facility for which there is a great demand locally.”

The conversion work involves stripping out the original buildings to shell state and the installation of new floors, partitioning, services, fixtures, fittings and decor, The building is also being re-roofed and some of the original windows will be refurbished, whilst others which are beyond conservation will be replaced with windows of the same style and materials as the originals.

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Lo n d o n & S o u th E a s t Some of the flats will be within the original buildings, whilst others will be in the new build element, which makes up the bulk of the accommodation on the scheme. The new build section will be of three storeys, - the same height as the original buildings.

The scheme is being built to the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4, making the homes very energy efficient, with systems in place such as a high-tech combined heat and power system, which recycles waste energy to provide domestic hot water.

The development will incorporate telecare systems, such as fall detectors and door monitors. It will also meet Lifetime Homes standards, with the apartments having wet rooms, wheelchair friendly doors and extra large reception areas. Externally provided care services will be available for residents to access if they need to.

The scheme will also incorporate cutting edge features such as glass walkways, while also preserving and enhancing the existing environment in line with its position in a Conservation Area.

The development will be solely for those local to the Bedford area. The apartments include some for rent and others for shared ownership.

The development team has worked alongside ecologists to preserve the range of wildlife found on site, both in the construction phase and in the future. Bat boxes and nesting boxes will be added, to ensure the protection of flora and fauna native to the area.

The scheme has cost about £17m, including almost £4.6m of Homes and Communities Agency funding. Orbit Homes was strongly supported by Bedford Borough Council in applying for this grant and has worked with the council throughout the design and planning process to ensure the scheme will be fit for purpose and will meet local housing need.

Chris Jones, Development Director of Orbit Homes, said: “This scheme will create a home for life for the residents and a fantastic community to live in.

“The development will be solely for those over the age of 55 and will be equipped with facilities that will enable residents to continue living in their own home for many years to come.

There will be a mix of shared ownership and rental properties, ensuring we cater for the needs of a wide range of people and circumstances.”

Orbit Business development manager Lorraine Mansifeld said: “I am extremely passionate about this scheme, it gives older people the chance to live their lives independently. It is very important for us when we build these schemes to have them in local context.”

The 18 month project, which began in April 2011 is currently making good progress.

From houses and hospitals to colleges and classrooms, the scope of Mansell’s building work can be summarised in just two words; constructing communities.

The company’s base is regional – with offices spreading from Truro to Elgin – enabling them to offer a locally-led and focused service with the backing of national capability and shared experience.

At approximately £800 million, Mansell’s turnover is significant, achieved through ongoing success in the company’s chosen market sectors.

Mansell has developed a reputation for reliability, personal service and innovative solutions and is very proud that a large part of their business comes from customers for whom they have previously worked.

Unearthing the old to build the new: Trumpington Meadows project progressing well The first phase of 1,200 homes planned at Trumpington Meadows, adjacent to Trumpington Village, is well underway. Trumpington Meadows Land Company Limited, a joint venture between Grosvenor and Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), has contracted with leading house builder Barratt to complete the phase, which began in autumn 2010.

The aim of the Trumpington Meadows project is to create an appealing, distinctive and sustainable place to live, with a range of different sizes and types of homes, as well as integrated amenities. The development benefits from proximity to the existing village community at Trumpington with views of the village, Anstey Hall and the surrounding countryside. In addition, the area provides easy access into Cambridge city centre via road links and a Park and Ride scheme.

Keith Parrett, managing director of Barratt Eastern Counties, said: “We are very excited to be involved with this major redevelopment in Trumpington, Cambridge. Working with our partners Grosvenor and USS we look forward to delivering a place where people will want and aspire to live.”

The Design Code for Trumpington Meadows was unanimously approved in June 2010 by members of Cambridge City Council, South Cambridge District Council and Cambridgeshire County, representing the culmination of months of detailed work and consultation between architects, planners and local residents.

The Cambridge area is expected to experience a substantial rate of growth over the next 10-15 years; subsequently the joint authorities felt it was essential that the new developments

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were well designed and laid out. Therefore, in collaboration with Grosvenor and USS, a Design Code was agreed to be the method to achieve the vision for the project.

Trumpington Meadows splits into four quarters: ‘Village’, ‘Gateway’, ‘Urban’ and Riverside. Each of these areas has its own distinct character and will be distinguished by the design, height and density of the buildings. Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association will provide 480 homes with funding provided by the first of the Cambridge Challenge pilot initiatives promoted by the Housing and Communities Agency, and 40% of the housing will be affordable.

Planning consent for the 154 hectare Trumpington Meadows scheme was granted in October 2009. A spokesperson for Trumpington Meadows Land Company said: “We have been working on Trumpington Meadows for a number of years, seeing the project from site acquisition to planning approval.

Securing Barratt as the first house builder partner is a key milestone. Their commitment to award winning architecture with a high level of build quality is in-keeping with our aspirations for Trumpington Meadows.”

The scheme also includes a 60 hectare country park that will be run by the Wildlife Trust, whilst additional facilities comprise a new primary school, recreational space, a network of footpaths and cycleways and allotments.

Prehistoric finds at Trumpington Meadows Remains up to 5000 years old have been discovered at the Trumpington Meadows site by a team of archaeologists from

the Cambridge Archaeological Unit.

Project Manager Alison Dickens said: “The archaeology seems to fall into two main periods – the mid to late Neolithic (about 4000 to 5000 years ago) from which we have two rare and important burial monuments, and the Iron Age (around 2100 to 2500 years ago) from which we have hundreds of pits spread across the site. That’s not all we have, of course, but they’re the most important.”

The Neolithic monuments are in the form of ring ditches, the largest of which has a double ring and the remains of at least four people buried in a pit in the centre of it. The Iron Age pits provide evidence of a communal gathering point in the landscape, including the physical remains of a wide array of activities including those commonly associated with ‘every-day’ domestic occupation (weaving, grinding, butchery, cooking and serving, metalworking etc) and those concerning mortuary rites and the disposal of the dead.

The site lies in a landscape that has seen significant investigation over the last few years with evidence from the Neolithic, Bronze Ages, Iron Age and Roman periods telling the story of a complex and historically valuable area.

MJ Electrical Services MJ Electrical Services Limited recommended to J Breheny Contractors Ltd by the John Lewis Partnership carried out the installation of the control barriers and automated gates on the service road to the John Lewis distribution warehouse. The works included intercom control from remote site, access control, CCTV, fire alarm interface systems and electrical supplies associated with the service road barriers and gates.

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Lo n d o n & S o u th E a s t Construction News

Call our news team on 01706 719972

‘Root and branch’ restoration for historic London parks A £5.5 million project to restore and upgrade two major historical sites – London’s Bishops Park and Fulham Palace – is well underway.

Based upon the Ordnance Survey Map with the permission of the controller of H.M Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright Licence number :- 100017241

CHRIS BLANDFORD ASSOCIATES environment landscape planning

Bishops Park & Fulham Palace Grounds Regeneration & Revival Project London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

FIGURE 3 Fulham Beach Artists Impression

November 2009

The scheme is being carried out for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

by Vinci; Lead Consultants and Architects are Chris Blandford Associates.

Within Bishops Park, the early 20th century cafe is being internally and externally refurbished and a new single storey community building for use by the bowling club, the park officer and the wider community is being constructed. A new plaza is being created between the cafe and the new building, opening up an area which had previously been disconnected from the rest of the park.

Landscape works within the central core of the park include the creation of a flexible events space, surrounded by a range of play facilities

for all ages. The ornamental lake is being restored and an adjacent area, which had been created as a beach in Edwardian times, is being restored, with a new children's water play area also being created behind this.

Teracotta balustrading around the lake is also being refurbished and the park’s Bishops Meadow and Fielders Meadow grassed areas are being restored.

Within Fulham Palace grounds (a listed Scheduled Ancient Monument containing Listed Buildings), the formerly derelict Vinery and the Bothies (the former gardeners’ stores) are being renovated. The Bothies, comprising two buildings, is being re-built and re-roofed and will be brought back into use both for educational and horticultural purposes. The Vinery is being re-built as a new glazed aluminium framed structure.

The former stables are being converted into an education suite, with the works involving both internal and external alterations designed to retain historic elements of the building. A new extension providing machine storage for gardening equipment is also being constructed to one side of the stables.

External refurbishments are being carried out to the Gothic Lodge and the historic entrance of the palace is also being upgraded with the addition of new solid oak gates. A stone arch

www.romauk.net

bridge which crosses the historic moat is being restored and elements of the moat, which had been filled in, are being partially excavated at the bridge and at the entrance to the palace.

Overall completion is scheduled for next spring.

Sutcliffe Park As a company, Sutcliffe Park has over 30 years experience in the design and installation of play environments. During this period they have developed and manufactured their own ranges of Sutcliffe Play equipment and developing and maintained relationships with other manufacturers such as Kaiser & Kuhne, SMB and Kinderland to exclusively distribute their equipment into the UK market.

For the Bishops Park Restoration Project, Sutcliffe Park supplied play equipment directly to Vinci Construction, including individual spring seesaws, large space frames (climbing nets) together with a slide and two rotating dish roundabouts.Sutcliffe Play then installed all of the play equipment, including equipment supplied by other companies.

The Tate Rebirth The initialisation phase of the new development of Tate Modern is scheduled to open in the summer of 2012 to coincide with the Olympic Games festival. The Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of modern Olympic and Paralympic movements, covering the four years leading up to the 2012 games.

The celebration is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012, inspiring creativity across all cultural forms and the opening of the Tate Modern extension will complement this considerably. Director of Cultural Olympiad, Ruth Mackenzie said: “It’s very exciting that the first phase of the Tate Modern development will open in coincidence with the festival. The involvement of the world’s most visited modern art gallery will provide wonderful inspiration to artists from all over the world and help London to retain its international pre eminence in the visual arts.”

The redevelopment will include an eleven-storey extension, which will house display and exhibition spaces, performance spaces, retail, landscaping and educational learning facilities, along with external lighting, servicing and vehicle parking. The first phase includes the opening of the former power station’s spectacular ‘Oil Tanks’- a group of industrial chambers which have been left unused since the power station was decommissioned. The chambers will be transformed into exciting new art

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spaces, which promise to be some of the most prolific in the world. The enormous 30m x 7m circular spaces will double up as innovative social learning areas that can be used for full back of house activities incorporating live performance, film and sound. These mediums have become essential strands of artistic practice and whilst artists are continuing to embrace new technologies, so too are the Tate Modern development design team. It is their desire to see clear congruence between shifts in artistic attitude and construction evolution, as this will add unity to the development as a finished piece.

It is hoped that the Oil Tank spaces will allow the public to explore the history of the arts practice through the latter half of the twentieth century and see the work being developed by artists in the present day. Director at Tate Modern, Nicholas Serota said: “The Tate is responding to changing forms of art, in wider consideration of the changing expectations of visitors in the twenty-first century.”

The second phase of redevelopment is due to be completed in 2016 and will provide further floors of galleries for the museum.

On completion, the project will have enhanced the current Tate Modern, with 70% additional display space free to exhibit seminal works from Tate’s collection and arts programme. The design of the space is geared to reflect the emerging global perspective being employed by artists from Latin America, the

Middle East, Asia and Africa, using specific aesthetic design materials to express and emulate artistic habits and practices from the individual cultural contexts of the works being displayed. This will give the project cohesion and symmetry and help visitors to make both visual and psychological connections between the physical display space and the abstract nature of the art on show.

The project, costing around £215million, has been part funded by the Central Government, the London Development Agency and the Private Sector, with additional anonymous donations raising 70% of the project. Nicholas Serota stated that he was: “immensely grateful to all the generous donors for their support, which will bring developers within touching distance of their funding target for one of the largest ever campaigns in the cultural field.” The redevelopment of the Tate Modern is a significant expansion for the Gallery’s already well-established cultural prestige and will bring a fresh and exciting edge to the capital in its pivotal Olympic year.

SeftonHornWinch SeftonHornWinch are food service consultants operating on an international basis, with offices in Kent and Dubai. Working mainly in the high end business and industry department, their principal business is in high quality hotels and high end restaurants and recently completed projects include the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel and the kitchens at Buckingham Palace.

SeftonHornWinch have been appointed to complete all of the food design for the Tate Modern project. In the original building (TM1) they are redeveloping the existing cafe on the ground floor and developing a central production kitchen, which will have the capacity to provide up to 10,000 sandwiches per day. In the extension (TM2) they will cater for seven of the eleven floors, including coffee shops and a 5-star restaurant, along with bar and function facilities.

Gareth Sefton said: “This has been a fantastic project to work on and we are very pleased with the progress being made. We are specialists in high end and visual kitchens and we bring our skill and imagination to every project we work on. People come to us because they think we are better than everyone else - we are respected within our industry and our work is envied and copied by our competitors.”

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£300,000 Extension to The Rowan’s Hospice reaches completion A new £300,000 extension to The Rowan’s Hospice in Waterlooville, Hampshire has now been completed.

The Rowan’s Hospice is a local charity dedicated to improving the lives of people with cancer and other terminal illnesses by providing palliative care. Opened in 1994 by HRH Princess Alexandra, they have helped more than 5,000 patients and families across Portsmouth and South East Hampshire. Their range of services include: community and hospital care, day care, in-patient care, spiritual care, bereavement services, family services, psychological services, occupational therapy and physiotherapy.

HMDW Architects were awarded the £291,000 contract to design the extension, and worked with main contractor EA Chiverton Ltd. to deliver the project on the 1.5848 Ha site.

Funding came from a capital grant issued by the Department of Health.

The scheme included: an extension to the front elevation of the building to create a covered ambulance entrance, along with a lobby and reception at ground level and additional office space in the roofspace. A particularly interesting aspect of the project was the installation of mezzanine flooring, whilst the scheme also included pitched roofing, brickwork, the installation of both a gas heating system and an electric heating system and wall tiling. In addition, road access for ambulances was improved. External work included the general maintenance of existing features.

Terry Roberts from HMDW Architects noted that the project had to consider the existing residents of the hospice. He said: “The hospice had to remain open throughout the project. It was therefore necessary to ensure, particularly with regards to the ambulance entrance, that patients could still come in without being disturbed.”

HMDW Architects have a wide ranging and rigorous expertise in conservation and restoration, drawing on experience from developments of grade I, II and II* listed buildings. They are also consistently involved in other smaller projects, such as minor redevelopments and landscaping, and have worked with budgets up to £5 million. Their schemes meet the demands of the client, whilst engaging positively with English Heritage, The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and other amenity groups.

The Principal and Directors each have decades of experience within the field and are AABC registered (Architects Accredited in Building Conservation), and they personally oversee and manage all projects from conception to completion.

The Rowan’s Hospice has previously undergone development.

In 2003, the in-patient care was enhanced by a new physiotherapy suite and in 2006 a new hospice Chapel was completed.

In 2008, a newly refurbished Southwick suite opened, significantly enhancing their therapeutic environment and providing a stunning facility to support Day Care, The Heath Centre and Bereavement Services – this was funded by a Department of Health grant.

Their philosophy of care is underpinned by the World Health Organisation’s statement that palliative care is: “the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment...The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best possible quality of life for patients and their families.” Palliative care provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms whilst maintaining the dignity of the patient. It integrates the medical, psychological, spiritual and social aspects of care and provides a support system to live as fully and as actively as possible until death. The Rowan’s Hospice aims to deliver the very best in specialist palliative care to hospice and hospital in-patients, to those living at home, and to those who would benefit from their numerous services.

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Sea City Museum project sets sail In what has been described as “the most important development in Southampton for a generation,” a new museum to celebrate Southampton’s maritime past is being constructed by Kier Construction. The first temporary exhibition will be ‘Titanic, the Legend’ and when it opens on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster in April 2012, the museum is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city.

Sea City Museum is part of Southampton’s emerging Cultural Quarter, which is set to bring more than 2000 direct jobs and an additional £21m of visitor spend to the city each year. Wilkinson Eyre are leading the design team for the project, which includes locally based consulting engineer Gifford, quantity surveyors Davis Langdon and architectural and design company Urban Salon. Focus Consultants are the project managers.

The £28m Sea City Museum is situated in the Grade II listed Magistrates’ Courts, which adjoin the Civic Centre. Galleries developed in Phase One of the project will focus on two main themes: ‘Southampton as a Gateway to the World’, which will recount the stories of people who have departed from or arrived in the port of Southampton over the last 2000 years; and ‘Southampton’s Titanic Story’, which will focus on the hidden history of RMS Titanic’s crew and explore what it was like to be in the Merchant Navy 100 years ago.

The museum will include a climb-aboard replica of the liner and visitors will have the opportunity to experience life from

the perspective of the crew, many of whom were from Southampton.

The existing Southampton City Art Gallery will no longer house temporary exhibitions and will instead become a venue specifically used for the display of works from the city’s collection.

Councillor John Hannides, Cabinet member for leisure, culture and heritage, said: “More than 550 people from Southampton lost their lives and the vast majority were crew, so the theme we have adopted is very close to the hearts of the people of Southampton.

“The attraction will not only bring together the city’s heritage, it will attract thousands of visitors and create many new jobs.

This investment demonstrates our ongoing plans to develop Southampton as the capital of the south.”

The project reached a key construction milestone in August 2011 when the final stages of the special exhibitions pavilion were nearing completion. In order to mark the significant stage in the project, Southampton City Council and main contractor

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Lo n d o n & S o u th E a s t Kier Southern held a topping out ceremony to celebrate reaching the highest point of the build.

Martin Orr, Kier Southern Director, said: “The whole team at Kier Southern are extremely pleased to be involved with this prestigious project for Southampton and are excited to mark reaching this significant milestone.

“Once complete, Sea City will showcase Southampton’s maritime past and the topping out of the nine-metre high pavilion is a celebration of how far the build has already come in achieving this.”

RMS Titanic The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City and sank on 15th April 1912 with 2223 people on board. Of these passengers 1517 would lose their lives, in part due to the inadequate provision of lifeboats.

Built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast in order to compete with the rival Cunard Line’s ‘Lusitiana’ and ‘Mauretania’, RMS Titanic was intended to be the largest and most luxurious ship to ever set sail. Construction began on 31st March 1909 and was funded by the American J.P Morgan and his international Mercantile Marine Co. The hull was launched on 31st May 1911, and the outfitting was complete by 31st March the following year.

RMS Titanic was equipped with two reciprocating four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines and one low-pressure Parsons turbine, each driving a propeller. There were 29 boilers fired by 159 coal-burning furnaces that made a top speed of 23 knots (43km/h) possible.

The overall length of RMS Titanic was 882 feet and 9 inches (269.1m) and the height 59 feet (18m), whilst the ship had a breadth of 92 feet (28m) and a tonnage of 46,328 GRT.

Yarmouth to harbour great memories after improvement of visitor facilities reaches completion Phase One of a £1.4 million project at Yarmouth Harbour, Isle of Wight, has now been completed.

During the first phase of the 4 phase project, facilities were improved in order to reflect the demands of customers, who encompass both residents and visitors. These improvements included the creation of more walk-ashore pontooning and the upgrade of the fuel system to a floating fuel system, which has created better access and allows the harbour to deal with more customers at any one time. A safer area for commercial users has also been created.

Phase One was completed before Easter, and three more phases are to follow. The second phase is to put in a new quay on the south-west corner of the harbour, which will cost in the region of £500,000 to £600,000. The commissioners have stated that the phase will not take place this winter, as they wish to review the success of the first phase before committing to the second, third and fourth.

The harbour is unlike many others, in that approximately half of the space is dedicated to the visitors. Chief Executive and Harbour Master Chris Lisher explained: “In a year we have 15,000 overnight visiting boats, plus another 4000 short term (lunch time) visitors. Overall, we’re bringing in excess of 80,000 visitors into Yarmouth and the west of the Isle of Wight, based on four people per boat.”

Chris Lisher commented that the project ran smoothly and that there were no particular challenges other than completing the

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project before Easter, which is a peak time for the harbour. He was keen to describe some of innovative aspects of the project: “We’ve used a new product called kebony for the decking rather than the normal hardwood, which is Balau. Kebony is a treated softwood that I think we all want to give a try, to see if it’s as long lasting and durable as the hardwoods, as we are aware of the environmental impact of hardwoods and they are becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of.”

Walcon Marine installed the piling and pontooning, whilst Taylor Fuel Controls constructed the fuel pontoon. Marina Projects were the consultants for the whole project. The improvements were made after a lengthy consultation with the harbour’s users – including resident mooring holders, visitors and residents of the town.

Chris Lisher explained the main aims of the project. He said: “We want to increase revenue for the harbour and also put in better facilities for customers. More and more customers want convenience, power, water and the ability to get off their boat into the town whenever they want, rather than having to be on a buoy or a distant pontoon and hire a harbour taxi or a dingy.”

The Isle of Wight is separated from the mainland by the Solent, a 3-4 mile stretch of water which is protected from the prevailing South Westerly wind, making it the premier area for boating in the UK. At the west of the island, there is a car ferry that runs from Yarmouth to Lymington in the New Forest. This runs every ¾ of an hour, carrying 60 to 70 cars (around 200 to 300

people) and generates around 40% of the income. There are also around 25 commercial vessels, such as small fishing boats and training boats.

Kebony decks out Yarmouth Harbour Kebony, the Cleantech 100 company behind the award-winning sustainable substitute for tropical hardwood and preservative treated timber, is delighted that the exciting new £1.3 million Yarmouth Harbour project has been completed – representing both a pioneering sustainable marine development and the first UK harbour installation to use Kebony’s innovative decking material.

Working alongside Yarmouth Harbour Commissioners and Walcon Marine, leaders in the design, construction and installation of yacht harbours, Kebony is thrilled that the project is the first marine development in the UK to use its product. Yarmouth harbour demonstrates a forward thinking approach to environmental responsibility, a stunning venture which is set to draw visitors from far and wide as summer approaches.

Tasked with redeveloping one of the UK’s most popular harbours, Walcon Marine chose Kebony decking for the 200 metres of new pontoons, new bridge head and access bridge. Kebony was selected for its high quality, excellent durability and very high density making it resistant to wear, low maintenance and cost-effective. Rigorously tested in harsh Norwegian climates for its stability, Kebony has been heralded as the first viable alternative to tropical hardwood and preservative treated timber, demonstrating comparable, and often superior, properties.

Jan Terje Nielsen, Director of Marketing for Kebony comments: “We are delighted to be involved in this innovative new project.

Yarmouth Harbour is the first in the UK to use Kebony and is a superb showcase of how marine developments can be both commercially-viable and sustainable. They have shown a genuine concern for both the quality of the build and the environment – Yarmouth is a beautiful town and we are thrilled that they are using Kebony for this ground-breaking project.”

Chris Lisher, Harbour Master at Yarmouth Harbour comments: “Here in Yarmouth we have a bustling and thriving business community much of it based on activity in and around the harbour. We are delighted to have installed Kebony decking that is not only highly durable for the thousands of boaters passing through but looks great and is fully sustainable.”

James Walter, Managing Director at Walcon Marine comments: "We're very pleased to have had this opportunity to work with Kebony for the first time. We have fitted a variety of sustainable decking materials in recent years and Kebony is certainly one of the best we have encountered, both in its structural properties and its aesthetics. We look forward to using it again in the future.”

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Peace and tranquillity for Ockenden Manor The Grade II listed 17th century Ockenden Manor in West Sussex will soon be home to a beautiful spa retreat. The new build 2000m² spa and suites will sit within the derelict walled garden, which in the Victorian era was home to accommodation and workshops for the

gardeners who tended to what were extensive ornamental gardens, greenhouses and kitchen gardens.

Lampard and Partners are the main contractors for the project and John Cooper Associates are the architects.

The £6m luxury health spa will house many exciting facilities, including: indoor and outdoor swimming pools, treatment rooms, fitness suites, steam rooms and specialist shower areas, along with a gymnasium, relaxation area and sauna.

The multi-layered building is set into a steep slope, which is enclosed on three sides by the 18th century walls which rise up to 5.5m in height.

Externally the building is a mixture of structural glazing, with two-storey height glazed walls wrapping around the indoor pool, reception and relaxation areas and Parklex rain screen panels to the remaining walls. On the roof, there are two pavilions – one of which houses specialist beauty treatments and therapies. In addition, there is a private garden serving six large, exclusive luxury suites.

Ockenden Manor Spa is full of fascinating design features. Ben Law, who shot to fame on Channel 4’s ‘Grand Designs’ is making all of the door handles, screens and hand rails from his own woodland, whilst the project has also implemented an exciting new technique which has involved commissioning a local photographer to take pictures of woodland and working with the door manufacturer to apply these stunning pictures to the doors. When the doors are opened, it appears as if one is actually stepping into the woodland itself.

John Cooper from John Cooper Associates said: “This is an extremely interesting project to have

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worked on and as a result there were some challenges. Firstly, access was an issue as there is only one small lane in the middle of the village. In addition, the spa is in a conservation area as it falls within the grounds of a listed building and the new South Downs National Park. As a result, planning consent took a while – however we got there in the end.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response to the building and it has been pushed for many awards. I believe it just goes to show what can be produced when you have such an innovative, creative client. We have designed what we hope is a unique building that is both contemporary and respectful of the historic surroundings.”

£2m New Futures Centre is complete A state-of-the-art sports, performing arts and leisure centre has opened its doors to the young people of Banbury. The £2m centre was handed over to Oxfordshire County Council by main contractors Stepnell in September and is set to become a central feature in the area.

The New Futures Centre features a performance hall with a stage, music recording studios, an art room and work shop, youth fitness suite and a cafe-style relaxing area. In addition the centre features an outside all-weather court that can be used for sports such as football, basketball, netball and tennis. The new centre will offer youth services alongside other services for young people such as careers advice and work with youngsters not in education, employment or training (Neets). There will also be work with young people on issues such as teenage pregnancy, anti-social behaviour, absence from school and substance misuse.

The new building has incorporated several eco-friendly features, including low carbon design technologies, solar panels and low energy fittings to keep running costs down.

Approximately 50 young people took part in a consultation to discuss the features of the new centre, which has been funded by the Government’s Co-location Fund.

Anthony Sayles, Area Manager for the Integrated Youth Support Service, said: "Designed with young people and for young people we hope that this facility will go on to provide the kind of space and support that young people want. It's a

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fantastic opportunity for the Banbury Community and most importantly children and young people."

Councillor Louise Chapman, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “This will be a fabulous facility for Banbury and a real gem. It is living proof of the county council’s continued support for services for young people and I look forward to the people of the town feeling the benefits of this brand new facility. I am sure it will become a real focal point for young people in the town.”

The New Futures Centre is located in Hilton Road on the site of the former Banbury Youth Centre. The previous centre was considerably smaller and unable to house the full range of sporting, performance, music and art facilities offered by the New Futures Centre. Banbury area youth worker, Mike Beal, applauded the new build. He said: “It’s long overdue. There has not been any area outside before where we could run sports activities. This new building will encourage more young people in Banbury to make use of the great services on offer.”

Stepnell managing director, Mark Wakeford, said: “This is a superb facility for young people in the Banbury area and we are proud to have helped create it. Our team worked hard to deliver the building on time and to a very high standard. They rose brilliantly to the challenge posed by last winter’s severe weather, successfully completing the building on schedule thanks to the close working partnership between the Stepnall team; their client, Oxfordshire County Council; and consultants Oxford Architects, SBG, Northcroft and Scott White & Hookins.”

Stepnell Ltd is a family-owned full service construction and civil engineering business that has been trading since the 1870s.

With its head office in Rugby, Warwickshire, and regional offices in Kidderminster, Worcestershire; Grantham, Lincolnshire; Wantage, Oxfordshire and Poole, Dorset, the company works across the education, health, residential, industrial, commercial, retail, crematoria, defence, security and emergency services sectors.

Great Crested Newts fail to conquer Hampton Hargate Primary School project An exciting project to update and expand educational facilities for Hargate Primary School on Hargate Lane, Peterborough, is now complete. Main contractors for the £3.2m project were MARS Construction Ltd and the architects were Peterborough City Council.

The project comprised of two phases: the extension of the existing Hargate Primary School, which commenced in September 2010 and was completed in August; and the construction of a Children’s Centre, which began in November 2010 and was completed at the start of July.

– including the subcontractors, client and the Head Teacher – all worked extremely well together. The discovery of Great Crested Newts delayed the project for around twelve months and there was some particularly harsh weather at the start of the project; however, the team managed to work through these problems.

The Head Teacher, staff, pupils and parents are very pleased with the end product, which at the end of the day is what it’s all about.”

MARS Construction Ltd operate through two main divisions, each with its own particular area of expertise. The company aims to provide their client with the highest quality of service and to deliver their individual requirements within budget and on programme. MARS Construction Ltd have experience solid growth as a result of their dedication to customer satisfaction, whilst emphasising their pro-active approach to health, safety and environmental issues. The growth, brand values and reputation achieved over recent years is attributable to the enthusiasm of their employees and their commitment to both the company and their customers.

Funding for the project was provided by three sources: a Sure Start grant funded the Children’s Centre, the city council provided £2 million towards the new classrooms and a Government grant covered the rest of the costs.

The extension of the existing Hargate Primary School was required in order to provide much needed additional space, including: a new sports hall and staff room, six new class bases, changing rooms and a plant room. The building comprises a traditional brick block superstructure with steelwork and traditional build plasterboard walls.

The Children’s Centre includes a reception area with a consulting room and two class bases. In addition, there is a function room containing kitchen facilities that can be split by a movable wall. The function may be hired out for meetings and parties.

Jamie Goldsmith from MARS Construction Ltd said: “The team ROMA PUBLICATIONS

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McAleer & Rushe to deliver two hotels at 46-49 Blackfriars Road for the London Olympics Two new hotels are being built on 46-49 Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London. McAleer & Rushe are carrying out the design and build scheme, which will see the development transformed into the 4* Novotel London Blackfriars and 2* Ibis London Blackfriars hotels.

The project began in November 2010 and is expected to completeprior to the London Olympic Games in 2012.

The development is situated close to the cultural quarter along the south bank of the River Thames, which includes Tate Modern, Oxo Tower and The Globe Theatre.

The 182 bedroom, 4* Novotel will comprise twelve business suites, six meeting rooms (approximately 250 sq m of conference space), bar, restaurant and full leisure facilities, including a swimming pool. The 297 bedroom 2*Ibis hotel will offer guests bar and restaurant facilities, including a 24-hour snack and drink service.

The ground floor of the development is

rectangular in shape and above this, the building is comprised of three connected blocks that create a roughly H-shaped form, from 1st to 6th floor levels. On the 7th to the 13th floor, the building shape alters as it is set away from Meymott Street. At the north-east corner of the development, there are two access points to the 4* Novotel reception lobby. The 2*Ibis hotel is accessed via a lobby in the south eastern corner of the site, off Blackfriars Road.

The development’s facade is constructed with a Technocrete concrete panel affixed to a concrete framed structure with MAS 50 curtain walling inserts and MAS60 vent inserts.

Internally, the partitions will be formed using plasterboard, dry lining and blockwork. The hotel rooms are accessed off staircases and two main lift cores and each room is single aspect.

On Meymott Street, a vehicular drop off area and access to the servicing bay is provided,

Iconic new London landmark rises to become Britain’s tallest building The Shard in Southwark’s London Bridge Quarter soars skyward, pinpointing the location of this mixed use development, which is being carried out as part of the area’s £22m regeneration programme.

The Sellar Property Group - which is developing the scheme on behalf of LBQ Ltd - are working with architects Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with Adamson Associates and principal contractors Mace.

Renzo Piano, the architect, described the design as a ‘shard of crystal’. He explained that the sophisticated use of glazing and expressive facades of angled panes are intended to reflect light and the changing patterns of the sky - the form of the building will therefore change according to the weather and seasons.

When taken to the 244 metre level recently, Boris Johnson said: "If you want a symbol of how London is powering its way out of the global recession, the Shard is it, rising confidently up to the heavens. Once complete, this huge engineering feat will be the tallest building in Europe, and is destined to become as iconic a landmark on London's cherished skyline as the Gherkin, St Paul's or Big Ben.” The variable size of the floor plates is ideal for a mixed use development. At the bottom, the large deep floor plates are for offices; the middle floors incorporate an apartment hotel and the top floors comprise apartments. The building will incorporate: 595,000 sq ft of office space, a collection of high quality restaurants and bars occupying three floors at the mid levels, a five star deluxe Shangri-La hotel and spa, exclusive residences

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whilst along Blackfriars Road a coach and taxi lay-by is proposed for drop off and pick up only.

Peter Devlin from McAleer & Rushe said: “Work is progressing very well. We are currently working on the reinforced concrete frame, and are on the tenth of fourteen flours. The building has been constructed to meet Section 20 requirements and achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent.’ We have been making very good progress because all the teams have worked well together to overcome any challenges.”

and a high level viewing gallery. Conceived like a small vertical town in which ten thousand people will work and more will commute to and from, the tower is a holistic response to the

sustainable development of the European city.

Rock Complete Waterproofing

The building will be 310 metres tall with a total floor area of 90,000 square metres and it will have 72 floors, plus 15 further radiator floors in the roof.

Chiswick-based Rock Complete Waterproofing are making excellent progress carrying out a £1.4 million package of works on The Shard project. The works comprises of both waterproofing and internal cladding to the entire building from the basement to the very top of the 310 metre high building.

Each facet of the building forms a shard - a plane of glass gently inclined inwards - rising towards the top. The corners are open and the shards do not touch, allowing the building to ‘breathe’. In turn the glass surface visually fragments as it rises, and the tower appears to dissolve into the sky.

The central core is now complete. April 2011 saw steady progress in construction and cladding had enveloped half of the building’s exterior. Pouring of the concrete floors had reached level 50 and progress on the towers cladding had picked up pace once again with cladding reaching level 38.

Stephen Pycroft, chairman and CEO of Mace commented: "There is a lot of hard work to do, but the speed with which the Shard has risen out of the ground and the quality of the construction is testimony to the determination, innovation and team spirit of all those working on the project.”

Completion of the entire London Bridge Quarter development is anticipated during the first quarter of 2013.

The waterproofing works commenced with basement level tanking and will progress to the podium and on upwards incorporating exposed structures such as the ‘backpack’ area and BMU garages. Internal cladding is being carried out at various levels. This is one of many projects Rock are involved in which will impact the City skyline.

The company, which has been established for over 40 years as an asphalting specialist, has recently opened another office in Scotland and operates nationwide with a capacity to carry out all commercial waterproofing solutions and associated disciplines as well as tunnel waterproofing, both in the UK and overseas. The changing profile of the firm over the last five years reflects its expanded capability to take on diverse and prestigious projects such as The Shard.

London flagship scheme is largest on Oxford Street for 40 years Occupying an entire city block on London’s Oxford Street, the iconic new Park House incorporating office space, retail units and apartments, is now under construction in a flagship multi-million pound project which is the largest development on Oxford Street for 40 years.

The project is being carried out for Land Securities by Design and Build Contractor Mace Construction.

The new nine-storey, approximately 500,000 sq ft building is being constructed on an empty site cleared by earlier demolition works. Currently there are approximately 600 construction personnel on site and the contract is progressing on programme.

concrete sub-structure with a steel frame to level two, where it divides into a continuing steel frame for the office element and a reinforced concrete frame for the residential element.

Vibration isolation measures are also an important factor within the building’s structure, and are designed to protect the building from the vibration generated by road traffic and the nearby tube line.

Externally, the design features a striking fully glazed facade to all elevations incorporating specially commissioned art features, with a curved, partially metal and partially glazed roof.

The building will incorporate three levels of retail units with offices on the floors above, to the west side, and 39 luxury apartments (including 13 one-bedroom, 13 two-bedroom and 13 three-bedroom units) on the east side, with their own dedicated entrance on North Row.

The dramatic curves of the glass exterior have been compared to a sleek racing car, elegantly maximising the available space without overpowering the surrounding area. Visitors are greeted by a glass prism of liquid light created by Carpenter Lowings, while artist Walter Bailey has created extraordinary works in wood to adorn the exterior and reception.

The retail units feature shop fronts twice the average height for the area, perfect for drawing in the estimated 200 million people who visit Oxford Street every year.

The project will also provide an enhancement to the public realm in that there will be more pedestrian space once the project has been completed than there was previously.

The building has a complex structure incorporating a reinforced

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Lo n d o n & S o u th E a s t experience of working on major inner city sites. “A lot of our projects are in central London and similar challenging sites - whether around live railway stations, busy retail areas or commercial offices. It simply means that we have to plan the works in a great deal of detail. In this case we have accessed the building from the south side on North Row, avoiding Oxford Street,” said Mr Jonathan Foster Mace Director responsible for Park House.

Currently the building is structurally complete, with all of the external wall cladding in place and the roof glazing is in progress, together with internal mechanical and electrical works and fitting out.

Phased handover is scheduled from June to November 2012.

Trelleborg rises to the challenge Engineered polymers specialists Trelleborg, played a major role in overcoming one of the main challenges in the Park House project, arising from its proximity to Marble Arch Tube Station with resulting vibration and noise from the trains.

Working with acoustic consultants Hann Tucker Associates, Trelleborg formulated a strategy to provide individually engineered, specially manufactured rubber bearings, underneath and within the building to alleviate the problem.

The solution involved the bespoke design, manufacture and installation of the rubber bearings by Netherlands-based Trelleborg.

Park House rests on 363 rubber bearings that are 500 millimeters square and 140 millimeters high. The bearings are installed at the sub- basement level, under the two central cores – complex towers of steel-reinforced concrete forming the backbone of the building. These bearings carry a 28,000-metric-ton vertical load.

Elsewhere there are three different types of bearing in use,

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each one individually specified and tested.

The highest level of noise and vibration isolation is needed on the third floor, where the luxury accommodation begins. The steel columns here are supported by high-specification bearings included in 44 modular steel assemblies, some of which weigh more than two metric tons.

There are bearing assemblies at lower levels to isolate the towers and several hundred smaller bearings, 110 millimeters across, fitted on the second floor to ensure that the exterior cladding cannot transmit vibrations from below.

What Trelleborg brings to the project is its expertise in working closely with specialized structural engineers and acoustic consultants.

At the Trelleborg Engineered Systems facility in Ridderkerk, Trelleborg designs and manufactures engineered rubber products to seal, damp and protect in demanding environments worldwide. As well as isolating buildings, its products are used in bridges and big civil structures like storm surge barriers.

Moreover it has a leading position globally in sealing systems for tunnels and underground structures like parking garages.

The most sustainable broadcasting facility in Europe: £233m Sky Studios open for business The Sky Sports News ‘Good Morning Sports Fans’ became the first programme to be broadcast from the new state-of-the-art HQ facility when it opened in West London on the 4th of July 2011. The building has integrated innovative design features – including natural ventilation and an onsite Combined Cooling, Heating & Power plant (CCHP) – in order to achieve Sky’s continued ambition for sustainable and renewable power and gain the accolade of being “the most environmentally sustainable broadcasting facility in Europe.”

Sky Studios was designed by Arup Associates and comprises 8 naturally ventilated TV studios (all of which are 3D and HD ready), 45 edit suites and 14 voice-over suites. At 100m long and 50m wide, the multi-functional 23,000m² space is the size of two New York City blocks or an eight-storey London building.

The building is arranged over five levels. These five levels are divided horizontally into three zones – ‘make’, ‘shape’ and ‘share’ – offering a multi-platform distribution hub for Sky’s Sports and Entertainment Production and its 1,300 staff.

Bovis Lend Lease were the main contractors on the project, which was funded by a £233m investment from Sky over the four-year construction process.

Michael Beaven from Arup Associates said: “Essentially it is a steel and concrete building; due to the sheer size of the project, a huge variety of materials were used in the cladding and so forth. As part of the specification, Sky specified that green materials were to be used wherever possible. We had

a careful selection process to ensure that all materials were responsibly sourced, for example all of the timber is FFC accredited. Ecological landscaping was also an important part of the masterplan; we planted trees to reinforce the landscape, and drainage and water recovery was also part of the process.

“The exterior of the building is finished in a glass and aluminium cladding, with a modern wall system that has been designed to look modern and to express the function inside the building - for

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Lo n d o n & S o u th E a s t instance, the chimneys protruding from the building are ventilating the studios. It is a crisp and modern expression.

“We’ve innovated new ways of integrating low energy features into the building through integrating architectural engineering.

We’ve used the integrated design aspects of how we work to really implement things that could not be done otherwise. We have achieved an exceptional performance for such a high intensity building and have exceeded all targets from an energy point of view. The new Sky Studios really is at the cutting edge of sustainable design and performance.”

To date, the building has won the ‘Sustainable Project of the Year’ category at the 2010 Sustainability Awards and has received nominations for The Guardian Sustainability Awards 2011, Building Awards 2011, the World Architecture Awards 2010, the Building Construction Industry Awards 2011 and the 2011 Sustainable Energy Europe Awards.

£5m makeover for Northbrook College An exciting college revamp at the Broadwater campus of Northbrook College in Broadwater Road, Worthing, is well underway. The project began in December 2010 and is expected to be completed in mid December of this year.

The £5m project will see the demolishment of what the college describes as ‘unsightly and sub-standard huts’ and the construction of a new building, which will be home to a new entrance and reception area, classrooms and a training salon for

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hair and beauty courses. The training hair and beauty salons, including the nail salon, will be available for general public use as part of the range of facilities that the College currently offers.

Main contractors for the project are VINCI Construction Ltd, and the architects are ECE Architecture. The majority of the new funding will be paid for by £4 million of long-term borrowing and a £1 million grant from the Skills Funding Agency.

Under the scheme, the main entrance of the college has been relocated. An atrium reception has been constructed, which is

attached to the new build, which itself is a three-storey, 11m high concrete frame structure. Comprising around 1500 sq m of floor space, the building houses hairdressing rooms on the ground floor, beauty salons on the first floor, and teaching and computer facilities on the top floor. There are twelve rooms altogether, along with the necessary toilet facilities.

Interestingly, the scheme has also incorporated a separate ‘sustainability building,’ which showcases modern ways of sustainability. The building itself has also utilised sustainable methods, including a green Sedum roof and cedar cladding.

Indeed, the entire new build is expected to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standard.

Exterior landscaping has comprised the replacing of trees and hedging, along with a student-friendly area of grass and seating at the rear of the building. There are no significant changes to the car parking arrangements on site.

Simon Brodrick, College Project Manager, said: “Every new building has interesting design features, however the way in which the atrium area manages to combine the new structure with the old structure really makes this building stand out. All the consultants have worked very well together and have produced an excellent scheme in a very short period of time.”

Northbrook College is one of the largest educational establishments in Sussex, with approximately 1000 staff and 16000 full and part time students. Northbrook has two campuses in Worthing and a campus at Shoreham Airport.

Northbrook was formed in 1986 when the West Sussex College of Art and Design (founded in 1912) merged with two other colleges: Worthing College of Technology and Chelsea College of Aeronautical Engineering (founded in 1924).

BM Hepburn Ltd BM Hepburn limited is a family run business and has been established for 44 years. We currently have a workforce of around 70 people all of which are NVQ qualified. We work all over Sussex, Kent and parts of Surrey, trying to stay within a 60 mile radius of Eastbourne. Please look on our website www. bmhepburnltd.co.uk for a full introduction to our services.

The company is run by brothers Matthew and Jack Hepburn having taken over from their father Brian.

We carry out all aspects of drylining, metal stud partitioning, suspended ceilings (mf type and lay-in), Metsec external walling, wet plastering, external rendering (to include traditional, through coloured and insulated systems), floor screeding (traditional and flowing), coving and cornicing and also operate a small decorating division. On top of these services we have recently started offering USG Level-5 spray finishing system, receiving very positive reviews.

BM Hepburn Limited are listed as approved installers of numerous products i.e Weber (external rendering systems), Ardex (quick drying floor systems).

BM Hepburn Limited pride themselves on providing a well organised and quality service. We have worked successfully in conjunction with Vinci Construction, and wish them every success for the future.

Life Church Centre ready to spread the message of Jesus Pastor David Grant has confirmed the practical completion of the new Life Church Centre in Elms Road, Hook, Hampshire.

The project has seen the demolition of the previous church, which had been on the site since 1910. In its place, a new centre for worship has been built by main contractors Barfoot + Powell. A large percentage of the funding needed for the £750,000 project has been raised by generous donations from church members.

entrance area.

“As you enter the main hall, the main focus is the bay window on the opposite side of the room. This window allows you to see right through the entire building from front to back, making it a very open space and lending an airy feel to the building.”

As the residential site is relatively compact, restrictions were imposed by the planning office regarding the footprint of the building. It was required that the building must be consistent

The two-storey building is essentially a steel frame structure with block work and render. On the ground floor, there is a 4m x 4m reception office, toilets and a kitchen equipped with industrial grade kitchen appliances. Through another set of double doors, there is a main meeting room to seat around 100 people. On the first floor, which runs at a right angle to the ground floor, there are 2 offices and a meeting room to seat around 30 people. There is also a platform lift that operates between the two floors.

The new Life Church Centre has some interesting design features. David Grant said: “The entrance hall is particularly interesting: there is a curved wall that curves into the space on the left hand side – this mirrors a similar design on the right hand side, which comprises an oak bench that faces the curve. This has created a very attractive architectural feature. In addition, there is a sky light on the flat roof that lights up the whole of the ROMA PUBLICATIONS

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Lo n d o n & S o u th E a s t with the rest of the street scene and therefore the ridge of the first floor is between the heights of the two adjacent properties.

A small amount of landscaping will take place, comprising plant beds and shrubbery to the front and back of the Centre.

David Grant said: “Works have progressed well and our contractor has performed superbly. We are very excited about the opportunity that this building gives us to really establish our presence in the village as a church that is outward-looking and wants to serve the community. Through this building, we can continue our working relationship with the local Anglican Church and spread the gospel of Jesus.”

The village of Hook has around 8,000 residents in 3,000 homes. Three churches serve the village: The Life Church, an Anglican church and a Catholic church. The Life Church is part of Newfrontiers, a worldwide family of like-minded churches who are working together on a mission to establish the Kingdom of God.

Landmark building will run the world’s largest offshore wind farm A £4 million contract to construct a landmark Operations and Maintenance Base Facility for the London Array Project, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, is nearing completion at the Port of Ramsgate on the east Kent coast.

The purpose-built facility, which has been designed by award winning Midlands based BBLB archiiects LLP, will accommodate up to 90 staff. The building is being constructed by Mansell Construction Services and the Project Managers are BBLB Architects; Structural and Civil Engineers are Curtins Consulting

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and Mechanical and Electrical Engineers are The Engineering Practice. Janes Lathwood is the Client’s Quantity Surveyor The distinct architectural concept has been designed by BBLB architects specifically around the exposed marine conditions and the project has been driven by positive sustainable measures. The building will achieve BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) ‘Excellent’ status. It will also have BREEAM grade A+ internal finishes and will be built using the latest building methods and using materials that are sustainable and recyclable.

“This is a landmark building of high quality design - which reflects the status of this exciting project,” said Mr Ed Baverstock of BBLB architects.

The two-storey main building is divided into two distinct elements: there is 15,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art open plan and cellular offices for monitoring the operations of the wind farm, and a 10,000 sq ft warehouse to store everything needed for wind farm’s maintenance. These two elements will be separated by a three-storey full height glazed atrium incorporating the building’s main entrance and an internal ‘street’ linking the office and warehouse areas.

The building’s sustainable design features include: maximising the available natural light through passive design measures; an extensive specially designed green roof seeded with planting typical to the area on the warehouse element of the building to provide ecological value, good insulation and water attenuation, and a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facility.

The building is structured around a steel frame with external elevations of the office element in Sto-render, with a flat Sarna roof, whilst the warehouse element will feature Kal-Zip cladding to the elevations.

External works include the construction of a concrete service yard, and car parking to the front of the building.

Currently the project is progressing on schedule, with the building now watertight. The green roof is now being fitted and the mechanical and electrical installation, internal finishes and external works are underway. The project is due to be completed in October 2011.

London Array is arguably the most widely known UK offshore wind farm. Its sheer scale and proximity to Greater London mean that it is often referred to by politicians and in the press. At 1,000MW, the project is currently the world’s largest consented wind farm.

The London Array could eventually power up to 750,000 homes – about a quarter of Greater London – and reduce harmful CO2 emissions by 1.4 million tonnes a year. Therefore, it will make a big difference to the environment as well as helping provide a reliable electricity supply to south east England.

Construction on the new onshore substation at Cleve Hill started in July 2009 and offshore construction commenced in March 2011, when the first of 177 foundations was installed for the

project. Construction of Phase One should be fully complete by the end of 2012.

London Array will be commissioned in phases as groups of turbines become operational. Each turbine will be energised, commissioned and tested individually and in groups to make sure they’re working correctly.

It is expected that the whole of Phase One to be commissioned by spring 2013, after which the site will be handed over to the Operations and Maintenance team.

London Array’s turbines are designed to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for over 20 years. Each turbine will be serviced regularly by technicians, who will normally travel to the wind farm by boat.

Iemants NV Iemants N V is an international steel construction company based in Arendonk, Belgium. With over 50 years of combined experience in the construction, fabrication, supply and assembly of high grade steel construction, a 450-strong workforce and extensive engineering department; we pride ourselves on our efficient service delivery and highly professional work ethic.

The direct and transparent nature of our communications with project clientele has secured the company two new off-shore substation contracts in recent weeks and we are going from strength to strength.

Iemants were recently involved in the design, production and erection of a transformer substation for the London Array Wind Farm. The company provided an essential supply service to the project, sending materials for the foundations of the station and the external framework structure. Project manager Bob Boons said: “The London Array project went very smoothly. The team worked rapidly and efficiently and the overall result was very pleasing. As an organization, we are proud of the successes we have achieved already and are constantly looking for new and exciting opportunities in the steel construction market. With this, we hope to keep growing and growing.”

Iemants’ impressive list of internationally-gained experience credits them amongst the top names in the steel construction field, rendering them masters in all facets of the trade and this is perpetuated by an ever-growing list of solid references from previous projects.

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Venn Street Complete A major South London project to divert traffic flow and encourage market trade on Venn Street in Clapham has been completed. The Lambeth Council improvement scheme began in June of this year and was chiefly initiated with the facilitation and expansion of Venn Street market in mind.

The market, previously only held on a monthly basis, was established in 2009 as the result of a partnership between Lambeth Council and Market Operators ‘Sourced Market’ and hosts many local businesses and niche suppliers which have diversified trade in the Clapham area.

The physical improvements have allowed part of the main road to be closed to general traffic every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which in turn, has facilitated Venn Street market going weekly this month. Lambeth Council’s Regeneration, Planning and Strategic Transport cabinet member, Councillor Nigel Haselden, said that the improvements are “fantastic for the market” which has become tremendously popular, giving the local area “a real buzz.”

The redesigning of the street brings significant public realm benefits to the Clapham area. The fresh façade features a significantly de-cluttered street with lanterns and signs fixed to the walls and the introduction of mature olive trees, which beautify and naturalise the area. The new central paved section which runs outside the Clapham Picture House is now at the same level as the road itself. This shared surface has created a more harmonious and cohesive environment for traffic and pedestrians.

The new congregational space has been further improved by the removal and relocation of unnecessary and unsightly streetlamps and signage, which were previously of detriment to both the practical and aesthetical function of the street. This de-cluttering will accommodate the extension of the market, housing stalls selling a wide range of fresh produce, as well as a diverse range of plants and garden accessories. Deputy Chairman of Transport for London, Daniel Moylan said: “These improvements have made a significant contribution to the transformation of the Clapham area. They improve the quality of life for people throughout the borough, whilst simultaneously recognising and encouraging the importance of local business contribution.”

The Venn street rejuvenation falls under the Clapham Gateway scheme, which aims to improve the area between Clapham Common Station and Clapham Old Town. This is part of the Mayor of London’s Better Streets agenda, a guide which details a vision for the revitalisation of all aspects of the public realm within the capital. The project is one of around 80 public realm improvements scheduled for completion between 2009 and the 2012 games and is compartmental to capital-wide improvement-implementation plans with an estimated cost of around £355million.

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The project was managed through a number of local stakeholders and independent consulting firm, Urban Initiatives were on hand to consult with the Clapham locals and assist the team in developing a detailed design for the new street layout. The completion of Venn Street signals the closure of phase 1 of the Clapham Gateway Project and future proposals for the area include the potential removal of the Old Town eastern carriageway, to make way for the creation of a new piazza area.

The Venn Street project and others like it go towards ensuring that London becomes known as a ‘great world city’ and are designed to encourage visitors to go and enjoy the area and spend their leisure time there. Most of all, the plans are intended to help improve the quality of life for those living in the capital and the expansion of the popular street market is therefore a considerable step in the right direction.

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London’s largest single estate regeneration project nears completion The largest single estate regeneration project in London, comprising the wide-ranging refurbishment of 300 flats in the 23 storey Brittany Point, 20 storey Ward Point and 18 storey Elkington tower blocks on Lambeth’s Ethelred Estate is nearing completion. The scheme is geared to providing decent homes inside exemplar energy efficient buildings.

The project is being carried out for the London Borough of Lambeth by Breyer Group.

The works, which have been carried out within one block at a time, include the installation of new kitchens, including new sinks, worktops, cupboards, flooring, tiling, and decoration, with each kitchen having been designed in close consultation with the tenants. Bathrooms are also being refurbished including new bathroom suites, flooring and tiling. Other works include re-wiring and the installation of new plumbing and central heating served by communal boilers and a combined heat and power plant. The central plant room was completely replaced with four condensing boilers, 72,000L thermal storage and a a 310kw combined heat and power plant (CHP).

The CHP unit provides heating plus electricity which supplies the communal areas as well as being sold back to the residents.

In addition, each block has its own heat station plant room that converts LTHW primary heating into secondary heating and hot water via plate heat exchangers (PHE). This element

of the scheme, carried out

by Parker Bromley, also involved the removal of all redundant services including the original warm air heating systems.

Once these works were completed, the new central heating, hot and cold services and risers amongst other energy efficiency measures were installed.

Running in parallel, the electrical works consisted of new electrical submain works and complete electrical rewires including new consumer boxes. It was also necessary to use core drilling so ventilation fans could be fitted to all bathrooms and kitchens.

Additional works on the scheme comprise the complete refurbishment of communal areas including the installation of new lifts, new suspended ceilings, new flooring and decoration throughout.

External works comprise the installation of new aluminium framed windows and new insulated render, overclad with 8mm insulation to improve the U values of the buildings; re-roofing with a Sedum green roofing system and the installation of photovoltaic panels on the building elevations to power lighting within the communal areas.

A podium level nursery has also been refurbished, including re-asphalting externally and improvement works have been carried out to soft play areas.

A further element of the scheme involves the re-wiring of lighting within the buildings’ undercroft car park areas.

Trainees from within the local community are given the opportunity to receive customised training on the professional construction disciplines on the project. Breyer committed to upskilling a minimum of 15 training placements for local residents, provided through trade and management roles.

Breyer’s unique 360 degree training programme was designed to ensure that trainees are involved in the project management and delivery of targeted initiatives.

The project, which has been on site for two years, is due to be completed at the end of November 2011.

The project was selected by Ecostiler, Energy Efficient Communities as a show case project at South Bank University's Keyworth Centre in London.

An Ecostiler project is a scheme funded by the European Concerto programme. Ecostiler Partners have worked to install and retrofit a range of low carbon technologies and energy efficiency improvements in urban and rural dwellings. These have including Biogas Plants, District Heating, Photovoltaics Panels and Wind Turbines.

Key sustainable features of the Ethelred Estate project include:

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Lo n d o n & S o u th E a s t 80% carbon reduction (exceeding the governments projected targets), introducing high performance rendering to all external elevations, installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels to south and west elevations of all blocks, recycled aluminium windows with high performance double glazed units, minimising reflections, high insulating green Sedum roof covering, a CHP power source with ESCO arrangements, and a building performance comparison with before and after Infra Red Survey.

roofing contractor and they are continuing to establish themselves as industry leaders. Recent diversification into emerging markets has included the incorporation of responsive repairs, renewable energy, retrofit technology and client focused ICT integration within the company’s projects.

Breyer offer a full range of design, refurbishment and construction services, which actively improve the fabric of the local communities in which they live and work.

Breyer Group is a forward thinking construction and specialist

Linden Homes is making progress on £55m housing development A £55m project to create 194 new build houses and apartments is well underway in Guildford, Surrey.

Linden Homes are carrying out the scheme, which has been designed by award winning architects John Thompson and Partners and is due to be completed in December 2012.

Under the project, a wide range of high quality housing comprising one-storey to four-storey builds will be constructed at Boxgrove Gardens. The homes will range from 495 sq ft to 2,550 sq ft and comprise traditional brick and block masonry with exterior facing brickwork, render, tile hanging and oak detailing.

The homes will be contemporary in style and functional by design. All of the homes are designed to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 and have a minimum of 75% energy efficient lighting. Internally, the homes will be finished to the highest possible standards.

The new Boxgrove Gardens is situated just a short walk away from the picturesque Guildford town centre, which is rated as one of the premier shopping areas in the South East. The town centre is arranged around a cobbled high street that offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside, whilst behind the historic buildings and cobbled alleyways are all of the amenities one could need from a city. There are a huge range of shops, cafes and restaurants, including high street brands such as Monsoon, Whistles Boots, WH Smith and Reiss.

Guildford is also a flourishing market town steeped in history. The town offers locals and visitors a variety of shopping experiences, from art and jewellery to cool funky brands and modern games and technology. There are beautiful boutiques, bustling markets, smart ‘covered’ shopping centres and small independent stores.

Close to the town centre there are a huge variety of places to eat and drink and parking couldn’t be easier as Guildford offers over 20 car parks and a Shop Mobility as well as a ‘Park and Ride’ scheme. Sainsbury’s and M&S are conveniently located near to the Boxgrove Gardens development, whilst both Leatherhead and Woking are just a short drive away.

As well as the many historical buildings, Guildford offers beautiful gardens, opportunities for boating, theatre visits and trips to the cinema. Guildford town centre also caters for all sports & leisure needs and boasts an extensive leisure centre and a huge variety of bars, pubs, hotels, nightlife and much more.

From Boxgrove Gardens it is only a short walk away to the

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River Wey where you will find the contemporary Electric Theatre and the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. The historic Guildford House Gallery holds many exhibitions and the peaceful Castle gardens and The Downs are all just minutes from the High Street.

Guildford Cathedral consecrated in 1961, is England's most recent Cathedral and is just minutes drive from the new housing development.

Guildford is situated just 30 miles drive from London and has excellent train links to the capital. The main train station is adjacent to the town centre and less than five minutes walk, with trains from London, Portsmouth, Reading and Gatwick. Regular trains run from Guildford (operated by South West Trains) to London Waterloo (operated by Network Rail) making commuting to the capital easy.

Linden Homes Linden Homes is a leading new homebuilder with a truly impressive brand, offering a distinctive and diverse product range of new homes and properties both in terms of house styles and specification. They are currently building houses and flats throughout the South East, South West, East Midlands and North East.

Linden Homes has been part of the Galliford Try Group for many years, and previously the Group traded regionally with different brand names- Stamford Homes, Midas Homes, Rosemullion Homes and Gerald Wood Homes.

In order to gain a national benefit from their regional expertise, they recently united all of their companies under the Linden Homes name with a new brand identity. This will help the company to further improve their customer service and homes, based upon a better understanding of what local communities want. Their combined years of local and regional knowledge and experience will help them to be better at what they do best.

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Prospect House extension is progressing well A£2.2m project to construct an extension for PSA Parts Limited at Prospect House on Prince Georges Road in Colliers Wood, London, is nearing completion.

The four storey extension will provide offices, industrial space, storage and a retail space with parking and a roof terrace.

The project was designed by architects Peldon Rose Limited and the consultant group comprises Train & Kemp Limited as the structural engineer and European Asbestos Services, Thames Water and Davidson & Pearson Limited as the consulting engineers.

ply of the highest quality batteries and power adapters into the IT channel. PSA are also the sole European licensee for Duracell’s digital camera and camcorder rechargeable battery packs and chargers.

PSA offer a number of value added services, including FTP feeds, EDI links and a product configurator for their customer’s web sites. This enables their resellers to offer a full range of power products directly to their customer.

The four month project began in June 2011 and is expected to be complete at the end of November.

The new building features facing brickwork and render with aluminium external doors, whilst the roof is clad with profiled metal sheeting and tiles. Internally, the walls are composed of plaster and dry lining and the floors are timber boarding that will eventually be finished with carpet.

Along with the new extension, the existing building has been re-cladded and new timber framed windows installed. General access has also been upgraded for both the extension and the existing building.

External works have comprised some soft landscaping and the installation of new fencing.

PSA Parts Ltd are Europe’s leading distributor of power accessories for mobile devices, having specialised in the sup-

Praise for team on waterfront project Councillors, contractors, council staff and funding agencies were all praised for a great team effort when they came together for the official opening of the newly pedestrianised area along Nene Parade in Wisbech.

The project, carried out in two phases, involved the provision

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of environmental improvements along the waterfront, and was carried out as part of a larger waterfront regeneration scheme.

Both phases of the waterfront environmental improvements were carried out by J. Breheny Contractors.

The first phase, comprised the laying of new paving, landscaping, the installation of new street furniture and the construction of a viewing platform to an approximately 150 metre section along the waterfront.

The second phase, which commenced in October 2010 and was completed in June 2011, comprised similar works along a further section of the waterfront, connecting the new pedestrianised area with Freedom Bridge and the local police station.

The new pedestrianised area, which incorporates a pedestrian crossing on Freedom Bridge, provides walkers and cyclists from the Waterlees and Clarkson wards with a safe and attractive route through to the Boathouse and town centre.

The completed works also included the construction of a new link road between Chase Street and De Havilland Road, a new access road into the rear of the police station and junction improvements to Lynn Road/De Havilland Road.

Challenges overcome in the scheme included the need to divert a water main which obstructed the works.

The scheme marked the successful completion of all the essential infrastructure for Fenland District Council's Nene Waterfront Regeneration Project. Speaking at the opening, Councillor Chris Seaton, FDC's Deputy leader, said: "The opening of the Nene Parade marks another important milestone for the Nene Waterfront Regeneration Project.

"The works completed to date have already transformed the look of the area and hopefully we will not have to wait too long before the development land comes forward to complete this

ambitious project.�

Cllr Seaton praised everyone involved in the project. He paid tribute to Fenland District Council’s in-house engineering team, Main Contractors Breheny, Cognition for its land remediation work, and other partners, including Cambridgeshire County Council. And he was delighted to receive an award for environmental excellence from CEEQUAL, the body that promotes sustainability in civil engineering, landscaping and the public realm.

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£1 billion Pembroke Power Station project fires ahead Project Director Ken Larsen has confirmed that Alstom has almost completed the construction of a new stateof-the-art 2,160MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station for RWE npower at its Pembroke site in Wales. The £1 billion project began in summer 2009 and plant construction will be essentially completed in the first quarter of 2012.

Pembroke Power Station will be the largest combined cycle plant in the UK and is the seventh gas turbine project in the UK using the KA26 gas turbine. It was the second contract awarded to Alstom by RWE npower in less than two years, following the Staythorpe power station in Nottinghamshire. Ken Larsen said: “This will be one of the most efficient gas burning power stations in Europe, with up to 60% thermal efficiency, and it will certainly be a key asset of RWE npower for the future.”

Alstom are the principal Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractor leading for the execution of the project and also have a long-term operation and maintenance

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contract. The company is a key player in the UK, having constructed twenty gas-fired power plants, which produce over 12GW. Main contractors for the project are Shaw Group UK Ltd, who erected the Heat Recovery Steam Generators. Dornan Engineering Limited provided the power cabling and control systems installation, ZRE were the main shaft line mechanical erection contractor and Sisk UK Ltd were responsible for the civil works. The mechanical cranes were installed by Morris Material Handling Ltd, the water treatment plant was installed

by Hager + Elsässer Ltd and Motherwell Bridge Ltd provided the main water tanks. Lectec Services were responsible for the general lighting and power systems, whilst Tyco provided the fire systems and Quadrant Security installed the security systems.

Gas storage was provided by BOC Ltd and Interserve Industrial Services were responsible for the installation of insulation and cladding for the piping systems. DWLS Ltd installed 50 ursig modules weighing from 200 to 270 tonnes each. A number of

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small local contractors, such as Port Engineering, were also used for miscellaneous construction activities.

The new Pembroke Power Station has been constructed on the site of the previous oil-fired power station and comprises five operating units, each of which operate as an independent power plant and comprise a gas turbine, steam turbine and generator. The design of the building is one of Alstom’s standard concept designs for a combined cycle gas turbine layout for five units, optimised in conjunction with RWE npower.

The project comprised two types of construction: assembled equipment in a package unit format (such as the gas turbine, steam turbine, generator, transformers, medium/high pressure pumps, electric motor drives and boiler components) and miscellaneous materials. The miscellaneous materials included: steel work and cladding, pipe work, valves, power cabling, control systems, tanks, pressure vessels, pumping units, heating ventilation, air conditioning systems, small power systems and security systems including CCTV and intruder detection systems.

As several of the key components of the power station came fully assembled, the project was able to facilitate an accelerated construction process. As a result, the civil engineering construction and the mechanical and electrical engineering construction have been performed ahead of the contract programme. A key example of innovative construction techniques was the offsite full prefabrication of the Feed Water Towers that were transported in modules from the fabrication facility in France.

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to very high standards.

“The project demonstrates a major success for the UK engineering construction industry, an industry that has been through a very difficult time in the last twenty years and is reduced on a year-to-year basis due to the downturn in general engineering construction projects. The project is seen as a major success and is backed by the three major trade unions.

“From an industrial relations point of view, the project is seen by all as a tremendous success and there has been excellent cooperation between all the parties.”

However the project was not without its complications, as Ken Larsen went on to explain: “The construction was carried out to an accelerated pace, which presented many challenges to the team. I think first of all, logistics had to be carefully considered: getting the heavy oversized cargo onto the site was very challenging, especially as the cargo came in by both road and sea transport. The various consignments were transported and offloaded at site, some over a transportation weight of 300 Tonnes , on occasion, logistical operations were exacerbated by weather conditions.

A comprehensive programme of civil works was also been carried out. This included ground improvement works, foundation engineering, foundation construction, building superstructure construction, reinforced concrete superstructure, landscaping, roads and drainage.

“There were also many regulations, laws, standards and requirements that we had to obey and follow. This was particularly apparent in relation to Environment, Health and Safety: any large industrial projects operating in the UK now have to fully comply with the very onerous EHS standards that are now mandatory by law. When you consider the location, design, logistics, the presence of over 2,000 construction operatives to support the build of the plant, the complex build team, the time scale, the industrial relations criteria, the environmental, health and safety legislation and the fact that we had to build the plant to a certain quality, it must be conceded that, as a turnkey package, it was a very complex project.”

Ken Larsen said: “The construction of Pembroke so far has been a success in every manner. First of all, the cooperation between Alstom and the RWE has been second to none. The performance of the key stakeholders – the civil, mechanical and electrical contractors, and the worldwide suppliers – has been excellent. Indeed, the equipment has been supplied from all over the world – Mexico, USA, China, Western Europe and the UK – and it has been delivered either on time or ahead of time,

One of the key features of the project has been the impressive standards of Health and Safety. Earlier this year, the projected was audited by the British Safety Council (BSC), who conduct comprehensive audits and in the case of Pembroke, Alstom and all of the key stakeholders, scored 98.64% across 57 different parameters. As a result, the project was awarded the BSC ‘Sword of Honour’ for EHS excellence, the highest award in the UK industry.

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Revamped railway station will be the pride of the town Providing a bright new railway station for the 21st century, is a project to dramatically transform Swansea Station.

The upgrade will also help boost Swansea’s public transport network as the scheme sits alongside ongoing works to refurbish the city’s Quadrant bus station.

Swansea station is an important rail interchange for services between West Wales and London. It was built in 1850 by the South Wales Railway and renovated several times throughout its lifetime.

It is the fourth busiest station in Wales and serves around 1.6m passengers a year.

The scheme, which is part of the Department for Transport’s national station improvement programme, is jointly led by Arriva Trains Wales, Network Rail and the Welsh Assembly Government. It also has firm support from Swansea Council, which sees the planned improvements to the station as a further boost to the city’s regeneration plans.

Main Contractors are Strategic Team Group.

The improvement work will bring a bright, clean and modern passenger friendly station with: a new station frontage canopy with contemporary designs; a re-decorated and polished station facade; a revamped main entrance and a taller ceiling height with original decorative ceilings unveiled and conserved.

Other improvements include the installation of new glazed concourse roofing to improve natural lighting into the area, the installation of new platform canopies; upgrading of the station’s electrical system and the laying of new flooring The project also involves the creation of a new entrance to the station from the taxi rank and a bigger and less congested concourse area for passengers to flow swiftly within the space.

In addition there will be: new customer toilets, bicycle racks and waiting rooms, a bigger ticket office, additional bi-lingual signage, a new café area and an additional customer train service information system The project began in September 2010 and will be complete early 2012.

Speaking at the inception of the project, the then Deputy First Minister and Minister for Economy and Transport said: "I am extremely pleased to be part of this partnership project which meets yet another of our commitments in our National Transport Plan.

"This is certainly an exciting time for Swansea - I am sure passengers will be very proud of their new brighter, safer station for years to come."

Chris Rayner, route director for Network Rail, said: “Stations

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are the railways' shop-front and they have been ignored for too long. Over the coming years, stations are among Network Rail’s top priorities and, together with our partners, we will be investing around £85m into improving stations in Wales by 2014.

“Swansea is among the many stations to benefit from this wider investment. The transformed station will serve as a catalyst for further growth in rail usage in Swansea, while helping to provide a much better environment for the city. We have also listened to passengers and this plan will respond to their needs by improving their travel experience so that their rail journey will always be comfortable, convenient and safe.”

Ian Bullock, customer services director at Arriva Trains Wales said: “We are pleased to be delivering the project alongside our partners to provide a much improved and brighter passenger experience at Swansea Station. The improvement work has been designed specifically to update and in some cases install new facilities including a greater provision of service information, vending facilities, CCTV and an improvement of access all of which contribute to a station fit for the 21st century and we hope will encourage more people to try the train.”

Councillor Chris Holley, Swansea Council Leader, said: “The station serves as one of the key gateways into the city and it gives many people a first impression of Swansea. This work is vital in ensuring those impressions are positive.

“These are very encouraging times for the High Street area of Swansea and will boost its regeneration. This scheme will sit alongside projects such as the Urban Village for part of High Street led by The Coastal Housing Group to create an area the people of Swansea can be proud of.”

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£25 million Urban Village is the hottest news on the high street The first phase of the major £25 million Urban Village scheme transforming Swansea High Street is powering ahead, bringing much needed regeneration to the area and including the construction of retail units, offices, apartments and a three storey car park.

The project is being carried out by Midas Construction and its subsidiary Mi-Space, for Coastal Housing Group. Coastal Housing Group is working alongside the City and County of Swansea and the Welsh Assembly Government, with the latter providing financial help from their Strategic Regeneration Area funding programme. Architects are Holder Mathias.

“The project is going very well and has been widely featured in the local press,” said Mr Steve Griffiths of Coastal Housing Group.

He added that the area has lacked investment over the years, so the scheme is particularly welcome locally.

The works are divided into three contracts: - one involving the construction of retail units and offices, a second development involving the construction of a three storey car park and a third comprising 76 new build apartments above the car park.

Works at 212 - 222 High Street are being carried out by Midas Construction and required the demolition of 10 properties to make way for the shell and core construction of eight ground floor retail units with three floors of office space above.

The building, designed in close consultation with the City and County of Swansea Urban Design Department, is of steel framed construction with external elevations in a combination of glazed brickwork and render, with composite windows and a combination of pitched and flat roofing.

Completion is expected around January/February 2012.

The three storey car park, also being built by Midas Construction, will provide approximately 128 parking spaces, with 58 of these being allocated to residents of the new blocks.

The concrete framed building will feature a central core with two lifts and will have secure access from The Strand, as well as being protected by CCTV security. Externally the car park features brick and blockwork elevations.

Mi-Space are undertaking the contract to construct 76 apartments providing social housing in two blocks above the car park. One of the buildings will be six storeys high containing 12

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flats, with the other nine and ten storey block containing 64 units (including those designated for wheelchair users).

Accommodation will include nine two-bed three-person flats designed for wheelchair users, with the remainder, (mostly comprising two bedroom flats) being for general needs. All of the apartments comply with the Welsh Government’s design requirements, including Secured by Design standards and Code 3+ for Sustainability.

The buildings are of concrete frame structure with external elevations in a combination of brickwork, render and rainscreen cladding, with uPVC windows and flat roofing. The majority of the apartments will have a balcony.

Both the residential blocks and the car park are scheduled to be completed in July/August 2012.

The current scheme will be followed by a second phase carried out under a separate contract and will include the refurbishment of a warehouse on The Strand adjacent to High Street and the construction of a ‘creative cluster’ of small business units designed for start up enterprises. This development, to be known as the Swansea Creative Hub, will be the first office block in Wales to be created specifically for commercial creative businesses - allowing the creative supply chain to be situated in one place in a dedicated commercial and supportive environment.

Terry Morley, director at Holder Mathias, said: “Our designs for the scheme will help breathe new life into an area of Swansea that has fallen behind other parts of the city. The scheme will open up a vibrant new area for people to work, live and shop in Swansea.”

Debbie Green of Coastal Housing Group said: “We are delighted that with the help of the Welsh Assembly Government and the City and County of Swansea, our vision for the Urban Village is finally being realised. Work on site is progressing well and we look forwards to making the High Street an attractive destination for both the local community and visitors.”

The nature of the build programme has allowed Midas to partner with Coastal to deliver significant local employment benefits through a targeted recruitment and training programme, as well as the involvement of local colleges and further education establishments. This project is running in parallel to a number of other refurbishment schemes that Midas is working on with Coastal Housing Group in Swansea city centre.

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Award-winning flagship housing scheme completed on programme An award-winning flagship major housing development involving the construction of 113 homes for Coastal Housing Group has been completed on time and within budget on a site at the former Cwmfelin Tinplate Works at Llangyfelach, Swansea.

The design and build development, carried out by Main Contractors Hale Construction, won first prize in the City and County of Swansea Building Control’s ‘Built in Quality Awards’ and has now been nominated for a National Award later in the year.

The development was also registered with the Considerate Constructors Scheme and consistently achieved scores within the top ten percent of the schemes national statistics.

Prior to the commencement of the residential development, approximately one million pounds was spent on enabling works which involved the relining of large existing storm water culvert which runs under the length of the site.

The £12.2 million scheme included the construction of one and two bedroom apartments; two, three and four bedroom bungalows (including some for wheelchair users); and two, three and four bedroom houses. The works were carried out in phases and completed in October 2011.

The scheme was designed and constructed to satisfy the requirements of Ecohomes ‘Good’ as a minimum. However, following a contract instruction, plots 33-38 were constructed to satisfy Code for Sustainable Homes level 4. These homes were constructed using Hale’s sister company Seven Oaks Joinery’s Supawall closed cell insulated timber frame with an external wall

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U value of 0.11, along with triple glazed windows, photo voltaic cells, gas savers and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.

Hale Construction’s involvement included the selection, employment and management of subcontractors as well as their own in-house trades people. The company’s site management staff were constantly planning and monitoring production throughout the contract period.

Frequent subcontractor meetings were held to monitor progress against the contract programme and to agree corrective actions, when delays were identified. Monthly site meetings were also held with the client’s representatives, where Hale provided detailed reports on programming, costs, health and safety and waste management.

The contract arrangements were cost reimbursable based upon an amended NEC3 Option C. This involved the site QS team and the company accounts department in the preparation of detailed applications for interim payments for scrutiny by the clients finance team on a monthly basis.

As part of Hale Construction’s involvement with the Considerate Constructors Scheme, they regularly visited local schools to advise on developments on site as well as the dangers involved in children entering building sites. With the assistance of Coastal Housing, Hale Construction organised competitions for the local school children and Coastal Housing donated computers as prizes to the winning schools. In addition, site visits were arranged for groups of school children which often featured in

the local press.

Hale Construction have always been involved in the training of apprentices and at Cwmfelin two dwellings were constructed in their entirety by apprentices.

Mr David Llewellyn of Hale Construction said: “The scheme was a flagship development for Coastal Housing Group, Hale Construction, their subcontractors and design team and Hale were proud to have been involved as main contractor for its delivery.”

Hale Construction, based on the Milland Road Industrial Estate, Neath, was established in 1996 by Managing Director, Jonathan Hale. Over the last 15 years the company has grown rapidly with Jonathan putting its success down to genuine hard work, a commitment to quality and a hands-on approach to the management of all projects.

A testament to Hale Construction’s success and standard of building are the numerous awards that the company has picked up over the past years. Hale Construction scored highly in the prestigious ‘Built In Quality Awards’, run by local authorities which recognises high standards of construction and workmanship on building projects.

Previously, 27 flats built at Capstan House on Oystermouth

Road, Swansea, took first place in both the local and regional awards. The company has also won further awards for Multiple Housing/Affordable Dwellings in Windsor Road, Neath and housing association flats in Alfred Street, Neath, which won first prize for Flats/ Apartments and Commercial Conversion (doctors surgery).

The spotlight’s on sustainability at Western Solar Park Wales’ first large-scale solar farm is now harvesting energy in North Pembrokeshire to power arts programmes in the local area.

Glen Peters is managing the solar farm for Western Solar Ltd, the owners and operators of the new park. Speaking to Premier Construction, he explained that the vision in building the park was “to create a solar park which would create an income-stream for the arts centre.” Profits generated from the solar farm will be put towards supporting the Oak Hall venue in Rhosygilwen, itself an eco-friendly building, with the aim of encouraging the arts to thrive as a means of regeneration for the rural community.

the solar park is set to have a high impact on the surrounding community, who have so far been highly supportive of the development. Rhosgyliwen has enjoyed a summer of arts celebrations, including the 2011 festival over the August bank holiday weekend at which the theme was ‘art from recycled resources’, and residents are looking forward to many more years of cultural and economic growth.

The site at Rhosygilwen is now home to ten thousand solar panels with a 1MW capacity, enough to power three hundred homes.

Bringing up-to-the-minute technology into a traditionally rural location, the word ‘futuristic’ springs to mind. The panels were procured from Californian manufacturers MiaSolé, who are pioneers in thin-film photovoltaic technology. Their copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) model is now established as one of the highest-efficiency, lowest-cost solar energy solutions, and proved ideal for this venture.

Western Solar have employed the very best from around the world, including Czech firm Fitcraft who were EPC Contractor and using Danish inverters, before combining all the prefabricated part on site.

But this project is also completely focused on the immediate community. Glen Peters explained how the solar park had been installed so as not to compromise on the rural heritage of the area: “Planning required that it was all completely recyclable, so that the site can be returned back to its agricultural state. We didn’t use any concrete in the foundations: we used ground screws and aluminium frames. We prefabricated everything off-site and then everything was shipped to site and constructed here, and we used local labour for all the civils works.”

When the solar farm is eventually decommissioned, it will be a simple process to remove the panels, which are themselves recyclable, being made of glass, and return the original use. In fact, the land can still be used as grazing land, since the panels have been orientated to allow rain-water fall between the arrays, meaning that grass growth is only inhibited by around 15%.

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Shotton electricity converter station powers ahead A new electricity converter station is being built at Shotton in Deeside, Wales as part of Eirgrid’s £560m East-West Interconnector project. The Shotton converter project will see a 261km cable that runs underground from County Meath in Ireland to Flintshire, coming ashore at Barkby beach in Prestatyn before travelling along the A548 to the converter site at Shotton.

The East-West Interconnecter is a major infrastructure initiative that comprises an electrical high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector that has been developed between the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain. The development of the EWI forms the Republic of Ireland National Development Plan 2007-2013 to promote environmental sustainability targets, security of energy supply and competitively priced supply.

The new Shotton electricity converter is being built near the UPM paper mill on Deeside Industrial Park after plans for the build were approved by Flintshire County Council in April 2009.

The converter station will convert electricity from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), making it suitable for transmission by underground and undersea cables. This will eventually produce enough power for 300,000 homes.

In order to strengthen the station’s structure, 690 supports are being driven deep into the ground at the site. The supports, known as Driven Cast In-Situ (DCIS) piles, each have the capac-

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ity to support 75 tonnes and will act as a foundation for the various areas of the station.

John Fitzgerald of Eirgrid, said: “The converter station forms an integral part of this project which will help to ensure there is enough power for homes, businesses and industry in both countries.

“Prior to our planning application, extensive consultations as well as comprehensive environmental assessments were undertaken to ensure the chosen site was feasible.”

An interesting aspect of the project is the recycling of the dust generated from the construction process. Welch Civils and Flintshire County Council are working in partnership to recycle more of the waste-generated dust in order to maintain the underground piping. Led by EirGrid, ABB, Welch Civils and Flintshire County Council, the £250,000 recycling scheme has created three full time jobs for the area.

In total, over half of the waste generated from the Shotton converter project is being recycled in order to rebuild the A458 road from Prestatyn to Shotton, which is currently being dug to lay the underground cables.

During the complex process, road surface is separated from waste. The waste is then sent through a mixer at a specialised recycling centre in Greenfield, Flintshire, where it is added to a stabiliser in order to produce a material that is suitable for filling the trenches that have been excavated.

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Keith Williams from Flintshire County Council’s Environment Directorate said: “Such innovation and forward thinking is reducing the risk on the environment and does not compromise the quality of the reinstatement work. This is setting a precedent in the development of recycling techniques in the construction industry.”

Alan McHugh, EirGrid’s East-West Interconnector project manager, added: “We’re delighted with the levels of recycling being achieved on our project in North Wales. Recycling in this way makes sense on many levels and brings with it a number of benefits including a reduction in waste sent to harmful landfill sites, reductions in emissions from haulage and movement and a reduction in waste disposal costs.

“We are starting to recycle bituminous materials which will take us up to 68% of all materials recycled.”

East-West Interconnector The £560m East-West Interconnector will create a strategic energy link between the UK and Ireland. Both Ireland Wales have some of the largest potential renewable energy generation resources in Europe and the interconnector will enable the full potential of these resources to be realised.

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be a suitable technology for the long distance subsea interconnection of unsynchronised grids. Long undersea cables have high capacitance, which has minimum effects when using DC but results in high losses with AC. Depending on the seabed conditions, all of the cables are buried below the seabed surface in order to protect them from accidental damage (for instance trawling and anchors) or movement on the seabed. Where bedrock cannot be avoided, it may be necessary to lay the cable on the surface and cover it with suitable ‘armouring’ material, such as concrete block, rock protection or ‘mattresses’ over some of the route to protect the cable from scouring by tidal currents.

Energy security is important for Ireland as the country has a growing economy and therefore a reliable supply of high-quality power is needed to support it. Indeed, the Irish Government has recently published its energy policy White Paper, ‘Towards A Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland,’ which sets out the Government’s energy policy framework for 2007-2020, and the first strategic goal is: ‘Ensuring that Electricity Supply Consistently Meets Demand.’ It is expected that the EWI will increase the security of energy supply, as it will enable the Irish transmission system to import electricity from the superior British market when necessary.

The EWI will have a total length of 261km, of which 186km is submarine cable 75km is subsoil cable. Two HDVC cables will be laid in close proximity to one another within a route corridor of 50m within the intertidal and a 500m corridor offshore. The two separate cables will come ashore at Rush North Beach, Co. Dublin, and then continue underground to Woodland in Co.Meath, allowing the transmission of 500MW of electrical power in either direction and forming an electrical loop between Ireland and Wales.

The White Paper also sets the target of 33% of electricity being produced from renewable generation by 2020. The new EWI will not only allow Ireland to produce sufficient renewable energy domestically in order to meet this target, but will also allow electricity produced from renewable sources in Britain and further afield to access the grid.

The flow of electric current within an electrical cable results in the production of electric and magnetic fields. Subsea electricity cables are designed to use either direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC), both of which emit EMF. A direct current (DC) cable has been selected for the East-West Interconnector project as a high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) would not

Eirgrid has a clearly defined role in the Irish electricity system: “To develop, maintain and operate a safe, secure, reliable, economical and efficient transmission system for the benefit of our customers; to deliver quality transmission and market services.”

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In addition, the increased capacity to export and import energy is also hoped to lead to competition in the electricity market and ultimately help to reduce costs for electricity customers.

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Wind farm client blown away by contractors’ performance Taking shape in a project where the entire contract team have been highly commended for their work is the new Rosehall Hill Wind Farm in Sutherland in the Highlands.

The site will comprise 19 1.3MW turbines measuring up to 59m to hub and 90m to blade tip with a total power capacity of 24.7MW, generating electricity for the estimated equivalent of 13,000 households a year and carbon savings of around 27,000+ tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The scheme is being carried out for E.On. Morrison Construction are main Contractors for the civils works, Power Systems are carrying out the electrical works and Scottish Woodland are undertaking tree felling on the site.

“Morrison Construction have done brilliantly - in fact we have had a good team all the way through. We have had no issues with the contractors, who have all worked well. The site has been kept tidy, the works has been done professionally and we have had compliments from the public and other people visiting the site from within E.On. It’s been a success story all round,” said Mr Tom Harrison of E.On. Before works could start on the wind farm site, all of the requirements of planning conditions relating to the beginning of construction needed to be satisfied.

One such planning condition related to the upgrade of a mile long section of the A839 public road. This upgrade needed to be completed before works could start not only to satisfy planning conditions, but also because the road was not in a good enough state to withstand construction traffic. Given the poor condition of the road, this was a big task.

The road was closed and traffic diverted via the A837. The works involved making the junction larger, so that turbine delivery vehicles and any other construction traffic can easily turn

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into the site, minimising any disruption to other traffic.

The road improvements have been completed and a ‘dry run’ for the turbine deliveries was recently successfully carried out from Ivergordon to the site.

Currently the turbine foundations and hardstandings are in place and some forestry work is still ongoing to clear the site.

The turbine areas have been cleared, with over 3000 tonnes having already taken to markets in the form of wood pellets, panel boards and construction grade timber. The remainder was not mature enough for market and was mulched on the site.

Borrow pits on the site were opened to provide stone to build the tracks to the turbines and for use in making concrete for the

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Another element of the scheme involves the construction of a site control building with stone cladding approved by the Highland Council to three of the elevations.

Conservation management plans are being implemented to protect the Black Grouse and Greenshank on the site. These include tree felling to create the open ground favoured by the species.

The civils works will be completed and the site will be demobilised in December 2011 due to expected adverse weather conditions, with the works re-commencing in February 2012 when the turbines and switchgear will be delivered.

A temporary electricity connection will serve the site after it is installed in April 2012 and will remain in place giving a limited export from June 2012, until the site is fully connected in August 2012.

E.ON is one of the UK’s leading power and gas companies – generating and distributing electricity, and retailing power and gas – and is part of the E.ON group, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. E.On employ around 15,000 people in the UK and over 85,000 worldwide.

Here in the UK, the company generate and distribute electricity, and retail electricity and gas to millions of homes and businesses across the country. In addition, they offer a range of home energy services. They produce electricity from a portfolio of world class power stations and are one of the leading names in green generation.

E.On is one of the leading green developers, owners and operators of wind farms in the UK today. The company has been involved in wind energy projects since 1992 and now have 21 wind farms located from Cambridgeshire to Kintyre, as well as being a partner in the London Array, the world's largest offshore wind farm.

New care village set in Stonehaven Provost Bill Howatson has officially opened Aberdeenshire Council’s first care village project at School Road, Stonehaven. Morrison Construction are the main contractors for the £7.8m project, which will comprise a new sixty-bed care home and eight onebedroom cottages.

The plans for the new care home were approved in 2008 by the Social Work and Housing Committee as part of the modernisation of the council’s residential care homes. In February 2010, Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee agreed that the proposed site at School Road was a suitable location for the new care village and a welcome development for the population of Stonehaven and in June 2010 the Policy and Resources Committee gave approval to proceed to tender for the Stonehaven Care Village.

The new care home has been fully funded by Aberdeenshire Council’s capital plan and will replace the existing Edenholme care home in Stonehaven, which opened in 1952 with just fifteen residents. It will offer access to a 24 hour care team and nursing support for 60 older people with complex care needs (including those with dementia) in modern, high-quality living environment. Each resident will have en-suite accommodation and spacious common areas where they can meet with friends and families. In addition, the upper floors will have balconies overlooking the secure garden area.

Chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s Social Work and Housing Committee, Councillor Guredeo Saluja, said: “This is part of the council’s plan to provide new homes and care facilities to our communities and respond to the changing needs of our towns.

“The care village will bring together health, social care and housing to ensure that older people in Stonehaven can benefit from a first class facility that will form an important part of the community.”

In order to complement the care home and provide additional independent living solutions for older people, a care village concept was devised by the Housing and Social Work Service.

The properties will be built to accommodate a more substantial use of telecare devices in order to allow people to live at home longer. In addition, tenants will be able to utilise the services and facilities of the care home as appropriate. The houses have been part-funded by the council’s third bid to Scottish Government for new council housing and will be built at a total cost of around £500,000.

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Provost Bill Howatson said: “This is a fantastic concept and will provide services for older people in the area for many years to come.

“The new care home and accommodation will replace a facility that has served the community well and the council can build on this track record with tailored, modern facilities that will allow

people to live a long, healthy, happy and independent life.”

Chief Executive Colin Mackenzie said: “This care village has been carefully planned for many years and it is exciting to see the project now take shape and is part of our commitment to deliver the highest quality services.

“I commend all staff involved in this project to bring new facilities to not only benefit residents and tenants but to provide a valuable asset to the local community.”

The care home is expected to be complete in October 2012.

Councillor Michael Woods remembered in Sports Build A project for the replacement of the Fife Institute for Physical & Recreational Education has been officially named in honour of a late former councillor from the Glenrothes area.

Members of the Glenrothes Area Committee decided to dedicate the new Sports and Leisure Centre to Councillor Michael Woods after residents and users of the existing centre were invited to express their views and put forward their own suggestions on a name for the new build.

Councillor Peter Grant explains: “Michael Woods played a major role in securing the future of the sports centre and for everyone who knew him, the new build will be an apt reminder of the immense contribution he made to Glenrothes and to Fife as a whole.”

tion and the site team are busy behind the scenes, involved in activities surrounding the external design and development of the building, pool filtration and the internal installation of mechanical and electrical components. Construction work to the basement and pool tanks is progressing well and the main steel structure frame will be erected in November, which will give the public an impression of the finished facility.

As a company, GRAHAM construction has a significant amount of experience in delivering projects of this nature. Their contribution to the deliverance of a flagship sports and leisure facility in Glenrothes is a significant one, as it signals the beginning of the company’s emergence in Fife’s major construction landscape.

The new sports and leisure facility will provide the people of Fife with a stunning civic amenity and the build will play an important role in the transformation of Glenrothes.

The project started in May of this year, after the appointment of contractors in April and the expected completion date is set for April of 2013. The regeneration is costing around £21million altogether and is part of Fife Council’s wider investment plans regarding the enhancement of Sports and Leisure opportunities in Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline. The new facility will be operated and managed by the Fife Sports and Leisure Trust on behalf of Fife Council.

The new facility will host a plethora of state-of-the-art features, including a 25m x 17m eight-lane competition standard swimming pool with a spectator gallery which can hold up to 250 people, a 20m x 10m training pool with movable flooring and an additional 11m x 5m teaching and remedial pool with adjoining health suite. Dry side facilities include a new larger scale gymnasium with 80 station’s, purpose built aerobics studio, eight badminton court sports hall and two squash courts. The outdoor facilities will be significantly enhanced with a full-size synthetic turf pitch, three football specific five-a-side and one seven-a-side 3G synthetic turf pitches and a Tennis court installed. The existing athletics track will be upgraded.

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Phase One of Devilla Sawmill now complete The first £3m phase of a project to build a new sawmill for James Callander & Son Ltd is almost complete.

Under the project, which began in April 2011, a log sorting plant has been constructed in West Fife in order to measure, turn, scan and prepare the timber prior to the processing phase in the sawmill. The project will eventually bring around 100 jobs to the area, including the relocation of 85 workers and the creation of 15 new jobs.

Main contractors for the project are Marshall Construction and the consulting civil engineers are C.R.A Limited. The log sorting line was supplied by Holtec of Germany and the scanning and electronics by Sawco of Sweden. The 3D log scanner, which is at the heart of the operation, is the first ‘techied effect’ scanner in the UK that can differentiate between bark and solid wood.

Gordon Callander from James Callander & Son said: “This has been quite a challenging project, as we are working on a completely green site and are situated quite far away from the necessary utilities. As a result, there have been some technical challenges. However, we have successfully worked together with the various consultants in order to rectify any difficulties.

“Works are going well and we intend to run the first test logs through the machine before the end of November, reaching full production early next year.”

The building itself covers around 200m² of floor space and comprises three storeys, each of which are around 10m by 7m, and is a timber frame construction using the company’s own standard production timber. Most of the construction has been composed of reinforced concrete walls which form the pillars that the machinery sits on.

An interesting feature of the building is the timber clad exterior, which blends in with the forest environment and highlights the use of the client’s own construction materials. The entire building is externally clad in Scottish grown pine that grew on the site before it was accrued for the building.

All of the timber used for the construction of the building is FSC certified, reflecting the passion of James Callander & Son for providing high quality, sustainable wood. Indeed, all of the timber sawn by the company comes from Scottish grown softwoods, 98% of which is Sitka or Norway Spruce. James Callander & Son have been sawing timber for over fifty years and it is in their interest to ensure that all supplies come from sustainable sources: they purchase timber from Forest Enterprise and privately owned woodlands, all of which must be managed in accordance with the UK Forest Standard.

In order to provide customers with this assurance, the com-

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pany has achieved Chain of Custody accreditation with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), which is the only internationally recognised independent forest certification body. Over 70% of the timber that James Callander & Son supply is from FSC certified forests. It is their aim to ultimately provide their customers with 100% of material from certified sources.

Most of the investment for the project has been in the machinery, which is based on a steel frame structure. All the machines that harvest timber are fitted with the most up to date computer software and optimising packages, which allows James Callander & Son Ltd to provide the grower with a complete range of crop information and product breakdown to ensure that they get the best return from their woodlands.

In addition, James Callander & Son are currently working with selected suppliers on GIS (Geographic Information Systems) coupled with modern links between the sawmill and machines.

It is envisaged that such technology will enable the company to provide a superior service to their customers by providing raw material deliveries that are more closely linked to sawmill production and customer requirements. In addition, a better service will be provided to their suppliers due to the quicker uplift of material from the forest and roadside.

The project has also comprised a small amount of exterior landscaping, including the retention of tree cover and the building of a small access road off the main public highway onto the site.

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Road scheme will help drivers steer clear of congestion Designed to address traffic congestion, the A96 Fochabers and Mosstodloch Bypass is a new 5 km single carriageway trunk road being built in a ÂŁ31.5 million scheme on the main A96 route between Aberdeen and Inverness.

In addition to the construction of the road, the project includes: the construction of roundabouts to provide local access to both towns, the Baxters factory and the A98 road to Fraserburgh; the improvement of pedestrian and cycle links including the construction of a number of underpasses to provide safe crossing points for school pupils travelling from Mosstodloch to the primary and high schools in Fochabers; improved overtaking opportunities in both directions of travel, and the installation of CCTV cameras near Inchberry Road, which will be linked to the local police control room.

The project is being carried out for Transport Scotland by Main Contractors Morrison Construction.

The contract commenced on 23 October 2009, with formal start of siteworks on 2 February 2010. The Minister for Transport

Infrastructure and Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson, cut the first turf. He said: "The A96 Fochabers and Mosstodloch road scheme is another example of our continuing investment in Scotland's transport infrastructure. This is an essential route in Scotland's trunk road network, and I'm delighted to personally kick off construction on this vital project.�

"When complete, the stretch of new road will improve transport links along the length of this route, help tackle congestion in and around Fochabers and Mosstodloch, as well as bring economic benefits for businesses and communities right across the north.

The bypass follows a route to the south of Mosstodloch, from a new roundabout at Cowfords to the west of the settlement, through Banacoul Wood, crossing the existing Rothes Road, and alongside the old railway whereupon it joins the existing A96 via a new roundabout

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at Coul Brae east of the town.

After crossing the existing New Fochabers Bridge over the River Spey, on the line of the existing A96, the new bypass follows a route to the north of Fochabers from a new roundabout at Spey Bay Road. From this new roundabout, the bypass routes through the southern extent of the Gordon Castle Estate and links to the A98 road at a further new roundabout to the east of Fochabers; from which it continues to join the existing A96 alignment north east of the caravan park.

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Final phase of water network improvements completes multi-million pound scheme The fifth and final phase of Scottish Water’s improvements to Campbeltown’s waste water network is progressing towards completion in a project being carried out by Black & Veatch.

Mr. Eddie Burns, the project manager, said: “This project is a key stage of our programme to provide a long-term solution for Campbeltown’s waste water network which will build on the good work already carried out.

The overall multi-million pound scheme will provide extensive environmental improvements to Campbeltown Loch to comply with the Water Framework Directive (WFD), EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

“The completed improvement work has reduced the frequency of discharges of storm water in storm conditions to Campbeltown Loch in compliance with existing consents from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.”

The first four phases of improvements to the network included increasing the pumping capacity from Kinloch Park Pumping Station to Slaty Farlan Waste Water Treatment Works and extending the outfall at the pumping station. The increase in pumping capacity has helped to reduce the number of discharges of storm water into Campbeltown Loch.

Mrs. Jane McKenzie, Scottish Water’s regional community manager, said: “Scottish Water has worked with the local community, Argyll & Bute Council and SEPA on all phases of this scheme.

The final phase of the work, which includes measures to ensure the removal of excessive sewage spills from Campbeltown Harbour; construction of a new outfall from the waste water treatment works for treated storm flows; increased final treatment at the waste water treatment works and network improvements at Woodlands Drive, St John Street, Main Street and McCallum Street, involves investment of about £10m and will take Scottish Water’s investment in all phases of the improvement work to about £23 million.

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“We have held monthly community forum meetings and several ‘Meet the Team’ events during our work. These have been successful in keeping the community informed and updated about our improvement work and we continue to liaise with the community and stakeholders during the final phase of work.”

The first two phases of work have allowed more storm water to be transferred to the waste water treatment works for treatment and so reduced discharges to the loch via the extended outfall.

Scottish Water is a publicly owned company, answerable to the Scottish Parliament and the people of Scotland. Their job is to bring clearer, fresher drinking water to taps. Scottish Water

currently supply 2.3 billion litres of drinking water per day and remove nearly a billion litres of waste water daily – treating it carefully before returning it to the environment.

Scottish Water operates and maintains thousands of assets - over 47,000 kilometres of water pipes, 50,000 kilometres of sewer pipes, 1837 waste water treatment works (including 1206 septic tanks) and 297 water treatment works plus pumping stations, sludge treatment centres and reservoirs.

construction company with the mission of ‘Building a World of Difference’. By advancing the frontiers of knowledge, they provide clients with reliable solutions to their most complex challenges, thereby helping improve and sustain the quality of life around the world.

Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch specializes in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications, federal management consulting and environmental markets.

Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and

New showroom showcases construction skills

management services, with 31 offices worldwide. The company works with owners, developers and occupiers in the public and private sector for an extensive range of industries. ISG Plc was established in 1989 and has been quoted on AIM since 1998.

The Scottish arm of ISG, which is based in Stepps, currently employs more than 70 members of staff.

The latest win follows ISG’s success landing a £1.2 million contract at Cameron House, the five-star hotel on the banks of Loch

A major contract to build a highly prestigious car showroom in Inverness for Arnold Clark, Europe’s largest independent motor retailer, is underway in a development being carried out by ISG, in the company’s first project in the north of Scotland.

The fast-track project sees ISG build a 710 square metre Volvo/ Skoda showroom with ancillary accommodation and a 112 square metre valet bay facility.

Externally, the single storey structure will feature glass and cladding, and a large atrium will be constructed at the entrance to the showroom, whilst a porous paving show area outside will create ample room to display sufficient used cars. The project is due for completion towards the end of the year.

Andy Mallice, ISG’s Managing Director in Scotland, said: “This project is a significant win for the business and further strengthens our position as one of the country’s fastest growing contractors, in a sector which has not been without its difficulties in recent times. Set against the backdrop of the prevailing economic environment, ISG is making major inroads within the Scottish construction market and we are building up a considerable portfolio of high quality projects across multiple industry sectors.”

Willie MacKenzie, Arnold Clark Volvo manager, Inverness said: “Having been in the original Volvo dealership since 1975, I am absolutely delighted that the new Volvo/Skoda showroom plans have commenced. Not only is this extremely exciting for myself and the Arnold Clark Volvo team it is equally important for our loyal customers. It presents the chance to further strengthen our offering in the area and carry on the high levels of customer service we pride ourselves on.”

The project signifies ISG’s growing ambitions to the north of the country, closely following the recent announcement of the contractor’s high profile joint venture with the iconic Tulloch brand.

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S c otl a n d Lomond. ISG is also working on a multi-million pound project for Golf Resort International Ltd, part of US-based Kohler Co, to convert the former Hamilton Hall – an iconic building which overlooks the 18th green of the Old Course at St Andrews – into Hamilton Grand, accommodating 26 luxury apartments, a members’ lounge, restaurant, public bar and grill.

Over the years, Arnold Clark Automobiles has grown into Europe's largest privately owned car dealer, selling in excess of

200,000 vehicles per year and generating an annual turnover of over £1.5 billion. The success of the company can be attributed to its founder Sir Arnold Clak, who is still at the helm of the company today.

Sir Arnold expanded the business from a single car showroom in Glasgow to a UK wide organisation employing and training over 8,000 members of staff with a turnover in excess of £2 billion.

It’s all fun and games for Donibristle Primary School Donibristle Primary school is known for its passion for sports, therefore it is only fitting that the school is currently undergoing a multi-use games hall extension. Main contractors for the design-build are Hadden Construction Ltd and Fife Council provided the capital funding for the £750,000 project.

Early this year, Donibristle Primary School picked up March’s Bank of Scotland Badminton School of the Year Award in recognition of their unfaltering support for Badminton Scotland’s grassroots initiative programme. Donibristle regularly attend the Play Badminton Carnivals and are consistently one of the top schools in the Fife cluster at Primary Sports Hall Challenges.

The new sports hall will provide additional sporting opportunities for the school, along with potential community access for sporting or group activities.

Alastair Drummond, Project Manager, said: “The project is around 75% complete. The substructure is complete, the external walls have been erected and the roof is complete. We are currently finishing off the internal services and are about to install the underfloor heating. The construction of the sports floor will then commence. The project is on track for completion by the end of 2011.”

The games hall extension is a one-storey building, comprising around 260m² of floor space. It is a steel frame structure, with block work infill panels. The windows and doors are aluminium and it has a standing seam metal roof, whilst the exterior finish of the building is a combination of smooth render and cedar cladding. Internally, the extension also comprises a 10m² kitchen area, 46m² of storage space and a small plant room that stands at around 9m².

There is to be a small amount of exterior landscaping.

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Alastair Drummond said: “This has been a relatively straightforward project and everyone involved has worked well together in order to produce a high quality building. The sports hall has several interesting design features - particularly the cedar cladding. We are also hoping to put up the school crest on the external walls once the building is complete. This is an important new building for the area as it will allow children to further participate in physical education and sports and also gives the School the potential to further engage with the community.”

Donibristle Primary School is situated in extensive grounds on a hilltop overlooking the Firth of Forth, on the west side of Dalgety Bay. The school’s motto is ‘where every child is an individual’ - a message that the school tries to instil in each of its 540 pupils.

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New school design is a class act Construction of the state-of-the-art, eco-friendly replacement Dunfermline High School is well advanced, in a project to provide a building with the capacity for 1,800 pupils at St Leonards Place, Dunfermline.

The project is being undertaken for Fife Council

by Main Contractors BAM. Architects for the scheme are also Fife Council.

The environmentally-friendly school which has three classroom wings incorporates solar heating, rainwater collection and quality architectural design features, along with a vertical wind turbine that will provide electricity to the school.

The new building features three classroom wings with state-of-the-art heating. In addition, the school will have CO2 and heat monitors in all the classrooms, solar shading, top-level insulation, environmentally-sound materials and 40% of the heating will come from renewable sources.

The contemporary design incorporates room for a sports hall, two gyms, a dance studio, assembly hall, mini theatre workshop, library and conference accommodation.

Mary Stewart from the council’s Development Department said that the school would have a "lot of child-friendly" space.

She added: "The design of the school is deliberately flexible to allow for future classrooms and communal spaces for different age groups are carefully arranged and separated.

"The architects have successfully addressed the purpose of the building to create a facility that will not be intimidating in scale or form, but that will still be distinctive to a range of age

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groups."

She added: "Overall, this is a positive design response to the need to create a stimulating but secure learning environment for a range of child and adult users."

Currently the shell works, fit out, external works, and installation of underground utilities are all complete.

A project of primary importance A new nursery wing is being constructed at Darvel Primary School in Campbell Street East, Darvel, Stathclyde in a project providing replacement accommodation for the nursery, which is relocating from a turn of the 20th century building in Ranoldcop Road.

The project, for East Ayrshire Council, is being carried out by Main Contractors Heron Brothers.

The project also includes the removal of dated dining accommodation from the primary school, with an upgrade of educational facilities, including improved access and internal layout.

Scottish Parliament MSP, Willie Coffey said: “I’m certain what will be achieved on this site will be of great benefit to the children, enabling them to enjoy their education in line with a Curriculum for Excellence, in the best facilities we can offer.”

campus with the primary school.”

The present roll of Darvel Primary School is 309, making it one of the bigger primary schools in East Ayrshire. Darvel Nursery School presently offers 120 early years places. Both schools serve the town of Darvel and surrounding area.

The building will be completed in summer 2012.

Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of the Council, said: “Both the local primary and nursery schools occupy very special places in the life of the town of Darvel. This project has been fully supported by the community throughout.”

Graham Short, Executive Director of Educational and Social Services, said: “The whole project represents a considerable upgrade of educational facilities in Darvel, with an investment of £5 million.

“The move to the new nursery school wing means that children will be educated in a modern facility, co-located with the primary, allowing for better continuity and sharing of resources”.

Councillor Hugh Ross, Spokesperson for Lifelong Learning, said: “This project follows a full consultation with the community, including a well-attended public meeting in Darvel Town Hall.

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£5.1 million legacy for Meadowmill Over the summer, East Lothian Council awarded £5.1m of contracts across the county. This includes the construction of a new library, further new build council housing and a new athletics track and sports pitch at Meadowmill in Tranent in time for Glasgow to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Main contractors for the project are Messrs Crawford Contracts Group Ltd. Council Leader, Paul McLennan, said: “The contracts awarded over this period are for projects which will bring a range of benefits to council tax payers across the county. The new athletics track enhances Meadowmill as a centre of excellence for athletics in East Lothian. The project is the result of extensive discussions with local athletics clubs, coaches and athletes themselves and will be welcomed by both current and future sporting stars.”

The £887,000 contract for the construction of a new floodlit 400m all-weather running track and grass sports pitch at Meadowmill makes up the second phase of the council’s ‘Legacy Project’, which is part of the Scottish Government and Commonwealth Games Scotland initiative to generate a lasting social, economic and sporting legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Cabinet Member for Community Wellbeing, Councillor Ruth Currie, said: “This investment, which has been supported by Sportscotland funding, will provide East Lothian with some of the best training facilities to be found anywhere in the UK. “The council has consulted widely with sports clubs and associations across the country and the response to our proposals has been extremely positive. Glasgow hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games has provided a focus on local sport which will benefit both current and future athletes.”

The new joint school campus project for Haddington Infant School and St Mary’s Primary School was awarded £282,000 for enabling works. The project is being procured through hub South East Scotland Ltd (Hubco), which is a requirement of the Scottish Government’s schools investments programme grant of up to £4,670,000 towards the construction of the new facility.

The enabling works will comprise the demolition of the existing school, asbestos removal and offsite infrastructure works, including the formation of new footpaths to the school. £1.5 million was awarded towards a new facility in Tranent that will bring together existing Council and Library services within a single building. The development is located on the site of the recently demolished former Winton Place Amenity Services Depot and will include: a new library, community meeting and activity space, office accommodation for Environmental Protection and Anti-Social Behavioural officers, Council Community Housing and Customer Services offices with a Public Changing Places assisted toilet facility.

Other contracts awarded include: £1.6 million for 14 new council homes at Whiteloch Road, Macmerry; £290,000 for the creation of a new Communication Provision Unit at Dunbar; £166,380 for the modernisation of a two-storey building in the Queen’s Road conservation area of Dunbar and £308,000 for a new electronic document and records management system which aims to improve customer service and employee performance through quicker access to documents and from any location.

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Architectural expertise blends old and new

A sensitively designed project involving the refurbishment of a substantial two storey Victorian villa, together with extension and new build, is underway to provide 12 apartments within a conservation area in Cameron Street, Stonehaven.

The project is being carried out for Stuff N Stuff by Main Contractors Savain. Architects are NDVR Architects.

The aim of the project is to regenerate this site as a sensitive, sustainable, community oriented housing solution that addresses the growing demand for starter homes in the Stonehaven area.

Two former extensions have been demolished and three new extensions are being constructed, alongside a further new build

element containing three apartments.

Located in the heart of a conservation area and within proximity of some Grade C(s) listed buildings, the arrangement of the existing and new build elements of the project was designed in close collaboration with the planning case officer, recognising public consultees which have assisted in the evolution of a sensitive design.

The scheme is specifically designed around the creation of a two permeable, communally owned courtyards.

The focus of the design is created predominantly around a large tree planted courtyard that will allow the residents the opportunity to meet, play, relax and socialise in a friendly socially oriented environment.

The palette of materials selected includes render and timber, in conjunction with slate and some simple glass balustrading. Through using these traditional materials in a contemporary way, the architects feel the palette allows for a sympathetic dialogue to occur between the existing and new architecture.

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The developer has maintained integrity towards the development of a sustainable low carbon building and community and the new development will include solar thermal panels on the roof, as well as a rainwater harvesting system.

The scheme is landscaped with the inclusion of a water feature, retained existing mature trees and benches, included to define changes of levels. The materials and scale are appropriate to a scheme of this nature and help tie the old and new together whilst creating well planted , lush courtyard spaces for residents.

The project is due to be completed next spring.

Site of former Burgh Primary School will soon be open for business The transformation of a listed Victorian school building into an SLC Managed Business Centre is underway in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire. Clark Contracts are the main contractors and McLennan Partnership the architects for the £1.3 million project, which is expected to be complete in March 2012.

When complete, the new Burgh Business Centre is intended to be part of an integrated network of SLC Managed Business Centres within South Lanarkshire. The network consists of six existing centres and supports SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in the area, particularly start up companies and indigenous small businesses that are seeking to expand and develop.

The substantial three-storey sandstone building was built in the late 1800s and has been designated a ‘Grade B’ listed building by Historic Scotland due to its specific architectural merit. As a result, the major requirement for the conversion of the former school was that it must be sympathetic to both the external and internal fabric. In addition, the building is within a designated conservation area; subsequently restrictions were imposed regarding which alterations and improvements could be made to windows and doors.

The complexities of restoring and adapting a listed building has led to South Lanarkshire Council and McLennan Partnership to look at innovative ways of ensuring the insulation and energy efficiency of the building is improved without compromising the requirements of the building’s listed status.

The former is to be fully refurbished internally and the existing period features are to be retained and restored. All internal mechanical and electrical services are being replaced and the

building thermally upgraded to ensure that it is energy efficient.

Furthermore, the new Burgh Business Centre will be DDA compliant with the installation of accessible toilets and a glazed lift.

The current contract is the culmination of several years of refurbishment works carried out on the property. Previous phases of the project have included the replacement of the existing roof, the renewal of the atrium roof glazing, stone repairs and the complete refurbishment of the timber sash and casement windows. In addition, a recent flat roofed extension was added to the south elevation of the school.

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S c otl a n d and Scottish Government VDLF.

Scotcourt Ltd SCOTCOURT LTD are please to have acted as principal contractor in carrying out all the external envelope works to this project, This included all necessary masonry replacement with matching locharbriggs sandstone , 100% re pointing using traditional lime mortars, stone redressing and re profiling to match existing original details. Other works included restoration and replacement of traditional sash and case windows, re glazing, window Mastic, re decoration, replacement of old galvanized window grilles with approved black stainless steel grilles and substantial roof lead works.

ing works will be carried out and the existing boundary walls and wrought iron railings and gates will be refurbished.

Financial support for the project has been received from ERDF

SCOTCOURT managing director Steve Wozencroft said: "Rarely is a building such as this subject to such an imaginative conservation/restoration project, it will benefit the local community for years to come and South Lanarkshire Council together with the project architects McClellan partnership should be commended for their commitment to the project"

Historic station buildings will soon be back in business A project to restore and convert original 200 year old railway station platform buildings to create four business units for rent at Burntisland in Fife, is making exceptionally good progress, with the contract team being commended for their performance.

The scheme, for Fife Historic Buildings Trust, follows on from an earlier development completed in a separate project to create a new business centre at the station’s Station House.

The current development has been designed by Stephen Newsome and is being carried out by Hadden Construction, who have both been praised for their performance. “I have been delighted by the progress made by Hadden Construction. We have a good design team and contractors - each of whom has done very well,” said Mr Alan Lodge of Fife Historic Buildings Trust.

also the terminal for what is thought to be the very first roll-on, roll-off ferry service in the world. The building, together with the now demolished Forth Hotel, later served as one of the three main railway centres in Scotland and was a major employer in Burntisland.

The scheme involves the complete refurbishment of the former derelict Georgian platform buildings, including the installation of a new slate roof and new sash and case windows as well as external stone repairs, internal stripping out and re-fitting, including re-plastering and the installation of new internal partitions, building services including wiring and plumbing, new toilets and new floor finishes. The business units measure approximately 40 sq m on average.

“We have had significant interest from local artists and craftspeople, so the units could well be occupied as workshops for them,” said Mr Lodge.

The contractors are aiming for completion by Christmas 2011 ahead of the January 2012 scheduled programme.

The station has a fascinating history and was not only the railway station prior the opening of the Forth Railway Bridge, but

Dunfermline East Church of Scotland to benefit the community Built in response to the Dunfermline East Expansion (DEX), the new Dunfermline East Church of Scotland on Nightingale Place in Dunfermline, Fife is set to become a central feature of the community.

Muirfield Contracts Ltd are the main contractors and Oliver & Robb Architects the architects for the project, which is due to be completed in January 2012.

The construction of the new church has been supported by

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the Church of Scotland and reflects the desire of the congregation for a central place for worship. Although the church began in 2003, until now the congregation have not had a designated place to meet, instead meeting in a variety of locations such as Masterton Primary School and the local leisure centre.

The new Dunfermline East Church of Scotland will include a sanctuary area for worship along with a cafe area, office, toilets and meeting room. At the centre of the building will be a wel-

coming hall area with a servery through to the kitchen, along with a soft play area for small children.

The single storey 32m x 16m build comprises a steel frame on a concrete slab and a timber kit with masonry infill. In addition, the building features an insulated aluminium seamless roof with curtain walling and timber framed glazing. Internally there is a curved roof with a glazed infill panel and folding sliding partitions to separate the main sanctuary from the refreshment area.

The simple design is both cost-efficient and indicative of the flexibility of the building. The new church is intended to act as both a place of worship and a centre for community use, as Reverend Andrew Morrice explained: “This building has been designed with the community in mind.

Although it is primarily a place of worship, we are also eager for the people of Duloch to utilise the new community space available. It will be perfect for community groups, and we’ve had requests for everything from music classes to Zumba lessons.

“This is a very exciting project for us as it will allow the church to create a bigger impact in the area and form valuable bonds with the community. We are very happy with the progress being made and are looking forward to sharing the church with both our congregation and the people of Duloch.”

Site manager, Doug Caldwell, added: “All of the team has worked well together and I believe a good relationship has been formed between the design team, main contractor and the Church of Scotland.”

Dunfermline East Church of Scotland have a strong connection with Rwanda and have also supported the work of Tear Fund, Compassion and Bethany Christian Trust. They believe in the traditional teachings of Christianity, as revealed in the Bible.

Dunfermline East Church of Scotland believe that the Church is not a building or an organisation, but is made up of all true Christians throughout the world.

However, the new centre will certainly help.

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Ballycastle Marina Building reaches completion The new Ballycastle Marina Building was officially handed over to Moyle District Council on 20th October 2011 as part of the Sail West Initiative. The £600,000 building will provide onshore toilet, shower and refreshment facilities for boat owners berthed at the Marina.

GEDA Construction were the main contractors and McKenna Design Architects the architects for the building, which is currently undergoing furnishing.

The Blue Flag award-winning Ballycastle Marina is situated on the spectacular North Antrim Coast, offering excellent scope for marine travel around Ireland and to Scotland. In the 1400s, the harbour was known as Port Brittas and later became the main port for coal boats when coal was mined at Fairhead. In recent years, the harbour has become very popular with fishermen and deep sea divers. Each of the 74 berths have fresh running water and an electrical supply within close proximity, along with ample lighting and a keypad access point to ensure visitors’ privacy and security.

Moyle District Council secured €697,975 of grant aid for the project from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the INTERREG IVA Cross-border Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

This funding is part of the Sail West initiative which consists of over 20 partners from around the coast from Donegal to Carrickfergus and along the west coast of Scotland who are all developing marine related tourism infrastructure. The aim of the initiative is to increase visitor numbers along the Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Western Scottish coastlines.

The Ballycastle Marina Building Project included the demolition of the existing bungalow at the harbour, which has served as the Marina building since the Marina opened in 1990. In its place, a new purpose built facility will provide visitors with the modern, state-of-the-art facilities that visitors now come to expect when visiting Marinas. The new building will provide adequate toilet, shower, kitchen and laundry facilities for the marina visitors, along with internet access. The Harbourmaster’s office and meeting facilities will also be accommodated within the new building.

The two-storey standard structure building stands at around 300m². The building has standing seam bespoke wavelike roof detail and a balcony to allow for better visibility for the Harbourmaster. The exterior finish of the building is wet dash render with a white painted finish, and the building houses several sustainable features such as solar panels and a small wind turbine.

The ground floor contains male and female toilets and showers, along with kitchen and washroom facilities for all the marina

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users, who will have 24hr access. In addition, there is also reception and office space. The first floor holds a multi-purpose space which will be used for meetings and functions, plus toilet, kitchen and meeting room facilities and additional office space for the Harbourmaster.

Works included the demolition of existing building and various structures, rock removal to the rear of the site, reduced ground level excavation (including rock removal) and the construction of a perimeter retaining wall to the boundaries on three sides.

External site works have comprised access steps and a path at the rear of the building.

Aidan McPeake, Client Technical Advisor for the project, said: “The project ran quite smoothly, considering the restrictive site and rather extensive rock removal. Moyle District Council is extremely pleased with the finished building. We now have a superb facility to cater for the needs of our visiting boats. It will also allow us to better promote boating, angling and marine tourism initiatives throughout Western Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland which was the main aim of the Sail West Project. We would like to thank our funders who without their contribution this project would not have come to fruition. Our thanks also go to main Contractor GEDA Construction, MDA Architects and Lehding Services Design for all their efforts prior and during construction.”

ESBI ESB International (ESBI) is undertaking a series of four conductor upgrades in order to cater for increased renewable energy loads. The conductor upgrades will take place on the Cullenagh-Knockraha 220kV line, Killonan-Knockraha 220kV line, Limerick-Monateen 110kV line and Knockraha-Great Island 220kV line.

Contractors for the project are TLI, Gaeltec and ESB Networks.

Critical Design Criteria that must be adhered to: •

A Maximum of 3 Drums can be used in any one pulling out process

•

The Stringing out tension must not exceed 60% of the Initial Erection Tension (IET)

•

The Steel Core only is used in sagging the conductor.

•

At no stage in the process must the tension on the Aluminium Strands exceed 60% IET.

•

The conductor needs to be broken every 5-6 spans (Semi Strain and Mid Span Joints)

A Number of steps must be taken in order to install the conductor correctly.

•

The HTLS Conductor has a higher maximum operating temperature, which results in a corresponding increase in current carrying capacity compared to the equivalent ACSR Conductor of the same cross-section.

The straight in question is to be earthed, the suspension clamps removed and the conductor placed into stringing wheels

•

All crossings LV/MV/HV and roads must be adequately guarded

The construction of HTLS conductors is such that there is a gap of approximately 1.5mm between the steel core and the inner layer of the aluminium strands. This gap is filled with grease and as a result, the aluminium layers can move with respect to the steel core during sagging of the conductor.

•

Conductor drums are loaded into drum carriers and connected to Puller/Tensioner machinery.

•

A steel stopper is compressed onto the steel core of the conductor to prevent the steel from slipping inside the Aluminium of the conductor.

•

The HTLS conductor is then connected onto the existing ACSR conductor using stringing stockings and pulled out through the section in question.

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It is very important that there is no more than one Semi Strain position in any pulling section due to the difficulty of landing the stringing stocking in position.

•

Once the conductor is strung out the “Standard Compression” joints (ACSR Construction) are made off and the conductor is back-hung on the allocated towers/ polesets.

Procedure for Installation of HTLS Gap Type Conductor

It is critical that this gap is maintained during Pulling Out, Sagging and Terminating of the HTLS conductor to maintain the performance of these conductors.

Albeit the maximum operating temperature of HTLS conductors is much higher than that of the equivalent existing ACSR conductors of similar cross sectional area, they have reduced sags and consequently, the existing structures on each line can be used.

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The “Gap Compression” procedure is then initiated.

•

•

The Aluminium outer layers of the conductor are unravelled up to 8m out from the structure in question, (Semi Strain or Angle Tower)

The Deadend is then connected directly onto the Insulator and hardware.

•

Jumper arrangements are created using gap type conductor at Angle Masts.

•

The steel core Comealongs / guy grips are placed on the steel core and using chain hoists the conductor is sagged as per ESBI Sag Tables.

•

All Stringing wheels are removed and the conductor is clipped into the Suspension clamps at all suspension locations ensuring the Insulators are in tension balance.

•

Depending on the size of the straight and the spans in the straight up to six guy grips may be required per phase.

•

Sags are then checked by the Design team using GPS and Total Station.

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Once the conductor is sagged the straight is left to settle for 12hrs.

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These sags are input into the design programme and Sags verified.

•

Following the 12hr settling period the conductor sag is checked once more and when correct the steel Deadend is compressed onto the steel core.

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Line Hardware is checked by Line Inspector.

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Straight is signed off by design team and Line Inspector,

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Immediately after this the aluminium Deadend is compressed.

£14 million new base for high achieving school A £14 million project to construct replacement premises for the high-achieving Bangor Grammar School, with capacity for around 850 pupils, is underway in the suburban Gransha area of Bangor in County Down.

The project is being carried out by Main Contractors Farrans Construction.

Speaking of the new school, Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane said: “Bangor Grammar School has been part of the fabric of the town for over 150 years and this investment marks the beginning of a new era for the school.

“The new facilities for Bangor Grammar represent an investment of almost £14million by my Department in the future of children in the local area. I passionately believe that schools must be equipped with facilities that enable them to deliver quality education for all children, which is why I have consistently spent virtually all of the capital funding available to me.

“I also believe that as educationalists we must ensure that children of all abilities can avail of such facilities and that they are not reserved only for the privileged. I removed state-sponsored academic selection because the international evidence overwhelmingly shows that it is a failed system, both educationally and socially. Selection only serves to deepen divisions in society and it is fundamentally immoral.

“I would urge Bangor Grammar to embrace this approach and remind all grammar schools that there is nothing to fear in moving away from selection. By showing leadership and courage, grammar schools can play a major part in realising a vision of education that genuinely puts children first.”

The Minister continued: “I am very proud of the fact that 68 major capital school projects have been undertaken or completed during my time in office, an investment of over £570million in our schools’ estate. This project for Bangor Grammar is one of 13 that are able to commence after I secured further funding from the Executive.

“And I will continue to press the case for the much needed funding that will enable us to put right the historic underinvestment in the schools’ estate right across the north. I must, however, prioritise frontline services in this very difficult financial climate so that we can continue to implement the reforms that have delivered real improvements in achievement levels.”

Concluding, the Minister said: “ I pay particular tribute to the Principal, governors, staff and parents who have worked hard to get this project off the ground and I hope that the new facilities will ensure that the school continues for many years to come.”

Bangor Grammar School is an all-boys, voluntary grammar

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school founded in 1856 by the Conservative politician and Bangor man, Col The Hon. Robert Ward PC MP(Eire) who lived at Castle Ward. The school, until June 2011, comprised two parts, Connor House, a preparatory school for pupils aged 4–11 and a secondary school for pupils aged 12–18. Connor House closed at the end of the 2010-11 academic year.

Traditionally, Bangor Grammar has a strong record of educating boys, and pupils perform well in academic examinations. In the 2009/2010 academic year, 96% of boys sitting GCSE examinations gained seven passes at grade C or higher and 70%

of boys sitting A2 examinations achieved three passes at grade C or higher.

Farrans Construction is a building and civil engineering contractor headquartered in Northern Ireland and operating throughout the UK and Ireland.

The company is part of the Northstone group of companies which in turn is wholly owned by CRH plc, the multi-national building materials group which employs over 60,000 people world-wide with an annual turnover of €24billion.

Farrans continue to develop excellence in all aspects of building and civil engineering while at the same time the boundaries of service level delivered to their customers are continually being extended.

At the heart of this approach is the recognition of the company’s wider social responsibility. They share their workplace with communities and the natural environment making it vital that they implement sustainable business practices across their operation.

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Heritage

Restoration and conservation mortars

By Ugo Spano, St. Astier Limes Liaison Office Today all of us are charged with ensuring the survival of our historical and vernacular built heritage through careful and considered conservation, restoration and renovation.

All too often, buildings are repaired with inappropriate materials and poor skills. Many are the subject of interventions that in time lead to their total loss. Others are simply changed out of all recognition.

In most cases, the mortar used for repairs, restoration or conservation contains cement. In these buildings, the use of cement mortars promote condensation build up, salt reactions and, generally, drastically affects the long term survival of the building.

St. Astier natural hydraulic lime mortars provide a valid alternative to cement mortars or cement/lime mixes and, if applied properly, they will have a much longer life. Environmentally, they offer far greater efficiency than cementicious mortars by re-absorbing CO2 and not compromising the recyclability of the building materials.

We work with what we call the ‘ten commandments’ when judging the suitability of mortar: •

Compatibility

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Low capillarity and shrinkage

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Adequate Ca(OH)2 or free lime content

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Resistance to frost

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Resistance to salts

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Vapour permeability (breathability) & good sands

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Early setting, good elasticity/workability/re-workability

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Suitable compressive and bonding strength

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Environmental considerations

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Correct working and site practice

Rule 1: Compatibility We prefer to look at compatible mortars rather than like for like.

The reason for this is that today in most cases, it is not possible to reproduce exactly the mortars of the past.

The binders are different; the sands might not be the same. In the EU, a lot of sand pits have closed and some of the historic pits no longer exist. Compatibility should be both chemical and mechanical..

Mortars introduced into existing structures must not react chemically with existing mortars and surrounding masonry by introducing soluble salts such as sulphate (gypsum) or aluminates causing sulphate attack; or alkalis (potassium and sodium) causing a reaction with the sand (alkali-silica reaction).

In mechanical terms, mortars should not be too dense to impede breathability or have poor elasticity resulting in cracks that will allow water/moisture penetration.

Rule 2: Look for low capillarity and shrinkage These are both properties affecting the durability of the mortar.

High capillarity allows moisture penetration and, if a mortar has poor breathability (such as cementicious mortars), there will be condensation and associated problems.

The main causes of high capillarity are poor sands and void

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structure and high quantity of free lime in the binder. Free lime crystallises in the voids, reducing their size and therefore increasing their capillary action.

Poor building details and drainage increases the amount of water in touch with the masonry which can be absorbed by capillary action.

High shrinkage is also a source of cracking and it is to be avoided.

Shrinkage is caused by: Inadequate suction control of the masonry units. If suction is not controlled by adequate wetting or dampening of the masonry, water in the mortar will be sucked into the masonry. The mortar is therefore deprived of the water necessary for hydration and the mortar becomes friable as its matrix has not formed properly.

High free lime content. This is because free lime is very fine and demands more water at the moment of mixing the mortar.

The evaporation of this water leaves micro cracks in the mortar (shrinkage).

Wrong dosage in the mortar mix. Commonly occurring when too much binder is used. Over-binding produces a heave effect, causing cracks.

Poor mixing of the mortar can cause over-binding in certain

Free lime, because of its fineness, increases water demand in the mortar. This is one of the causes of shrinkage, as already discussed.

It also increases capillarity by crystallising in the voids, reducing breathability.

The reduction of the void size affects also the frost resistance, as we will shortly see.

High free lime mortars such as 1:1:6 and 1:2:9 mixes or hydrated (powder or putty) lime mortars might not be as suitable as they are supposed to be. Careful judgement has to be made in relation to their use. This also applies to lime mortars made with hydraulic lime with very high free lime content now being sold in the UK market.

Rule 4: Resistance to frost The reduction in void size - by free lime crystallisation or a poor void structure caused by poor sands and the slow carbonation of free lime - makes the mortar more susceptible to frost damage.

Frost starts always from the surface and goes inward. Frozen water particles in the surface voids push the water in the voids behind further in and so on. If there is a good void structure accommodating the water movement, this process will not generate a pressure and the mortar will resist frost. areas and low binding in other with cracks as a result.

Poor protection from drying wind, direct sun, driving rain and frost when the mortar is still fresh will also cause cracking and shrinkage. So will poor curing: mortars, especially lime mortars, need time to cure. So, depending on the weather conditions, mortar needs to be dampened for few days in warm weather or in the presence of drying wind.

In cold rainy weather and when frost is expected, fresh mortars have to be covered to prevent damage. This is normally done with hessian sheeting.

Rule 3: Adequate Ca(OH)2 or free lime content Free lime, high calcium lime, available lime, air lime, hydrated lime, portlandite, fat lime and slaked lime are basically all the same and consist of calcium hydroxide - Ca(OH)2.

The trade uses all these denominations and sometimes people do not know that they all refer to the same element. They are classified in BS/EN 459 Standard as CL (calcium limes) and are differentiated by the percentage of Ca(OH)2 content.

Free lime makes mortars more workable and this is liked by the mason. However, free lime affects a number of important properties in mortars such as: Setting and hardening time: an early set and a relatively quick hardening are important to be able to build with some speed.

Initial setting of a hydraulic mortar is within one or two hours; the final set is within 24 hours. The final set determines the moment when the mortar cannot be re-worked.

Hardening takes longer. It is the time that the calcium silicates and other hydraulic components in a mortar take to become insoluble. In the European norms, both properties are taken into consideration and the definition of NHL 2, NHL 3.5 and NHL 5 is based on the hardened strength at 28 days expressed in Newton per mm2.

Free lime is not hydraulic and needs contact with air to reabsorb CO2 and reconstitute itself to CaCO3 or limestone. This process called carbonation may take a very long time. Damp environment, rain, and the location of the mortar (exposure to air) contribute to slowing and in some cases even stopping carbonation. The result is that the mortar does not harden.

Free lime will dissolve in water at a ratio of 1 to 6 and this is the reason why leaching occurs. Leaching not only is an unwanted visual effect but also deprives the mortar of some of the binder with the result that you have a different mortar in the structure from the one specified.

The size of the voids is also important: ice has a volume of 8% greater than water so it will exercise pressure if the voids cannot contain more that the water they already contain. This is the case in saturated mortars where the water absorbed during rain before frost occurs is occupying all the voids.

Hardened mortars with a good void structure will resist frost.

St. Astier NHL Mortars have been successfully used in areas of extreme cold such as Canada, Alaska, Norway, Finland, Denmark and wet/cold areas as part of Ireland and UK. The basic principle is to avoid saturation of the mortar when still fresh, so protection at this stage is of extreme importance.

Rule 5: Resistance to salts The same mortar will also resist the outward migration of salts contained in the masonry. A macro void structure in the mortar will accommodate the pressure exercised by salts when moving or crystallising.

When structures contain salts, it is almost impossible to control them if they become unstable. Their behaviour is linked to the relative humidity which is typical to each salt. A lower RH will cause crystallisation; a higher RH will cause the salt to go into a solution and migrate.

If the void space is sufficient, these phenomena will not cause a damaging pressure. If crystallisation occurs, they stay in the wall and if there is no space in the voids the pressure can be great enough to crack the mortar. If they go into solution, they will eventually come out and can be cleaned off the wall.

Lime is hygroscopic: it attracts water and by doing so a new lime mortar used for re-pointing or rendering might attract moisture contained in the structure and therefore change the RH of the wall in which the salts are contained, causing their movement. So a high free lime mortar will absorb salts. This is fine if we are using a lime mortar to diminish the salts content in the wall. Once the lime mortar is saturated with salts, it can be removed and the salts with it. It is not so good if we wish to keep the mortar. In this case, a NHL mortar with less free lime and a good void structure will obtain the required result.

The same type of mortar will not suffer from salts ingress promoted by external agents such as is common in marine environments.

The re-pointing of the harbour wall in 2000 at Atlantic College in Wales is still in perfect condition 10 years later. The mortar is an NHL 5 with very coarse sharp sand (pictured).

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Heritage Rule 8: Suitable compressive and bonding strength It is no good to look just at quick setting and hardening. A very hard mortar, especially when made with cement, is not the solution to all requirements.

Quick setting and strong hardening have become synonymous with “a good mortar” since the advent of cement but in restoration and conservation, setting and hardening should be only part of the evaluation to be made on the most suitable mortar for the job.

Of course we need setting and hardening, especially in adverse climatic conditions and seasonal work. But this should never be to the exclusion of all other considerations made up to now such as compatibility, breathability, elasticity and so on.

In restoration and conservation, St. Astier NHL mortars comply with all requirements.

They set and harden faster and stronger than lime putty or hydrated lime without the use of pozzolans ( a “dear” word to many but essentially a poorly known subject, open to uncertain results) or cement.

Many producers state that their product contains “pozzolanic” additions. This is in most cases cement. Just ask the question about re-working the mortar within 24 hours. If the answer is no, the mortar most likely has a cement content.

The compatibility and other properties of NHL mortars ensure that performance and durability are achieved without the use of cement. They represent a logical and natural choice in the restoration and preservation of our built heritage.

Rule 6: Vapour permeability (breathability) and good sands A breathable mortar is essential in the control of condensation.

No damp; no rot; a much better living environment.

It also helps in consuming less energy in heating. If a room is damp, a lot of the heating will go in drying out the damp before heating the room.

Hardened mortars with good breathability will dry faster than dense mortar. Saturation of the mortar is well reduced and so is the risk of frost damage. St. Astier NHL mortars if compared to cement/lime mortars have a better breathability by 200%.

The two main factors in achieving good breathability are: A relatively low free lime content in the binder to avoid too much crystallisation in the mortar voids and the use of well graded sands in the mortar.

The choice of good well graded sand is of paramount importance in obtaining a breathable mortar.

Rule 7: Good setting, elasticity and workability Setting and hardening determine the work rate. They are also related to the mortar dosage, the water addition and the weather conditions during execution of the work. Protection and curing methods are directly connected with setting, hardening and curing mortars.

Therefore, it is important to have a good idea of the setting and hardening properties of mortar to be able to determine whether it will be suitable for the work, what particular precautions to use and for how long.

Elasticity determines the amounts of movement that the mortar will take before cracking. It is also relevant in calculating the positioning of joints. A good elasticity will help in accepting thermal movements.

Workability of a mortar is in many cases left to the mason executing the work and, almost invariably, this results in excessive water addition to obtain the “plasticity” that masons like. This is wrong as too much (or too little) water can have serious effects on setting time, shrinkage, capillarity and so on.

Information on the correct water addition should be given to the mason and supervisors should check that the instructions are followed.

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Rule 9: Consider the environment Lime mortars re-absorb CO2. St, Astier NHL mortars will reabsorb between 38% and 49% of the CO2 emitted in production. NHL mortars are also non toxic and, once hardened, they will not increase the water pH. Cementicious mortars can contain chromium VI (directly related to skin allergies) and, depending on the type of cement used, components like pulverised fly ash (PFA), granulated ground blast furnace slag (GGBS) and others that contain a number of dangerous elements such as heavy metals and many other toxic elements.

NHL mortars will also be easily removed from masonry units, allowing them to be re-cycled.

The breathability of St. Astier NHL mortars eliminates condensation and contributes to a better living environment for people with breathing difficulties (asthma, for example).

Rule 10: Correct working and site practice Good materials can become useless if the correct site practices are not followed. Good workmanship and supervision are essential.

If mortars are not dosed or mixed properly, if they are not cured and protected correctly, if they are applied badly, if the application surfaces are not properly prepared, if suction is not controlled, if salt movements are not taken into consideration and so on, the result will be a failure.

Architects, engineers – specifiers in general – should work with the contractor to ensure that he has the necessary comprehension and skills to apply the mortars and follow the necessary site practice.

Ii is, however, the responsibility of the mortar manufacturer to give specifiers all the information they require for the evaluation of the mortar to be adopted. St. Astier Limes not only provide this information but also, when required, the technical staff actively work with the specifier giving technical advice to establish the most appropriate mortar for the proposed intervention.

For more information, clarification or for any query please contact: technical@stastier.co.uk Or ugo.spano@btinternet.com

Arboricultural show a resounding success The biggest event of its kind in the UK, this year’s ARB show for the arboricultural industry, held in early June, was a resounding success at its new showground on the Bathurst Estate, in Cirencester.

The new venue offered a variety of superb trees to host the practical demonstrations and the popular 3ATC tree climbing competition that so many visitors enjoy.

Run by the Arboricultural Association, the show’s fresh, inspir-

ing and varied demonstration program offered something for everyone - from the absolute novice to the most experienced practitioner. Show visitors were also able to get advice on anything from climbing and work techniques to the latest products and climbing kit from over 70 trade stands.

The arbjobs.com sponsored 3ATC (Arboricultural Association Arborist Tree Challenge), another popular attraction that ran this year. Open to all levels of competitor, the 3ATC was divided into

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Heritage three categories of competition, from novice through to expert and premier climber.

This year’s practical demonstration sessions included the safe configuration of rigging equipment, dismantling techniques, and work positioning on and aerial rescue from pole.

The workshop sessions included the design of arborists' hardware, competent hand splicing, the ARB Approved Contractor scheme and exploring Borneo's rainforest canopy. Also of interest was the launch of the new Stihl MS201 T chainsaw and the Tree Climbers' forum.

Another major event in the arboricultural world is the association’s 45th National Amenity ARB Conference 2011, which is being held on Sunday 18th to Tuesday 20th September 2011 at the University of Warwick.

The largest and most established annual conference dedicated to arboriculture, this event is the focal gathering of amenity arboriculture managers in the UK, consultants, local government managers, contractors and educators.

With new regulations and standards directly relevant to arboriculture appearing more frequently, Arboricultural Association Conferences provide vital information to help those attending keep ahead - including formal lectures and seminars -plus networking and a great social environment.

About the Arboricultural Association Since 1964, the Arboricultural Association has been the national body in the UK and Ireland for the amenity tree care professional in either civic or commercial employment: at craft, technical, supervisory, managerial or consultancy level.

There are currently 2,000 members of the Arboricultural Association in a variety of membership classes. The objectives of the Arboricultural Association are to: advance the study of arboriculture; raise the standards of its practice; foster interest in trees through publications, exhibitions and the stimulation of research or experiment; assist in the training of students in disciplines where arboriculture is a major subject and to cooperate with other bodies having similar aims.

People able to care for trees are generally either consultants (tree advisors or arboriculturists) or contractors (tree surgeons or arborists).

Consultants provide specialist opinion on tree health, safety, preservation, trees and buildings, planning and other law.

Consultants use their training and experience to form opinions about arboricultural issues. Subjects on which arboricultural consultants will commonly advise include: •

Assessing trees for hazard and where appropriate specifying remedial work

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Investigating cases where trees are alleged to be involved in structural damage to buildings

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Providing advice in relation to tree preservation law and where necessary, expert evidence to the planning inspectorate

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Providing advice in relation to trees and development and when necessary, expert evidence to the planning inspectorate

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Formulating tree and woodland management plans

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Investigating accidents caused by tree failure

Services typically required of an arboricultural contractor are: •

Tree maintenance (pruning, bracing or fertilising operations) to a relevant British Standard

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Tree felling including dismantling of dangerous trees or trees in confined spaces.

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•

Pest and disease identification and control.

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Advice on the above.

For further details, see the Arboricultural Association’s web site: www.trees.org.uk

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Apprentices needed as construction sector faces potential retirement time bomb “Due to an ageing workforce and a limited injection of new blood, the construction industry now faces a potential retirement time bomb,” says Mark Farrar, Chief Executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry.

the event, said:

“When you look at the age profile demographics across the whole construction industry, there is a tendency towards older employees - certainly a significant number are coming up to retirement age in the next five to 10 years. Coming through behind them are fewer people - due to the recession in the early 1990s where the industry lost many people who never returned.

Mark Farrar added: “These events helped show employers the wealth of keen young people who are eager to work in the construction sector. We were delighted to see so many firms sign up to offer apprenticeships. However, there is an opportunity for many more employers to get involved and leave a lasting

“Statistics indicate that in the next 10 years there will be around half a million fewer 16 - 24 year olds in the country as a whole, and this at a time where firms may start to fight hard for good quality young people in the shape of apprentices or undergraduates coming into their sectors. So the construction industry does have a fight on its hands to make sure that it accesses good quality people - and from a smaller pool of talent.

“The sectors ageing workforce will need replacing and hence one of our main focuses is on promoting the entry of new talent into the industry and trying to assist the industry in driving young people to us for training.”

To this end, CITB-ConstructionSkills have organised a series of events which have successfully driven a 47% increase in take-up of apprenticeships.

Sixty-five more savvy employers signed up to get their hands on the UK’s best young talent following these events run as part of the CITB-ConstructionSkills’ Positive Image campaign.

With over 200 employers now committed to offering apprenticeships in areas ranging from carpentry to craft masonry, CITB-ConstructionSkills is calling on companies to follow suit and invest in the skills today that will drive future growth.

CITB-ConstructionSkills ran a programme of employer breakfast meetings, construction challenges, careers events, and one-to-ones with its staff and staff from the National Construction College (NCC) as part of National Apprenticeship Week (NAW). The events brought employers face-to-face with over 600 young people interested in the sector.

Well over a quarter of the employers who attended an event have committed to take on apprenticeships.

Martyn Price, from CMC Ltd, one of the employers attending

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“I am delighted to be associated with National Apprenticeship Week to support the benefits that apprentices can bring to any business. The pledge demonstrates our ongoing commitment which in turn we anticipate will continue to benefit our business for many future years. The Positive Image campaign’s drive to recruit the brightest and best talent is really paying off.”

legacy for the construction industry. It’s only by investing in the workforce of tomorrow that we will survive.”

In July, further research indicated again that employers feel there are significant gaps in their employees’ skills, which could seriously limit the potential for growth in the industry in the coming years. In a CITB survey of 1450 employers in the sector, specific skills gaps identified included understanding the implications of green issues (43%), identifying potential new business (39%) and not having sufficient IT skills (43%). A further 32% also stated that their management team’s ability to identify the training needs of staff was an area that needed improvement.

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