UK Construction Journal V18N01

V18 N01

Unmixing Concrete Recycling offers more than just raw materials - page 4

Callsafe Services Ltd

Call: 01889 577701

CALLSAFE SERVICES LIMITED Q.

Are you sure that you understand the duties and requirements of Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and other health and safety requirements?

Q.

Do your policies and procedures reflect the current legislation and practices?

Q.

Are your employees competent to perform their duties?

Q.

Do you select competent organisations to work with you?

Q.

Do you manage your organisation and projects without copious amounts of paper?

If the answer to any of the above questions is no, you need to consider training and advice to achieve legal compliance and develop best practices.

Contact the experts David Carr PgD, FIIRSM, DipSM, RFaPS, Managing Director Callsafe Services Limited. Yardley House, 11 Horsefair, Rugeley, Staffordshire. WS15 2EJ Email: enquiries@callsafe-services.co.uk Web: www.callsafe-services.co.uk

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Reclaiming Concrete Benefits With pressure increasing on the industry to be more sustainable, a system which achieves this while increasing profits is extremely welcome.

How often do potential clients ask about your sustainability policy? The chances are that it is much more frequently than it used to be.

Over the last 20 years, public awareness of the environmental impact of industry has increased significantly. The frequency of newspaper articles on ‘sustainability’ has jumped from less than one article per twenty issues in 1990 to an even chance that any newspaper would carry a story on the subject, 1 according to a Trends in Sustainability project study .

“Twice as much concrete is used in construction around the world than the total of all other building materials, including wood, steel, plastic and aluminium.”

Therefore reducing waste concrete goes a long way towards satisfying the growing appetite for sustainability. Real sustainability, however, requires systems that are not only ecologically responsible, but also socially acceptable and most importantly, economically realistic.

Real sustainability

Government, as well as industry, needing to keep up with such trends, has been taking environmental concerns on board, putting pressure on all sectors to become more sustainable. The 2013 Government Sustainable Development Policy (updated July 2014) states that:

That is why the Stetter Concrete Recycling System is so beneficial in these environmentally aware times. All the aggregate can be reclaimed and reused in future batches rather than being dumped, and water is saved as well. Turning unused concrete back into raw materials keeps the accountants happy as well as the environmentalists.

Schwing Stetter5, the company already well known for concrete pumps and truck mixers have been developing and selling recycling systems for decades. The first Stetter Concrete Recycling Plants were developed in 1976 and they have gained a reputation for being extremely economical, reliable and wear-resistant machines, as is evidenced by the 5 year manufacturer’s warranty on the recycling drum.

“The public sector can use this buying power to encourage suppliers to make their products and services sustainable. It can also use its buying power to make the way contractors carry out works sustainable.”2 With public sector spending worth approximately 16% of the UK’s Gross Domestic Product and central government alone buying the equivalent of 9% of GDP2, the ability to win this substantial amount of work is becoming more dependent on being able to demonstrate sustainable practices.

“Turning unused concrete back into raw materials keeps the accountants happy as well as the environmentalists.”

Drawing attention to environmentally sustainable construction techniques is also an increasingly important feature in the private sector.

As around 40% of all landfill waste in Europe is from demolition and construction3, this shift in attitudes has the potential to have a greater impact on the construction industry than any other. The most abundant single material used by the industry is concrete, with EcoSmart saying4:

Using a Stetter concrete recycling plant, all the aggregate can be reclaimed and reused in future batches.

How much Concrete?

Whilst typically the amount of waste concrete generated by ready-mix deliveries can be as low as 0.4% - 0.5% of total production, that still works out to be around 1 tonne of leftover concrete for every 11 truck deliveries. However, during peak periods, when pressure for supply is greatest, the waste can increase to between 5% and 9%3. This means that for every 14 truckloads sent out, one might as well be delivered straight to landfill. The money saved by operating a recycling plant in conjunction with a batching plant can quickly cover the cost of the recycler.

1

www.trendsinsustainability.com/downloads/trendsinsustainability.pdf

4

www.ecosmartconcrete.com

2

www.gov.uk/government/policies/making-sustainable-development-a-part-of-all-government-policy-and-operations

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www.schwing-stetter.co.uk

3

www.wbcsdcement.org/pdf/CSI-RecyclingConcrete-FullReport.pdf

6

www.british-assessment.co.uk/services/iso-certification/iso-14001-certification

Mixit – A Case Study Jim Taylor who owns Mixit in Bow, London has been supplying and recycling concrete for over 20 years. He has a Stetter RA12 and washes out 25 mixer truckers per day. Using the recycler he saves around 700lt of water per truck – i.e. 17,500lt per day. He also ends up with an average of 3m3, or around 7 tonnes of aggregate each day from the concrete washed out of the trucks. Even if he only gains £30 per tonne from this, that’s over £200 a day or £6,000 per month, just from the aggregate reclaimed from recycled concrete. He needs to wash the trucks out anyway so this also saves money on his water bill.

Jim told UK Construction Journal: “Recycling our unused Mixit Recyler in use concrete allowed us to get our ISO 14001 certificate.” He went on to say from his experience, “The basic recycler by itself really suits high volume batching plants or else you need a large space to store the waste water. To solve this problem we also invested in a silt press filter to complete the process which gives us clean water, useable for anything. The recycler, including the silt filter paid for itself within 6 months.”

What Are the Actual Benefits?

There are many measurable benefits of recycling concrete.

These include: • The cost of dumping the mixture in landfill is completely removed, including the cost of transporting it there.

• The reclaimed aggregate can be used in fresh concrete, decreasing the cost of concrete production.

• Less products going into landfill means a cleaner environment and refuse dumps filling up less quickly.

• Companies using sustainable management systems can be officially recognised with ISO 14001 certification helping them qualify for more tenders and win more business7.

• Using recycled water to wash out machines and also as a percentage of the water used in fresh batches saves a great deal of water and therefore on the cost of water. Using a silt press filter means fresh batches can be made with 100% recycled water.

• Two or three mixer trucks can be cleaned out at a time and there is an optional reception hopper for cleaning concrete pumps.

It is normally necessary to use a little more cement in a batch when using recycled aggregate and water in a fresh batch to bring it up to the same strength as one using virgin aggregate and fresh water. However, using an additional silt press filter can bring the water back to clean water standard, removing the need to add the extra cement in most situations.

An agitator is used to keep the waste water, containing concrete particles smaller than 0.2 mm, in motion, preventing the fine particles from settling and lodging in the bottom of the tank.

This slurry can be used to make fresh concrete, making up to half the water content of fresh batches. A silt filter press can remove all these cement fines and silt from the waste water, allowing it to be used in fresh concrete mixes without the need for dilution.

“The recycler, including the silt press filter paid for itself within 6 months.”

Stetter Recycling plants can be operated in conjunction with any batching plant, wet or dry, and can be connected directly to the batching plant automation system to manage and dose the waste water as required. At the top of the range, a Stetter RA20 machine can separate 20 cubic metres an hour. The compact RA6 processes 6m3/hr.

What To Do Now For more information about Stetter Recycling plants and to take a closer look at how you could benefit, please contact Schwing Stetter at recycleplant.info@schwing-stetter.co.uk

Make the accountants happy as well as the environmentalists.

How They Work The concept behind them is not overly complex, however, like all Schwing Stetter equipment, they are precisely engineered to produce the necessary results.

The recyclers use the reverse flow principle to clean the concrete in the washing drum. Mixed gravel with a grain size greater than 0.2 mm is extracted from the drum via a vibrating chute with an optional thermostat-controlled heater. A sieve insert is used for further drainage of the mixed gravel.

Recycling unused concrete can pay for itself in less than a year. Talk to us to see how a Stetter Concrete Recycling System could help your concrete business. e: recycleplant.info@schwing-stetter.co.uk w: www.schwing-stetter.co.uk t: +44 (0) 20 8997 1515 Unit 11 Perivale Park, Horsenden Lane South, Perivale, Greenford, Middlesex, UB6 7RL

CDM15/2 Industry guidance for Principal Designers www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidanceprincipal-designer.pdf

Shaping and sharing best practice in construction health and safety risk management

CDM2015 CONSTRUCTION (DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT) REGULATIONS 2015 ARE WE READY? As the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued the draft Guidances for CDM2015 and state that, subject to Parliamentary approval, the regulations will come into force on 6th April 2015; the question must be asked of all construction industry organisations, and the industry itself, are we ready?

On Friday, 9th January 2015, the HSE issued the draft text of L153 (draft), Guidance on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, including the draft regulations, which can be downloaded from: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/pric ed/draft-l153.pdf On the same date, the guidances produced for the five duty holders under CDM, plus the workers, were published in draft. The guidances set out, in practical terms, what actions are required of them to deliver a safe and healthy construction project. These documents have been written by the Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC). These six ‘Industry Guidances’ are available for free download, as follows: CDM15/1 Industry guidance for Clients www.citb.co.uk/documents/ cdm%20regs/industry-guida nce-clients.pdf

CDM15/3 Industry guidance for Contractors www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidancecontractors.pdf CDM15/4 Industry guidance for Designers www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidancedesigners.pdf CDM15/5 Industry guidance for Principal Contractors www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidanceprincipal-contractors.pdf CDM15/6 Industry guidance for Workers www.citb.co.uk/documents/cd m%20regs/industry-guidanceworkers.pdf

Policies and Procedures CDM2015 will require all CDM duty holders to amend their policies and procedures to some extent.

• Clients will need to develop their arrangements for the enhanced client duties on significantly more projects.

• Those who would act as the Principal Designer (PD) will need to develop their procedures to perform these duties for all elements of design and planning, not just their design or their subconsultants’/sub-contractors’ design, but for all design, including temporary works design performed during construction.

• Principal Contractors and Contractors will need to address the requirement for having a Construction Phase Plan on all works, and the Domestic Client duties if they work in the domestic client sector.

• Designers have the least amendments to make, as their duties have minimal changes, unless they take on the Principal Designer’s duties.

Training

Additional training will be required to update all of the duty holders with the amended regulations and guidances.

Callsafe Services are currently developing the following courses, based on the draft documents: • CDM2015 Senior Management Briefing • CDM2015 Overview • CDM2015 Client • CDM2015 Design Phase Risk Management Co-ordination • CDM2015 Design Risk Management • CDM2015 Reducing Risk by Design • CDM2015 Principal Contractor and Contractors

If you need assistance with amending your arrangements and/or training your staff in CDM2015 , please contact the experts at Callsafe Services.

Callsafe Services Limited Yardley House, 11 Horsefair, Rugeley, Staffordshire. WS15 2EJ Telephone: 01889 577701 Email: enquiries@callsafe-services.co.uk Website: www.callsafe-services.co.uk

Course Content:

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health MANAGING SAFELY IN CONSTRUCTION 5 DAY COURSE This is the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Managing Safely course, amended to make the subjects and content more specific to the construction industry, and separately accredited by IOSH. It is highly interactive and is presented by qualified and experienced construction health and safety professionals, who also are appointed to projects as CDM coordinator.

Intended for:

Anyone who supervises or manages designers or contractors in the construction and allied industries. Also relevant for client representatives and CDM coordinators.

Course Aims:

To ensure that managers/ supervisors: • Understand their responsibilities for health and safety as an integral part of their construction and other management/ supervision roles; • Are able to recognise a sound health and safety management system, including effective construction risk management; • Are able to recognise the key risks in the construction industry and understand the precautions to be taken.

Day 1 • Introduction and Setting Course Objectives • Principles of Good Safety Management • Legal Foundation for Health and Safety • Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide • Safety Management on Construction Projects Day 2 • Understanding the Legal Framework for Safety and Health at Work • Accident Causation and Accident Prevention • Applying Management Principles to Health and Safety Day 3 Key Legislation, Commonly Occurring Hazards and Their Controls: • The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 • Working time • First aid • Reporting of accidents • Fire • Safety signs and signals • Electricity • Display screen equipment • Manual handling • Chemicals/Hazardous substances • Personal protective equipment • Work equipment and Machinery • Traffic management Day 4 Construction Related Legislation, Commonly Occurring Hazards and Their Controls: • Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, Part 4 • Lifting operations and equipment • Noise • Vibration • Lead • Asbestos • Confined spaces • Pressure systems • Radiation • Elevated working places • Safety in earthworks • Flammable liquids and gases • The construction working environment Day 5 • Human Behaviour in Accident and Ill-Health Prevention • Effective Communication • Control of Contractors • Training

• Course Assessment (A 30 minute test paper, similar in format to mock assessments performed during the course) • Course Discussion and Completion (Including the introduction to the Course Project, which is an inspection and risk assessment performed by the delegates of their workplace. This is performed subsequent to the course and submitted to the course tutor for marking)

Maximum number of course delegates: 16

Public Courses

This course is offered as a public course, for individuals to book and attend.

Course Cost: £820.00 per delegate, plus VAT (Discounts for multiple bookings) Currently programmed public courses are: • 3, 4, 5, 11 & 12 February 2015 (Staffordshire) (Ref: IMSC150203)

In-house Courses

This course is also offered as an in-house course, where an organisation can book the tutor for the 5 days and the course is presented within the organisation’s own premises.

This option can reduce the course cost and the travel/accommodation costs where the organisation has a number of their staff requiring this training.

A lump sum price can be provided for in-house courses.

Further details of this, and other, courses can be found at: www.callsafe-services.co.uk, or by contacting Gemma Esprey at: gemma.esprey@callsafeservices.co.uk or by phone on: 01889 577701

UKC NEWS

A real treat for Center Parcs Sherwood Treats, an exciting new sweet shop for Center Parcs Sherwood is more than just a candy store. Newman Gauge, a leading leisure and hospitality interior design consultancy, has created a gobstopper of a sweet shop.

Inspired by Center Parcs’ National Forest location, Newman Gauge have created a magical, fantasy woodland experience with flying sherbet saucers, low level glowing magical toadstools sprouting lollies and a huge lifelike tree adorned with oversized candies diffusing the ceiling lights creating a stain glass window effect.

Sam Stokoe, Director and Design Lead at Newman Gauge said of the project:

“Unlike other Center Parcs’ villages, Treats is located with an entrance outside, therefore the design had to be bold and exciting to encourage guests to cross the threshold and venture inside. We created big windows and glass doors with strong lighting to accentuate what was going on inside, including fudge making and colourful candy filled walls.

“Working closely with Center Parcs we believe we have created one of the most exciting retail stores in the UK and not only are we proud of the appealing, unique design but the intelligent detailing which encourages footfall and spend.”

Paul Kent, Center Parcs UK Operations

and Development Director added: “We are delighted that our new Treats store has just opened and our guests are loving it! When designing our shops, the experience is just as important as the products and with a great Treats team, freshly made fudge and a wide selection of other sweets and chocolate, everyone can feel like a child in a sweet shop.”

Newman Gauge – an award winning commercial interior design consultancy with blue chip clients including Center Parcs, Butlins, Warner Leisure Hotels and Marstons – specialise in leisure, hospitality and retail interior design with an eye for detail and a head for driving return on investment.

Plans submitted for Urbo’s £150M Bradford Urban Village Scheme Urbo’s ambitious £150M scheme to create up to 1,000 new homes in Bradford is one step closer to becoming a reality following submission of two planning applications.

Covering more than 30 hectares of land, the New Bolton Woods scheme not only comprises high quality new residential properties but also a new local centre comprising local shopping facilities anchored by a food store together with a new primary school and medical centre.

The submission of part full/part outline planning applications for the New Bolton Woods development is the culmination of two years of extensive urban design work and public consultation carried out

by Canal Road Urban Village Ltd (CRUVL),

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a joint venture partnership created by regeneration specialists Urbo and Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

Urbo has worked closely with leading designers Urbed to produce an innovative masterplan for New Bolton Woods.

Manchester based HOW Planning advised throughout and submitted both the outline planning application for the masterplan and a full application for the food store on behalf of the partnership. Harris Partnership designed the retail scheme.

Peter Swallow, a Director of Urbo and Canal Road Urban Village Ltd said: “New Bolton Woods is a comprehensive new mixed-use neighbourhood. Our aim will be to work with a number of housebuilder partners to bring

forward our project over the coming years.”

Phase I of the New Bolton Woods development began last year when lead developer Urbo Regeneration and partner Skipton Properties created 50 new homes. These are already nearly all sold and the second phase to include the local shopping facilities is eagerly anticipated.

If planning permission is granted for Phase Two then work to create the exciting new sustainable ‘urban village’ will begin in spring 2015.

Plans for the development went to a final public consultation in June 2014 and were met with overwhelming support to provide the investment in new houses, shops and other facilities expected in a thriving place.

Improvements to Junction 10 on the NG Bailey flying high with M4 near Reading aerospace research factory role Work has begun on a major improvement scheme at Junction 10 on the M4 near Reading.

The upgrade is part of the Government’s £317M pinch point programme on motorways and major trunk roads to be delivered by summer 2015. This is part of the biggest programme of road enhancements since the 1970s and will reduce congestion, increase safety and improve journey times.

The improvements will widen slip roads and improve the road layout at the busy junction to ease congestion and improve traffic flows from the M4 onto the A329(M).

Highways Agency Project Sponsor Ed French said: “The additional capacity this scheme will bring will allow the junction to work more efficiently to reduce congestion and improve journey times.

We have planned the work carefully to minimise disruption and will carry out as much of the work as possible overnight, when traffic flows are at their lowest. I advise anyone wishing to use the junction to plan their journeys and to allow extra time.”

This scheme has been identified as a priority as Junction 10 is a major interchange connecting the M4 with the A329(M). The junction is affected by peak time congestion, particularly as it merges from the M4 onto the A329(M), leading to traffic queues on the link roads back towards the M4.

The £5M scheme is scheduled to be completed by June 2015. To keep overall disruption to a minimum and for the safety of road workers, the work will be programmed to take place when traffic flows are at their lowest, using overnight lane closures and occasional slip road closures at Junction 10.

NG Bailey has been awarded a £4.3M contract to bring to life what is poised to become the world’s most advanced factory for aerospace research.

The UK’s leading engineering, IT and facilities services specialists has been tasked with delivering all mechanical and electrical design and installation work for the University of Sheffield’s new £43M Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) Factory 2050.

Working alongside international support services and construction group Interserve, the project’s Main Contractor, NG Bailey will pool the expertise of its engineering, IT services and offsite manufacture divisions to create a world class centre of engineering excellence built to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ environmental standards.

This is the first facility to be created on the site of the former Sheffield airport and the AMRC Factory 2050 will drive innovation to meet the future needs of aerospace and other high value manufacturing industries.

Andy Morley, Operations Director for NG Bailey’s engineering division, said: “As a company with strong roots

in engineering, we are delighted that our work will support the engineers at this facility in taking forward their own global reputation for manufacturing research into an exciting new era.”

The AMRC Factory 2050 will have an area of around 4,500sq m and will be built largely from glass to showcase the advanced manufacturing technologies being developed within.

The creation of the new facility is supported by a £10M grant from the Research Partnership Investment Fund, managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Leading manufacturers including Boeing, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Spirit AeroSystems are also committed to supporting the project.

Professor Keith Ridgway, Executive Dean of the University of Sheffield AMRC, said: “This will be the most advanced factory in the world. It will give us a home for the research and demonstration work associated with building the next generation of aircraft and energy technologies.”

Gatwick train station to be transformed with £120M upgrade Gatwick Airport train station is to get a major upgrade, the Government has announced, with a £120.5M redesign transforming the station and passenger experience.

Work is scheduled to start in 2017 and complete in 2020 and passengers will experience a seamless transition between the airport and the new station.

Improvements and new features include: ••A doubling in size of the concourse area to reduce congestion and improve the passenger experience.

••More escalators and lifts to improve access to all platforms.

••Intuitive passenger flow and clear concise information.

Under the heads of terms agreement signed by both Gatwick and Government, Gatwick will contribute £30M and Network Rail a further £30M toward the deal, which is still subject to further detailed commercial negotiations.

The improvements will see the rail station comfortably manage the expected growth in air passengers using the single runway airport, with demand at the station set to increase by five million to 20 million rail passengers a year by 2025.

Guy Stephenson, Gatwick’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “This agreement

is a great example of the private sector and government working together in partnership to deliver a game changing and affordable project for the future. This new station builds on the ongoing transformation of Gatwick Airport and will deliver a first class gateway for visitors, air passengers and the one million rail commuters who use Gatwick station every year.”

This major station upgrade will be delivered alongside a significant increase in capacity on rail services through Gatwick, between Brighton and London, as a result of committed and planned enhancements.

These will improve resilience and the quality of rail service through Gatwick, including: ••New Gatwick Express trains by 2016 and new Thameslink trains by 2018.

••Connections to Crossrail at Farringdon in 2019.

••New twice hourly direct connections to Peterborough and Cambridge.

••A train to central London every 2.5 minutes by 2025.

••Quicker journey times to the West End and City, than from Heathrow.

••15 million people brought within 60 minutes of Gatwick.

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ESTIMATING & VALUATION SOFTWARE

8build are a central London based Main Contractor who offer unique solutions for procuring and delivering fit out, refurbishment and new build projects throughout various sectors.

Jonathan McNichol from 8Build has been working as a QS/Estimator for 13 years.

He prices a wide range of different work and finds the variety really interesting. He tells us that he is pricing projects up to a value of £15m which can be anything from refurbs, office fit outs, new builds, schools, colleges and offices.

“I have yes. I have just won one worth £4.6m and before that one for £3.6m and another for just under £900,000.” The pressure is off then; “With ConQuest you can load all the pricing schedule in to it so you know you have covered everything. Using other systems, it is easy to skip over and miss stuff.

He has also been involved in pricing some very specialist refurbishments of historic buildings. These have to be tailored following on from site visits to suit the client; it is important they are accurate.

“With ConQuest you can put everything in from one man and a shovel to a crane driver.

We have 4 estimators here and we are all very impressed.

Before he joined 8Build, Jonathan had been using another system for nearly 7 years. After using ConQuest for only 6 months we asked him the big question; which does he prefer?

“Definitely ConQuest. The way it is set up and the On Line Enquires, I can’t fault it to be honest.

“I had been using the other system for quite a few years but ConQuest is so much better, you just can’t compare them.”

So he must have won a few jobs using ConQuest even in the 6 months that he has been using it?

“I definitely wouldn’t go back to another system. I also think it will be very beneficial for my career. If I was to ever move on or want to progress to a higher level, it is a great thing to have on my CV as most of the industry want estimators with ConQuest experience.”

Estimators are finding it difficult to get prices back from subcontractors at the moment.

There is no doubt that contractors are having to send out a lot in order to get a reasonable portion back. ConQuest‘s cloud based On Line Enquiry module really makes a big difference. The fact that it is fully integrated with the rest of the system means you can use Subcontractor Comparisons, Valuations, and Estimating as one.

“It is very difficult to get prices back at the moment but On Line Enquiries makes it really easy, once you have the enquiry set up, it is fast. Because you can assign 3 or 4 trades to items in the bill, you can let ConQuest do it all for you in one go. The tracking system gives you the ability to see who has seen the documents that you have sent and keeps track of those who have sent you their prices back.”

8Build also use ConQuest’s On Screen Take Off measurement software which gives the facility to measure directly from PDF or CAD/DWG files. Jonathan likes how it directly takes the measurements into the Estimating module: “The Take Off software is very good. I like that it all just appears in ConQuest for you to manage, you don’t have to do a lot of setting up manually.”

01204 669689 sales@conquest.ltd.uk

THE ESTIMATING SOFTWARE PEOPLE

UKC NEWS

Crossrail unveils plans for new station building at Hayes & Harlington Crossrail has submitted proposals for a new station building at Hayes & Harlington to Hillingdon Council for approval.

The distinctive new glass and steel structure is intended to create a landmark that will be much more visible and prominent than the existing station. A bright, spacious ticket hall will provide a more welcoming environment, while a range of other improvements will be made to the station.

The new building, designed by Bennetts Associates, will be situated immediately to the north of the existing station and will replace a commercial property currently on the site. From the end of 2017, it will be run by Transport for London as part of London’s integrated transport network.

Matthew White, Crossrail Surface Director said: “Our proposals are for a modern, prominent building that properly reflects the importance of the station to the area. A bright, spacious ticket hall and other major upgrades will make using the station a much better experience for the thousands of people who pass through every day.”

Julian Lipscombe, Director of Bennetts Associates said: “Our design is intended to create an elegant new focal point and regeneration catalyst. The signature projecting roof not only establishes a civic presence but also draws all directions of approach together into a legible and uplifting route through the glazed ticket hall to the platforms beyond.”

When Transport for London-run Crossrail

fully opens in 2019, up to ten services an hour in each direction will serve Hayes & Harlington station, allowing passengers to travel right through central London without having to change trains. With Crossrail the journey to Bond Street will take 20 minutes and passengers will be able to reach Canary Wharf in 34 minutes.

In addition to the station improvements, Crossrail has been working with Hillingdon Council on proposals for improvements to the area around the station. The proposals would create a new public space in Station Approach and improve pedestrian and cycle connectivity to the station through better pedestrian crossings, continuous cycle lanes, tree planting, and safer junctions.

Turner & Townsend to project manage British School Muscat’s campus redevelopment Turner & Townsend, the global programme management and construction consultancy, has been appointed by British School Muscat (BSM) to provide project management services for the development of their site in Madinat Al Sultan Qaboos.

The new development will include a new sixth form block, science labs, a sports academy and an aquatics centre. The work is planned to begin on site in April 2015.

David Frizell, Turner & Townsend Oman

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Country Manager commented: “We are delighted to have been selected to provide project management services for the delivery of BSM’s development programme, supporting them in the successful delivery of their vision as detailed within the published masterplan.

“Our dedicated team has many years of experience in managing complex projects in operational environments meeting multiple stakeholder interests.”

Kai Vacher, BSM Principal, said: “I am delighted we are working with such a highly regarded company with such a strong reputation. The development of our school site is a key step in realising our vision for BSM to become one of the leading British international schools in the world.”

“The development of BSM’s campus is important, not just for BSM, but for the wider community who will benefit from the use of BSM’s enhanced facilities.”

ISG completes The Co-operative Food framework milestone Following ISG’s appointment on The Cooperative Food capital investment framework earlier this year, the contractor has successfully completed a total of 20 projects, with a combined value in excess of £4M. As part of the convenience retailer’s Gen 2 specification store investment rollout programme, ISG has successfully delivered 20 schemes in numerous locations across the UK. The stores include six new acquisition sites, with Cheapside and Ludgate in London two of the high profile new locations that The Co-operative Food has added to its portfolio of 2,800 food stores across the UK. Operating predominantly within stores of up to 3,000sq ft in size, ISG’s national capability has seen the contractor tasked with delivering store upgrades across outlets as far afield as Corpach, Fort William in the Scottish Highlands to Tavistock in Devon and Hastings in East Sussex.

Across a typically three-week programme, ISG will comprehensively refurbish the internal store layout, upgrade lighting and enhance the fresh food offer to create an enriched customer experience. Designed to minimise the store closure period during each comprehensive refit, the fast-track delivery programme incorporates both live environment and out-of-hours working.

Kevin Dengate, Divisional Managing Director of ISG’s Retail and Hospitality business, commented: “Our appointment to The Co-operative Food capital investment framework adds the UK’s most recognised convenience retailer to our portfolio of the country’s leading grocery brands. The relationship we have forged with the retailer’s estates team has proved instrumental in the effective delivery of these fast-track projects ahead of the peak Christmas trading period. This collaborative approach has resulted in early contractor engagement, the sharing of business plans and project learning to benefit future delivery.

“ISG’s national coverage and extensive expertise as the UK’s largest retail contractor have already proved influential across this major framework and we look forward to further strengthening our relationship with The Co-operative Food over the coming year.”

Network Rail completes £200M upgrade programme Network Rail has completed its huge £200M investment programme as major projects at Reading and London Bridge were completed and services restored for commuters.

An approximate 11,000 railway people have been working tirelessly to deliver some £200M worth of improvements at over 2,000 locations nationwide.

Major projects completed during the programme include: London Bridge: As part of the £6.5Bn Thameslink programme, London Bridge saw two new platforms opened and new track laid as the project moves to the next stage of the biggest station redevelopment that London has ever seen, which will transform the travel experience for the station’s 220,000 daily users. New signalling has successfully been installed on the New Cross Gate to Sydenham corridor and also in South London near Bermondsey allowing resumption of planned Southern and London Overground passenger services.

Reading: One of the last pieces of the jigsaw to unblock the notorious train bottleneck around Reading station has been finished with the completion of a newly-built viaduct to the west of the station, leading to smoother, more reliable services.

West Coast Main Line: The latest phase of upgrade work at Watford, Norton Bridge and Stafford has completed. Work took place at Watford to replace and install new sections of railway and bring into use a new, modern, state-of-the-art signalling system meaning passengers will enjoy a more reliable and resilient service.

East Coast Main Line: Between London King’s Cross and Peterborough more than 1,000 people worked to complete 13 different projects to deliver significant improvements to the rail network at key points; Peterborough, Holloway, Harringay and Canal Tunnels just outside King’s Cross.

Midland Main Line: On the route serving St Pancras hundreds of people completed projects including signalling alterations for the Thameslink project; the demolition and partial reconstruction of two bridges for the Midland Main Line electrification project and track improvements between Kettering and Corby and at Toton.

Scotland: The Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Project team demolished the roof of Carmuirs Tunnel, near Falkirk, and installed a new tunnel. Signalling was renewed between Haymarket and Inverkeithing and track work was undertaken in Queen Street Tunnel, Glasgow.

Councils help get Britain building Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has announced an extra investment for councils to help them build new affordable homes across the country.

More than 3,000 affordable homes will be built by councils across England thanks to government investment of £222M. The second round of funding via the housing revenue account (HRA) borrowing programme means 21 councils will be able to additionally borrow almost £100M over the next two years to deliver more than 1,300 new affordable homes and support local growth.

It comes only a matter of months after 22 councils received approval to borrow £122M to build more than 1,700 affordable homes in their areas.

Housebuilding is a central part of the government’s longterm economic plan: since 2010 over half a million new homes have been delivered, including more than 200,000 affordable homes.

In 2012, the government reformed the HRA subsidy system so councils keep all the rents they collect from their homes, and receipts from sales of houses or land, giving them the freedom to invest them in building new homes.

Most recently, council housing starts have hit a 23-year high.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “I’m giving extra borrowing powers to 21 councils who over the next two years will use that to build more than 1,300 new affordable homes for their communities.

“It’s one of the many things we’ve done that have got Britain building – with housebuilding levels now at their highest since 2007 and climbing.

“This takes the total amount of government funding to almost £222M helping to build more than 3,000 homes – it is encouraging to see councils seizing this opportunity to make use of the very powers they had asked for.”

13

BAFE – HELPING YOU TO MEET YOUR FIRE PROTECTION OBLIGATIONS Current fire protection legislation across the UK requires property managers of all non-residential premises to have adequate fire protection. It is their responsibility to ensure that there is an adequate, updated fire risk assessment and that all aspects of the requirements are carried out competently. This is not only to ensure that customers, staff and premises are adequately protected, but also to minimise the risk of costly unwanted false alarms. The most recent CFOA guidance for the Reduction of False Alarms and Unwanted Fire Signals highlights some of the solutions to this problem, amongst which is the use of third party certificated providers of fire protection services: www.bafe.org.uk/uploads/DOC53C531E465792.pdf To demonstrate that the responsible person (duty holder in Scotland) has met their obligations, many public authorities and commercial organisations now insist that their fire protection services are carried out by a company that has been third party certificated. Many now specify that providers are BAFE registered. You can find out if your potential provider is third party certificated, by looking on the BAFE website: www.bafe.org.uk/companies.php BAFE is the independent third party certification, registration body for the fire protection industry. We develop schemes for UKAS accredited certification bodies to assess and approve companies to recognised standards. There are now more than 1200 BAFE registered companies across the UK. Our aim is to support property managers to ensure that they get quality fire protection for their premises, staff and service users.

In 2012, BAFE launched the first UKAS accredited scheme for Companies who carry out Fire Risk Assessments (SP205) which is a vital part of meeting obligations under fire legislation. The scheme considers the

competence of the individual assessors as well as the quality requirements for the organisation. There are a growing number of companies registering to the scheme, throughout the UK. If you are looking for the supply and maintenance of portable extinguishers, look for one of the 330 Companies accredited to BAFE Schemes SP101/ST104. Companies are certificated to ISO9001 and all of their technicians are assessed by BAFE for initial and ongoing competence. There are currently more than 1200 BAFE registered technicians, working for our registered companies.

For installing or maintaining fire alarm systems, Companies should hold BAFE modular SP203-1 scheme approval. This scheme includes design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection systems and also requires that all equipment used is third party certificated. The scheme now has over 730 registered companies. Registration to this BAFE scheme is often a key requirement criteria in tenders for the provision of fire alarms.

Our Emergency Lighting scheme (SP203-4) sets out the standards and staff competence criteria to be met. It is modular as with the fire alarm scheme and is achieving growing recognition from end users.

There are a range of other BAFE schemes covering particular sectors of the fire protection industry and details can be found on the BAFE website, along with a complete search facility to find registered companies in your area.

So if you want to be sure you are getting your fire protection from companies who are properly and regularly assessed look for more information at: Website: www.bafe.org.uk Email: info@bafe.org.uk

Don’t gamble with FIRE

info@bafe.org.uk

www.bafe.org.uk

UKC NEWS

O’Brien contractors appointed to St Modwen’s Longbridge scheme Leading groundworks and civil engineering contractor, O’Brien, has been appointed to work on the second phase of St Modwen’s regeneration of Longbridge.

In the second phase of the masterplan for the delivery of a £100M town centre at the former MG Rover site, the development will feature the Midlands’ largest Marks & Spencer store comprising 150,000sq ft, a six floor multi-storey and 500 space car park, and an additional 45,000sq ft of retail, restaurant and cafe space.

Appointed by principal contractor, Morgan Sindall, O’Brien will deliver a host of ground works – including construction of access roads, in-situ concrete retaining walls, gabion walls and public realm works.

Phil Griffiths, Director, O’Brien, said: “The Longbridge redevelopment is one of the most high profile schemes currently taking place in the region and we are naturally very pleased to be chosen to deliver enabling and ground works to St Modwen on this project.

“We are working to a really tight delivery programme to ensure that the Marks & Spencer store opens on time and it is paramount to the success of the scheme that our tasks are completed on programme.”

Mark Batchelor, St Modwen Construction Manager, said: “Construction on Phase Two of Longbridge Town Centre is in full swing with 3,745 tonnes of steelwork going

up for the new M&S store which is on track to open in time for Christmas 2015.

“More than 500 jobs will be created with the construction and opening of this second phase, adding to the 3,500 jobs that have already been created since we began regenerating Longbridge in 2003.”

Established in 1958, O’Brien Construction is a second generation, family-run business that has gone from strength to strength and expanded into a range of new sectors.

Phil Griffiths added: “Some 85% of our work is repeat business and many of our new contracts come about because of referrals so it’s vital that we deliver the very best solutions at all times, either as principal or sub-contractor.”

Hague opens University of Greenwich site First Secretary of State, Rt Hon William Hague MP praised Britain’s universities as ‘one of our nation’s most distinctive contributions to the world’ as he officially opened the University of Greenwich’s new library and academic building.

Numerically, the University of Greenwich is one of London’s most international universities with students from more than 140 countries.

The £80M building is home to the University’s main research and study library, as well as the Department of Architecture & Landscape and the Department of Creative Professions and Digital Arts.

Built by contractors Osborne and designed by Dublin based heneghan peng architects, the building extends the university into the heart of Greenwich and creates a new landmark for the town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One extraordinary and significant feature is the landscaped green roof which is almost the same area as twelve tennis courts, making it Europe’s largest teaching and learning green roof. Roof facilities include a wetland, climate controlled greenhouses, and a vegetable grid for research into food cultivation and urban farming. The roof also houses the UK’s first purpose-built algaeponic and aquaponic rooftop units.

Dominating one side of the building, the library provides students, academics and researchers with access to over 130,000

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hard copy volumes as well as a stateof-the-art digital learning environment.

With comprehensive wifi and world class online research resources, the library attracts more than 3,000 students every day and is able to provide a 24/7 service during exam and assessment schedules.

The ground floor is open to the public and provides visitors with two exhibition galleries (The Stephen Lawrence Gallery and the larger internal Project Gallery), a cafe and a community dropin centre, which provides expert legal advice on employment and business

law and family legal advice. The University has also provided space and customers for a local business helping to support Greenwich’s economy.

Speaking at the opening event, William Hague emphasised the creativity and innovation of the building’s facilities and highlighted that it is these qualities that put Britain’s universities at the forefront of global education. The combination of design and function and the attention to the needs of the users, not just today’s students and teachers but also tomorrows’ creates an atmosphere of ambition and achievement.

www.rics.org/uk/footer/rics-bim-conference-2015/

UKC NEWS

Mersey Gateway volunteering just the job Two best friends from Runcorn have secured new jobs with Merseylink as the construction consortium expands its team.

Karen Nicholson and Yvonne Meakin, both from Runcorn, secured full-time jobs on the Mersey Gateway Project – just weeks after taking part in the new bridge construction consortium’s volunteer programme.

Yvonne has been appointed as PA to Merseylink’s Project Director, while Karen has joined as the team’s Community Liaison Officer.

Karen and Yvonne previously worked together as civil servants in Runcorn for 15 years at the Department for Education, but left the DfE when it relocated from Runcorn to Manchester city centre.

Keen to give something back to the local community, the pair decided to

join the Mersey Gateway volunteer scheme. The initiative trains up local people to help tell the story of Halton and the iconic bridge project. Karen and Yvonne both enjoyed the volunteer scheme so much they decided to apply for full-time jobs with the project.

Yvonne said: “It was Karen’s idea for us to volunteer with the Mersey Gateway Project. We’re both really inquisitive and thought it would be a great way to find out what was happening with the new bridge.

It’s a fantastic development for Halton.”

Karen said: “I’m really enjoying being part of the project team and it’s amazing to be working with Yvonne again. When we started out as volunteers we never imagined that we’d end up working on the project, and we’re very excited

to be part of the full-time team.”

Merseylink is continuing to look for new recruits to join its full-time team in a variety of roles, and has received nearly 2,000 applications from local people interested in different positions.

Karen and Yvonne both submitted their CVs and each of them proved to be the best candidate for their new roles.

Richard Walker, Project Director at Merseylink, said: “The volunteer programme was set up to help local people improve their skills, confidence and employment prospects. The fact we have been able to employ two of our volunteers illustrates just how valuable the scheme is. I’m delighted to welcome Karen and Yvonne on board and I’m looking forward to working with them both.”

University’s new student housing reaches major milestone A significant milestone has been reached in the £13M building work for a new student hall of residence at the University of Roehampton, where a topping out ceremony has been with construction firm Morgan Sindall.

The University is building the new accommodation which will house more than 200 students, to meet increasing demand as its reputation for providing well respected higher education and creating highly employable graduates grows.

Three buildings are being constructed around, and in sympathy with, Downshire House – a Grade II listed late 18th century Georgian villa on the periphery of the campus, which the University owns. They are due to be ready to live in by the start of the new academic year in September.

The topping out marked the completion of superstructures for the three buildings

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which will make up the new hall. During the event Roehampton Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul O’Prey poured the final section of concrete for one of the buildings. Representatives from the University and Morgan Sindall were joined by architects, project managers, and design and advisory teams.

Dr Ghazwa Alwani-Starr, Director of Estates and Campus Services at the University of Roehampton said: “As the University grows in stature and reputation, we need to meet the rising demands of our student population. These buildings will go a long way towards achieving that goal and reaffirming Roehampton’s status as the most attractive campus university in the Capital.”

All three buildings are between two- and five-stories in height and every room will be en-suite. In two buildings, rooms will be grouped into flats of between six and

eight people, with shared kitchen and social facilities. The third building will be designed as six two- to four-storey town houses, with between six and 12 rooms per house.

Waste heat from the three buildings will be used to generate electricity, and once build work is finished, the whole site including the grounds of Downshire House will be extensively landscaped to provide attractive scenery for students and staff.

CCS launches Best Practice Hub Best Practice Hub to showcase best construction practices in the industry The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) has launched its new online resource, the Best Practice Hub, which will showcase the best practice in the construction industry at the touch of a button.

The resource highlights the best practices which are either already in place or are currently being developed throughout the UK construction industry and has been created in accordance with the Scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice.

Available free of charge to anyone, the Best Practice Hub hosts a wealth of best practice tips, expertise, guidance and case studies to help constructors share knowledge, learn from peers and raise the standards of the industry. The Hub will be updated regularly as and when new examples of best practice are identified.

An easy to use search function allows users to filter through best practice via keywords, the Scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice – which covers the areas of appearance, community,

environment, safety and workforce – or through the Scheme’s Monitors’ Checklist. Regular updates can be sent to users if they register their details, which will enable them to know when new articles or case studies have gone live. Registering also allows users to share their own examples of best practice and to give ratings and comments on current ones.

Mike Petter, Chairman of the CCS, said: “We’re delighted to launch such a significant development in the industry and are extremely excited about the difference that the new Hub will make to the industry. It’s a unique and useful tool for any site manager, contractor or client looking to continuously improve the image of the construction industry. We’re looking forward to working with all our registered sites, companies and suppliers to encourage the sharing of considerate best practice within the industry.”

Edward Hardy, Chief Executive of the Scheme, added: “The Best Practice Hub is another important step in our continued

drive to provide help and guidance to the industry on consideration for the workforce, the community and the environment and will set the standard for all considerate construction practice, ensuring that all construction activity can be at the leading edge of best practice.”

Interested parties can visit the Best Practice Hub at www. ccsbestpractice.org.uk. A twitter account has also been set up for the Hub, which can be followed here.

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UKC COMMENT

Inflated applications for payment – is criminal law the answer?

David Johnson, Boodle Hatfield The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 is hardly new, yet payment certificates and payless notices are still missed, and there is still some uncertainty as to the circumstances in which a contractor will then be entitled to recover the full amount of an inflated application for payment. In certain circumstances, the criminal law may point to the answer.

The well known rule under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, as amended by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, is that the full amount of a contractor’s application for payment must be paid, however inflated, if no payment certificate or payless notice has been issued.

The courts have frequently enforced adjudicator’s decisions to this effect.

The reasoning is that any overpayment will be resolved through subsequent valuations, in final account negotiations, or in eventual arbitration or litigation. The main exception is where the contractor is insolvent, as the courts accept that the employer would probably not be able to recover the overpayment.

An interesting issue arose in a recent dispute where the contractor’s inflated application was made after completion of the works, during ongoing final account negotiations. As is fairly common, values had been finally agreed for particular items of work on an open and unreserved basis, and these agreements recorded in regularly updated spreadsheets, showing the progress of the final account on an item by item basis. The negotiations then moved on to other items or work packages, and the ultimate final account was intended to be the sum of the various agreed item and package values.

The contractor was frustrated by the

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slow pace of these negotiations – there had been a hiatus between meetings and issued an application for payment, which included greater sums for certain items and packages of work than had already been agreed. The contract administrator was on holiday, and no payment certificate or payless notice was issued. The contractor contended that it was entitled to be paid the full amount of the inflated application, in accordance with clause 4.12.3 of the applicable JCT Standard Building Contract, 2011 edition.

The employer argued that the full amount of the contractor’s inflated account was not payable in these circumstances. Clause 4.11.1 of the JCT contract provided that a contractor’s application for payment must state “the sum that the Contractor considers will become due to him at the relevant due date”. The employer’s argument was that the contractor could not be taken as “considering” a higher amount due when he had already agreed that only a lower amount was due, and that the application therefore did not comply with the requirements of the JCT contract.

This dispute was settled on the basis of an agreed final account, at a level substantially lower than the gross valuation in the contractor’s application, so the employer’s argument was not tested before an adjudicator or the courts.

Section 17 of the Theft Act 1968 may also be relevant in these circumstances.

It is a criminal offence for a person, with a view to gain or with intent to cause loss, to falsify any account or any document required for any accounting purpose, or to produce or use an account or document which he knows may be misleading, false or deceptive.

An application for payment under a JCT contract, containing a valuation of the works, clearly falls within this section.

The message is clear: any contractor who includes amounts that he has already agreed are not due in an application for payment places himself in jeopardy under this provision of the Theft Act. David Johnson is a partner and head of the construction practice at law firm Boodle Hatfield. He can be reached by email: djohnson@boodlehatfield.com.

Visit www.boodlehatfield.com for more information.

David Johnson

Genius Roof Solutions are dedicated to ensuring works carried out on roofs do not compromise the integrity of the roof We are a well established business with a global customer base, providing a range of innovative and unique roofing products.

for general repair, after solar panel bracket mounting, after roof light/window installation, after installing slate vents and also for conservation and heritage buildings. We’ve sold 100,000 units to date.

Our latest product the ‘SolarFlash’ is an innovative new weatherproof flashing solution to the solar industry problem of fitting solar panels to slate and tiled roofs. With our ‘SolarFlash’ kit, we aim to arm the installers with products that allow their installations to comply with MCS012 guidelines and perform professional and permanent installations and repairs.

We’ve sold over 150,000 units to date.

Hallclips This should be used to secure lead flashings into brickwork. The patented lead flashing fixing clip allows you to fix flashings up to 20 times faster than using standard lead wedges. The easy to fit clip will secure any flashing chase from 6-18mm. The Hallclip grips lead firmly in place in seconds allowing the flashing to be dressed before pointing to give you a professional finish.

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UKC COMMENT

Can a man serve two masters?

Since design and build contracts came into fashion the practice of contractors taking over the appointments of consultants, who provided design for the employer, by way of novation has become familiar.

Novation is the substitution of one party to the contract by another person, not originally a party, as if that person had been a party from the outset. The benefit to the contractor is that the consultant then owes a duty of care to the contractor for the design incorporated into the works, which the contractor has to complete. To preserve a duty of care to the employer, collateral warranties are employed.

Although the contractor is substituted for the employer the problem of the consultant serving two masters has to be recognised.

In order to protect the consultant, a novation agreement will properly recognise that pre-novation work was undertaken for the employer. This means that the consultant cannot be criticised for designs for the purposes of the employer that might not serve the objects of the contractor, for their interests may differ.

But the question “Can a man serve two masters?” has been raised in connection with a more novel form of arrangement. A practice has developed by which, under the collateral warranty provided on novation, the consultant will provide additional services for the employer by way of inspecting and reporting on work done by the consultant’s new master, the contractor.

Christopher Coveney

Here acting for both the contractor and the employer the consultant is asked to be both poacher and gamekeeper.

So, can a man serve two masters?

One well known consultant providing advice to the construction industry on contractual arrangements advises not.

But is that so? The simple fact is that such arrangements are being entered into.

The empirical evidence, therefore, is that consultants are taking on such dual roles.

What is the reality of this arrangement?

A design and build contractor has a commercial purpose in requiring the design to be economic to build. An employer requires that building achieves the functionality required for his purposes, has low running costs in terms of energy efficiency and maintenance, and is well built. To the extent that an employer wishes to provide architectural adornment and splendour, those elements will usually be to the employer’s particular requirements and the employer will normally engage a consultant to provide those elements of design.

So is a novated consultant, now employed by the contractor, who is required to inspect and report back on the work done to his former master, the employer, asked to do the impossible?

The answer is no.

Provided that all three parties; the

employer, the consultant and contractor agree to this, there is no legal objection to such a contractual arrangement. The general legal principle is that, provided they are not unlawful, parties can enter into any contractual arrangements that they want. There can be no breach of confidentiality if all parties know what the consultant is being asked to do.

Such arrangements should, therefore, be visible to the contractor, not secret.

And at this point the consultant must walk a tightrope ensuring both that the contractor’s interest of economic design and the employer’s interests of functionality, economy of use and quality of build are achieved.

It is possible that there may be some strains and tensions between the two.

These will require professional judgment and integrity on the part of the consultant.

A consultant may think it appropriate to discuss matters with both parties should this situation arise. But provided everybody is in agreement a man, in this case the consultant, can serve two masters.

Christopher Coveney, Partner, Thomas Eggar LLP.

COLNE CONTRACTS LTD

ASPHALT, TARMACADAM SURFACING TAR & SHINGLE, CONCRETING We are a family run business which was established in 1968, and since that time have always offered a friendly and professional service for the private and commercial sectors.

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Telephone / Fax: 01787 222030 Mobile: 07771 628305 Email: colnecontracts@hotmail.co.uk www.colnecontracts.com 22

Balfour Engineering Consultancy Ltd is a firm of Chartered & Structural Engineers based in Paisley but covering projects throughout Scotland. The business was established in 2005 and we provide Civil and Structural design services to a valued and expanding client base. The business is certified under the Structural Engineers Registration Scheme (SER). Our projects range from domestic scale to medium sized commercial projects in the region of £2-£5m contract value. We offer a consistent service of practical engineering and we always strive to achieve commercially beneficial solutions for our clients. This approach has ensured repeat business and the development of strong working relationships with our clients and industry colleagues alike.

We would be delighted to take your enquiry and to assist you with your project. Therefore please call us or email using the details below. Iain Balfour and Derek McBurnie each have over 20 years experience in the industry successfully delivering projects across a wide range of sectors.

Examples of project experience of the Director’s is shown opposite.

SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow During Construction

Waste Treatment Plant - Falkirk

Higher Education PFI/PPP

Quintiles, Livingston New Labs & Offices

Balfour Engineering Consultancy Ltd Suite 2016, Mile End Building Abbeymill Business Centre 12 Seedhill Road Paisley PA1 1JS T: 0141 848 9708 F: 0141 842 1098 E: iain@balfourengineering.co.uk E: derek@balfourengineering.co.uk

Timber Frame Designs

Civil Engineering and Tunnelling Contractors Donegan Civil Engineering is a family owned business with a proven track record of projects for public, private, local authority and water industry clients.

We are fully accredited in the construction industry and offer a broad range of specialised civil engineering services whilst operating a UKAS accredited Integrated Management System certified by the B.S.I. We are based in Greater Manchester but carry out projects all over the UK, working directly for utility companies as an approved contractor, whilst also undertaking specialist sub-contracts for works such as shaft sinking or tunnelling.

Specialist Services Donegan Civil Engineering offers the following services in construction and civil engineering: General Civil Engineering ● Segmental Shaft Sinking ● Tunnelling and Pipejacking Open Cut Drainage ● Reinforced Concrete Structures ● Steel Sheet Piling

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23

UKC PROFILE

Taking Japanese knotweed seriously

Property Care Association Japanese knotweed has become increasingly well known in recent years, and is a growing commercial problem because of the challenges it causes in the urban environment.

Native to eastern Asia, the plant was introduced in the early 19th century to adorn gardens of Victorian England.

Along with Giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed is one of three non-native plants most commonly encountered in Britain that concern homeowners, landowners and developers.

As early as the beginning of the 20th century, it was widely recognised as an invasive species. Where the plant grows on development sites, it can cause damage to hard structures and surfaces.

Developers also often need to tackle the plant in order to avoid contravening the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The Property Care Association (PCA) - the trade association representing specialists who can be trusted to resolve problems affecting buildings - offers advice to developers about the impact of Japanese knotweed and the risks posed by this invasive weed, and is continuing to help the UK property and land management sectors take control with a comprehensive training programme designed to normalise the problem.

It includes a two-day modular course, control and eradication of Japanese knotweed, which focuses on identification and control measures, but also briefly covers other invasive plants.

A training programme for technicians and field operatives working on the control of Japanese knotweed

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has also been devised by PCA. Steve Hodgson, General Manager of the PCA, spoke about the steps to eradicate the problem of Japanese knotweed.

He said: “Japanese knotweed is just a plant and we are taking all steps necessary to normalise it, so it is viewed generally as any other type of property problem, in that it can be identified and treated with minimal impact.

“The delivery of professional training is a major step forward in that process and this course shares the latest thinking and expertise to enable the UK to take control of Japanese knotweed and give reassurance to lenders that it can be remediated.”

checks give consumers the assurance that all members can deliver high quality service and peace of mind, supported by independently insured guarantees.

The origins of the Company go back to 1930, when the British Wood Preserving Association (BWPA) was founded for the industry with the key aim to ‘spread knowledge of wood preservation with a view to prevent wastage of timber and to standardise specifications for wood preservations and their application; to investigate all possible methods of wood preservation; and to afford members opportunities for the interchange of ideas regarding improvements in wood preservation’.

It is an important function of the PCA, whose members can investigate and provide solutions that involve damp, condensation, timber decay or insect attack, dampness and water penetration in basements, floodwater recovery and flood protection, structural defects, as well as invasive weed control.

The Company works with government departments, responds to consultation documents and provides assistance with the department of new guidelines, all with the aim of improving outcomes and promoting best practice.

When choosing a member of the PCA, people can be certain that in order to become a member, these companies have undergone rigorous checks to achieve and retain membership.

All members are audited and the quality of their work already checked, and regular technical, operational and procedural

In 1977, the British Chemical Dampcourse Association (BCDA) was formed and 12 years later, the two associations merged to form the British Wood Preserving and Damp Proofing Association (BWPDA).

Members of the BWPDA were instrumental in the formation of Guarantee Protection Trust in 1982, to offer insurancebacked guarantees to customers, which became Guarantee Protection Insurance on achieving FSA approval in 2002.

A year later, two divisions were created; the Property Care Association and the Wood Protection Association. In 2006, members of the BWPDA voted for the separation of these two divisions and shortly after, both became individual trade associations in their own right.

For more information about the Property Care Association please visit: www.property-care.org

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UKC PROFILE

Sheffield City Council

A city on the move

The Graves Centre

November last year saw a full planning application submitted for Sheffield’s redeveloped tennis and leisure centre at the Graves Centre in the south of the city.

The development, which will include a six-lane 25m replacement pool, a separate learner pool, a major new fitness suite and studios, two additional indoor tennis courts and the city’s first ever dedicated gymnastics and trampolining centre, will also by the city HQ for the new National centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM) part of the 2012 Olympic Legacy Project. The NCSEM will provide extensive health consultation, specialist treatment services and research facilities, and is funded by the Department of Health.

If planning permission is granted, work will start on site in early 2015, with a 12-month construction programme.

The project is jointly funded by Sheffield City Council, the NCSEM, the Lawn Tennis Association, British Gymnastics and a potential contribution from Sport England. The total project will cost will be around £15M. Councillor Isobel Bowler, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure, said: “If approved, this plan will provide a major modern health and leisure complex in the south of the city and offer a long awaited pool at Graves. The investment will dramatically improve the quality of leisure facilities in the area, which will increase participation

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levels and therefore improve health.

“This is the biggest facility to be built in Sheffield in a generation and we are grateful to our funding partners who are supporting the build costs.”

This investment in the health of the City is being followed up with a massive investment in football facilities across the city. In a ground-breaking partnership with the Football Association, some £9M would be invested in the city over the coming years.

The investment will provide six new football hubs as part of the FA’s national initiative to invest in grassroots facilities, with Sheffield being chosen as the first city in the programme where facilities will be delivered.

The first phase of the investment programme would focus on creating the hub sites, with state-of-the-art floodlit 3G artificial pitches, high-quality grass pitches and changing facilities. One of these hubs will be based at the Graves centre, while a second at Thorncliffe Recreation Ground would create a significant ‘sports park’ in the north of Sheffield.

As well as improving health and encouraging fitness, the programme would also create jobs, both in the construction phase and in the management and operation of these new facilities.

Not content with improving just the recreational facilities, Sheffield City Council is now seeking to engage

with a strategic development partner to help deliver the much-anticipated new retail quarter in the city centre.

This brings the plan closer to realisation and on target to deliver the first phase of the scheme during 2019. The announcement comes after six months of intensive work with a new team of expert advisors, and detailed research into consumer trends and regional demand, mapped against existing and pipeline provisions in Sheffield.

The result is an exciting retail and leisureled scheme combined with office and residential provision to provide a more mixed use destination. The new scheme will link the Moor to Fargate through Baker’s Pool, to deliver improved economic benefits to the city as a whole.

The Council is following up this commitment to its residents with improvements across the city’s housing stock.

There are around 238,000 households currently in Sheffield with around a quarter of this social rented from the council or registered housing providers.

Around 600 new council homes are planned for Sheffield over the next six years to help meet the demand for affordable housing.

Sheffield City Council intends to make full use of its Housing revenue Account to deliver the maximum number of new council houses under continued on page 28

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the current borrowing rules.

It is also intended to begin a planned replacement programme of kitchens, bathrooms, double glazing and door renewal in homes that have not had this type of work carried out over the last ten years. This includes a commitment to tackle properties that were not improved under the Decent Homes programme by 2017.

From 2015, any home that missed any work will be refurbished within 12 months of a new tenant taking on the property.

The programme will cover around 7,000 of the 12,790 properties still requiring some work by 2018 and will be funded from existing resources in the programme as well as an anticipated under spend from the decent Homes programme.

There will also be a commitment to extend the refurbishment of communal areas to all 12,000 low rise flats and begin feasibility and design work on the communal areas to 3,000 maisonettes.

It is intended to make flats more sustainable and a more attractive proposition to residents wishing to downsize.

The Gleadless Valley area of Sheffield has recently taken part in a fire sprinkler trial as part of a broader fire safety investment programme delivered by Sheffield City Council Contractor, Kier Services, in more than 18,000 low-rise flats and maisonettes across the city over the next four years.

Legislation requires that Sheffield City Council must provide fire precaution measures and remove or reduce the risk of fire as far as reasonably practicable in multi-occupancy properties, such as tower blocks, sheltered schemes, maisonettes and low-rise flats.

The project, which commenced in

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September 2013, has now seen work BAM Construction won the contract completed in more than 3,500 properties. to develop the school and hub, which The fire suppression programme will is aiming to achieve a BREEAM provide sprinklers to around 540 addresses. ‘Very Good’ accreditation.

The fire safety work in its entirety will benefit 17,763 addresses in total, excluding tower blocks and sheltered accommodation which have already been completed.

Continued population growth has meant further primary school places are needed across the city so We are pleased to be associated with that all children can go to school in Sheffield City Council and wish them their local area. Two brand new primary schools opened in continued success for the future 2014 – Shirecliffe and Fir Vale, while a new through two-16 school will be operational from September this year in Darnall.

Construction is currently under 6 Fabian Way, Bramley, Rotherham S66 1UR way on the new ‘super school’ Tel: 01709 531961 Mob: 07775 517388 which will provide 1,200 places and Fax: 01709 531961 a community hub Email: pikejoineryltd@fsmail.net on the site of the former Don Valley Stadium.

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UKC LEISURE

West Warwickshire Sports Club

Centre for Sporting Excellence West Warwickshire Sports Club (WWSC) is the athletic hub of Solihull. To date the Club has performed well due to its premier location, surroundings and excellent facilities. However, in an increasingly competitive market the decision was taken to not only rejuvenate the existing spaces, but to enhance the building to create further flexibility and truly rationalise the available space.

AJG Property Services Limited were appointed to project manage the new development, whilst Peter Hunt Architects created the design. The result is a twostorey extension to the rear of the existing

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building totalling 416sq m, along with the refurbishment of a further 313sq m to enhance the bar, function rooms and kitchen facilities. A new gym facility has also been created at ground floor level with multi-purpose rooms which can be utilised both for gym classes, as well as functions or meetings.

The extension has been carefully designed to blend seamlessly into the existing building. Facing brickwork has been selected to match the original and the roof pitch creates a non-existent join.

WWSC and their appointed professional team have considered and implemented,

where appropriate, best practice sustainable solutions including design, construction materials and techniques and in operation control. These sustainable features are intended to reduce environmental impact and thus help future generations to meet their own needs. The design is cohesive and incorporates systems and materials that are compatible with each other rather than adopting an array of sustainable products.

The building design has incorporated fundamental principles to achieve a low in use energy building, namely the continued on page 32

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maximisation of natural daylight and natural ventilation. By utilising fundamental design principles the in use energy of the building can be greatly reduced and any technology driven primary or renewable energy solutions are therefore also reduced.

Natural ventilation and daylight is promoted and provided by opening windows in appropriate occupied spaces. The design minimised the need for mechanical ventilation - although where utilised heat recovery has been provided - and artificial lighting.

Minimising in use energy not only depends on passive design and renewable sources, but also requires high levels of insulation to minimise heat loss during the cooler times of the year and exacting construction to minimise air infiltration. The designs pay particular attention to detail the interface between materials and junctions and the selection of insulation materials.

Electrical current using equipment such as ventilation fans, heating pumps and lighting were selected based on energy consumption ratings. Energy will be

careful selection and positioning and metered for heating and cooling, specialist operation control of the luminaires. equipment, lighting and small power so as The Main Contractor on this ÂŁ800,000 to provide the users with direct feed-back project was Hardyman Group. Work of consumption and where the energy is commenced in February 2014 and being used. The intention is to empower completed on schedule in October 2014. the users, enabling them to understand and manage the building better, resulting in greater energy savings.

Consideration has also been given to in use night-time light pollution, water course pollution and noise attenuation and the design was developed accordingly.

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Altis Bars work directly with architects, designers, main contractors and private clients to produce on-time, on-budget Bar Design, Retail and Hotel Interior Design Solutions. Our highly qualified and motivated team of designers and production personnel are skilled in working with a multitude of finishes and materials to enhance any bar, hospitality or leisure environments.

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Altis Bars modular bar has been devised to be a complete system. At the heart of the bar design is the stainless steel carcass, refined to meet the stringent public health regulations and to become an integral part of the finishes, supporting bar tops and front panels. The stainless steel carcass gives maximum flexibility enabling glasses and equipment such as glass washers, ice makers, coolers to be located efficiently.

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Altis Bars have applied the successful principles of their modular bar design to mobile bars.

PROFILE UKC

Willmott Dixon A winning team

Willmott Dixon is one of the UK’s largest privately owned construction and property development companies, responsible for a diverse range of projects in both private and public sectors.

With over 160 years of experience and employing more than 700 people, Willmott Dixon represents a truly sustainable business managed by some of the most dynamic and forward thinking professionals in the sector.

Recognised as a leading advocate and proponent of partnering and best-value procurement, Willmott Dixon aims to be the first choice team member for all customers and is proud that a growing number choose to work with the Company in long-term, repeat business frameworks where they can both strive for continuous improvement.

Willmott Dixon places tremendous emphasis on developing its people, starting from their well-established graduate training scheme through to the programme to develop senior management into future leaders of the business.

Founded in 1852, Willmott Dixon has grown to become one of the country’s most recognisable brands for the built environment.

Group Chief Executive, Rick Willmott is the fifth generation of the Willmott family to lead the business, aided by some of the industry’s most astute business people and supported by a fantastic team across all Group companies.

In his end of year statement, Mr Willmott gave his thoughts on 2014 and looks forward to the challenges to be brought in the new year.

A particular highlight for Mr Willmott and the Company was winning a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for sustainable development,

regarded as the UK’s most prestigious business accolade. This was followed up by becoming the only contractor to be recognised with a CommunityMark from Business in the Community.

“From my viewpoint, winning a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for sustainable development was a huge achievement for us. It reflected the work and investment we’ve made, over the recession years, on our performance in areas like social value, carbon and waste reduction, staying resolute to our values and beliefs.”

As a contractor, Willmott Dixon works with government, local authority and private sector clients, delivering capital projects in education, justice, commercial offices, retail, health and housing. Through innovations like Sunesis, the Company’s standardised designs for education, leisure and the care sector, Willmott Dixon can save clients up to 30% on building costs without compromising on quality.

Willmott Dixon is also proud to be one of the country’s largest builders of housing, completing nearly 2,000 units each year for its Regen development division, plus a variety of clients from local authorities and housing associations to private developers like Taylor Wimpey.

Recent project wins for the

Company include a huge retrofit programme for Hull City Council. The project will see some 3,000 homes benefit from energy improvements in a £60M Green Deal and Eco partnership. Refurbishment work by Willmott Dixon will include improvements to home sin the Preston Road and Orchard Park regeneration areas. It will include external solid wall insulation, plus draught proofing, double glazing and renewable energy generation such as solar panels and heat pumps.

This contract expands the significant ECO and Green Deal presence of Willmott Dixon Energy Services in the North of England. The company is currently working with the West Yorkshire Combined Authorities, the Association of Greater Manchester authorities, Leeds Federated Housing Association and Golden Gates Housing Trust. www.wilmottdixon.co.uk

A&B Engineering are a privately owned Mechanical and Electrical Services Company with over 50 years experience and expertise in design and installation.

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UKC LEISURE

DoubleTree London – Islington

A new direction in design and style For more than 40 years, DoubleTree

by Hilton™ has grown across the country and around the world, thanks to its loyal customers, exceptional staff and of course, unique hotels.

In 2011, the company’s global reach was expanded, with new hotels in Greece, Norway, Malaysia, Turkey, Russia and Bulgaria.

At DoubleTree by Hilton™ hotels, every little thing adds up to Create A Rewarding Experience for its guests (CARE). The hospitality starts with a warm chocolate chip cookie upon arrival and continues through the award-winning Hilton HHonors® guest reward program, the Sweet Dreams®

by DoubleTree Sleep Experience and its industry-recognised Culture of CARE. Jurys Inn currently operates a franchise agreement with Hilton London, DoubleTree.

John Brennan, CEO Jurys Inn, says: “The DoubleTree by Hilton franchise provides Jurys Inn access to a broad international customer base. Our hotels’ prime locations as well as Hilton Worldwide’s renowned brand will put us in a strong position to grow revenue as well as continue to deliver stand out customer service.”

August 2014 saw the opening of the brands tenth London hotel. DoubleTree

by Hilton London - Islington is located in the heart of fashionable Islington, offering an ideal base for exploring London’s many attractions. The stylish property, which marks the brand’s 10,000th room in Europe, joins Hilton Worldwide’s

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fastest growing full service brand after a multi-million pound refurbishment.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London Islington is just steps from a variety of shops, specialty boutiques, restaurants and bars and is the ideal base from which to explore the city of London. Just a five-minute walk to Angel tube station or a 15-minute walk to Kings Cross and St Pancras rail stations, this Islington hotel is the perfect location to access London’s high-fashion stores, financial district and business design district.

The renovation has increased the guestrooms offered by the hotel, going from 229 to 372, including 66 deluxe rooms and 43 executive rooms, following a substantial extension.

The refurbished ground floor, created by leading international design studio – designsquared, includes a contemporary lobby and lounge area incorporating local design features.

The extension itself has been undertaken

by Main Contractor, McAleer & Rushe, with designs provided by Consarc Design Group. The work involved the demolition of an existing building on site and creation of the further 165 rooms in a new building, with associated works plus front and back of house accommodation.

A conference centre is located on the ground floor, offering seven meeting rooms, with the largest catering for up to 90 delegates. A gym has also been included as well as the complete remodelling of

the lobby, restaurant and bar area. A Costa coffee bar has also been installed.

John Greenleaf, global head DoubleTree

by Hilton said: “Since 2007, the brand has grown from no presence in the UK to nearly 25 properties, with ten of these in the London area. The DoubleTree brand resonates with the UK Traveller by offering a friendly, approachable service experience, which starts with the presentation of our signature, freshlybaked chocolate chip cookie at check-in.”

The Islington extension comes as part of a wider refurbishment programme across the Jurys Inn Group portfolio, with over 1,0005 bedrooms and public areas having already received a makeover in 2012. The hotel group earmarked a total spend of £25M for projects up to the end of 2014, as part of an ongoing refurbishment programme.

McAleer & Rushe is a privately owned, multi award winning design & build construction, property development, investment and asset management firm, with in excess of 40 years experience in the acquisition, design, development, construction and management of a variety of property types.

McAleer & Rushe Construction Director, Martin Magee, said: “We have developed a fantastic working relationship with the Jurys Inn Group over the course of many projects with them. It gives us particular pleasure to be working on what will be the flagship hotel for the entire 32-strong hotel group.”

The McAleer & Rushe Group, established in 1967 is a leading multi award winning privately owned Construction and Property Development Company with offices in London, Belfast and Cookstown.

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UKC COMMUNITY

Manuden Village Community Centre The Manuden Village Community Centre is a stunning new venue at the heart of a beautiful village on the Essex/Hertfordshire border.

Completed in April 2014, the centre is available for hire for a wide range of activities such as weddings, parties, meetings, concerts, fundraisers and corporate events. It has meeting and club rooms, a fully equipped kitchen, a bar and changing rooms.

The venue also boasts fantastic sporting facilities. There is a flood lit multi-use games area for football, tennis, hockey, netball and other sports, while new football pitches and a cricket ground are also available.

In addition, there are separate male and female toilets, a disabled toilet, baby changing facilities and a club room providing a place for teams and spectators to congregate and gave light refreshments.

Pelham Structures worked with a steering group in Manuden, which had been trying to secure the sports and community facilities for more than 14 years. Planning permission was secured a number of years ago for the site, but the group failed to secure lottery funding.

Villagers then turned to the alternative idea of ‘enabling development’, where a scheme of housing is only permitted

if there is a clear wider benefit to the Sir Alan recognised the commitment community. A development of 14 homes and perseverance of the many people pushed the scheme to realisation. who have worked to make the vision Construction of the facilities on the 19 acre a reality, describing it as: “a significant site has cost more than £1.6M. Football day in the history of Manuden” and pitches are carefully engineered and their an “inspiration to other villages”. construction involved moving 100,000 Backing up this statement, Dr Leslie tonnes of earth and installing drainage.

Atkinson, who has chaired the The buildings are designed to have Manuden Parish Council for the past low maintenance costs and will be 12 years, was awarded the British partly run using air sourced heart Empire Medal (BEM) for his efforts to pumps and photovoltaic electricity. push plans through for the project.

Pelham Structures Managing Director, Bill Bampton, said: “This is an unparalleled scheme for the area and it’s been a superb opportunity to build something amazing, which at the same time We are pleased to be associated with the Manuden Village Hall has provided local scheme and wish all involved continued success employment. In this case, everyone’s a winner.”

Sir Alan Haselhurst Grayson Contractors Limited officially opened 6 The Shires, Shire Hill, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11 3AP the hall in T: 01799 525221 F: 01799 516989 September last E: graysoncontractors@btconnect.com year. During the ceremony

Chester Electrics Ltd is an electrical contracting company based in Ongar, Essex and is ideally placed to react to projects in central, greater London and throughout the home counties.

We carry out maintenance and all types of electrical testing (hard wired installations and portable appliance testing and emergency lighting), electrical refurbishment work and all types of general installation work all across London and the home counties.

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We carry out installation, maintenance and testing for a variety of customers in various industry sectors. These include churches, colleges, housing associations, letting agents, factories and supermarkets to name a few.

We offer a comprehensive service for existing and new customers to encompass all that is required for a given task. Chester Electrics Ltd provide a full service for an installation and are able to offer advice on what equipment is suitable for a particular installation. To give our customers peace of mind, we are fully certified by the NIC EIC ensuring that we comply with all necessary legislation.

EDUCATION UKC

Gershwin Park Children’s Nursery Gershwin Park Witham is a multi use development area, combining a new residential neighbourhood with a range of retail, office and commercial properties, together with leisure and community facilities, designed as the Maltings Lane Masterplan by Churchmanor Estates.

A variety of land uses are available and the park seeks a diverse range of businesses looking to grow within this community environment.

Braintree District Council granted outline planning permission for retail and office space including food retail, non-food retail, a pub/restaurant, Class B1 office, retail warehousing and other uses within Class A1 to S5. Community facilities including a children’s day nursery, health centre, two sports pitches and a multi use games area with changing facilities will be included within the separate residential development area of the site; together with ancillary infrastructure, public open space and landscaping.

Designed by Architect, Ayshford Sansome, the nursery offers early years childcare for 66 children from six months to five years.

Gershwin Park Nursery is housed in a contemporary building set over half an acre in the centre of the Maltings development.

The nursery has been specifically designed to meet the needs of young children and consist of six homebase rooms all with direct access to the spacious gardens.

Construction comprises a single-storey timber frame, supplied and constructed on site by The Homes Factory, which features a striking inverted roof structure that extends to form canopies outside each child homebase room. Coupled with the careful selection of similar floor finishes for inside to outside, the use of large windows and flush transitions allows the children the freedom and opportunity to fully explore their internal and external environments.

The homebase rooms are light, airy and self contained, with toilet facilities

designed for the age range assigned to “Seymour House Day Nursery Schools that room. Finishes promote a natural have been providing outstanding education and calming feel, with a lot of beech and and care for over 25 years and are delighted soft colours rather than primary, vibrant to be joining the community in Witham.” colours. External finishes include rendering Main Contractor, TJ Evers, has and cement fibre board, which is more undertaken construction and Seymour robust and requires less maintenance House Partnership is welcoming its than the timber cladding it resembles. first intake to start the New Year.

Internally, the building is split into a ‘private’ and ‘public’ side, with the home base rooms situated in the private area, creating a secure environment for the children. A central spine corridor splits the rooms, with staff area, laundry and kitchen to the north side.

External Successfully Meeting the Demands of Clients landscaping in the South-East of England Since 1972 includes planting, which has been NICEIC approved electrical installation, testing and commissioning engineers and used as a natural contractors. barrier in some instances, to maintain the division A family company established since 1972, Vickery Electrical Ltd has built a between car reputation over the years for our high quality of workmanship and level of parking, the building service to our customers. and pedestrian routes. Different We endeavour to provide a comprehensive service to the commercial, industrial surface treatments and private sectors covering Essex, London and the surrounding areas. From will also demarcate refurbishments to new electrical installations, no job is too big or small. the pedestrian areas from vehicular With years of experience behind us, we pride ourselves on our professionalism movements. and commitment to successfully complete all projects undertaken with our many A statement on returning clients. behalf of the nursery group, which also runs nurseries Vickery Electrical Ltd, 3a Perry Way, Witham, Essex CM8 3SX in Basildon, Colchester, Tel: 01376 519 933 - Email:info@vickeryelectrical.co.uk Chelmsford, www.vickeryelectrical.co.uk Laindon and Wickford, said:

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UKC EDUCATION

Historic St Peter’s School creates a new reception Visitors to historic St Peter’s School can expect a warm welcome as they enter the recently completed new reception area.

St Peter’s School was founded by St Paulinus of York in 627 AD and is the fourth oldest school in the world.

The campus is situated in Clifton just outside the ancient city walls of York.

The School provides a 3-18 co-educational day and boarding school community whose aim is to provide a classical, high quality, all-round education with a forward looking and exciting approach to learning.

Behind the historic School’s frontage are 47 acres of grounds, sports pitches, an award-winning swimming pool and boathouse on the banks of the River Ouse.

Following extensive analysis of pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the School, it was clear that the School was lacking an arrival focal point.

Graham Fennell, Project Manager for St Peter’s School commented: “It was identified that the arrival experience for the School was lacking; there were multiple entry points, lots of signage and no real sense of ‘arrival’.”

At the heart of the School, the ‘monkey cage’ provides a link to the dining area, main hall, teaching spaces and day houses. The administration and senior management team were clustered around this and a reorganisation strategy tried to restructure these in a more coherent manner and chose to place the school office as the first point of contact for all, whether visitors, pupils or staff.

Work commenced on the £446,000 project in March 2014 and comprised a single-storey extension which provided a new main entry point for the whole school to give direct access and provide a definitive and obvious entry point.

The extension is located on the principle elevation of the Grade II listed school that

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fronts Clifton and is visible from the public Harmerfitz, a responsive Midlands-based highway. It occupies an alcove between architectural and design practice producing two existing wings of the building that had contextual solutions for a range of clients previously been an enclosed yard. The including living, learning and public spaces. curved line of the original wall has been This stunning new entrance now reinstated and the resulting space has been provides a welcome to match St Peter’s roofed over to create the new entrance School’s history and reputation. foyer, punctured by four bespoke roof lights that are inspired by the inverted cross of St. Peter. The existing openings that were previously external have been increased to create passages through to the main building.

Disruption to the School was minimised as most of the work was predominantly done during the holidays, with some functions relocated and alternatives routes put in place during term time. Work was completed in October 2014.

The Main Contractor on this project was The Raylor Centre | James Street Simpson York Ltd, York | YO10 3DW a privately owned company whose aim is to provide an Tel. 01904 422856 exceptional service Fax. 01904 422891 with heritage going back to 1922.

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EDUCATION UKC

Wath C of E Primary School Building for the future

Founded in 1660 by the then vicar of Wathupon-Dearne, Thomas Wombwell, Wath C of E Primary School – or Wath National School as it was once known – has long been a cornerstone of the local community.

The School, which has occupied the current Barnsley Road site since 1855, recently embarked on a substantial £1M programme of works to provide a sizeable extension to the existing building.

The extension is something of an anticipatory measure – its completion enables Wath C of E Primary School to meet the needs of a larger student intake. Indeed, with pupil numbers on the increase locally, demand for places has never been higher.

Measuring an approximate 480sq m, the single-storey extension provides four high specification classrooms alongside library and toilet facilities. Additional classroom accommodation has been provided via a separate infill extension between two existing buildings.

As part of the development, the School’s car parking provision has also been bolstered by a further 15 spaces situated to the north of the site, and an access road has been widened to allow for a vehicular entrance with a double gate.

The design comes courtesy of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC). Though a striking addition to the Wath C of E Primary School campus, the extension is first and foremost a practical structure designed and built with the end user in mind. As the School’s current aesthetic is mixed – thanks in part to a number of smaller extensions built previously – RMBC sought to create

an extension in keeping with the general architectural principals of the School. This is reflected in the materials chosen and the form of the building. Given the scale of the extension however, care was taken to minimise visual impact on the surrounding residential area. To this end, the new build element is single-storey and takes full advantage of the lower gradient of the site.

The extension was also positioned with a view to reducing the potential impact on all-important play areas within the grounds.

Construction was undertaken in January 2014 by the well respected South Yorkshire based George Hurst & Sons Ltd. George Hurst, itself a company with an impressive

pedigree, worked in collaboration with the School, RMBC and a raft of sub-contractors to remain on programme and to budget, while minimising disruption to staff and students alike. These key relationships were instrumental in mitigating any potential heath and safety risks associated.

Practical completion of the alteration and extension to Wath C of E Primary School was achieved in November 2014. Now effectively future proofed, the extension will enable the School to contend with the rigours of an increased student intake while remaining a cornerstone of the Wath-upon-Dearne community for generations to come.

39

UKC PROFILE

Marshall Construction complete new food production facility for CK Foods Hull-based CK Foods will create up to 50 new jobs with the food company’s new food production plant situated at the Food Technology Park in Bradford.

The scheme provides additional attractive and modern business premises and was funded by a grant of over £800,000 from the Leeds City Region fund.

Established in 2005, CK Foods (Processing) Ltd is a family run business providing pizza cheese and dairy products to wholesalers and fast food outlets throughout the UK and Ireland.

The new purpose-built production facility houses state-of-the-art, fully automated processing capabilities incorporating the latest forming technology alongside producing delicate home-style products.

The site is centrally located to CK Foods’ customer base and supply chain which will help to reduce the Company’s carbon footprint and

TPE

minimise any environmental impact.

The Architect on the development was DK Architects who are a young, dynamic architectural practice with offices in London, Manchester and Leeds, offering services to private and public sector clients throughout the UK. The Main Contractor on this scheme is the Marshall Group, who employ around 220 people who work on everything from major urban regeneration schemes to fit outs and refurbishments. The Group’s principal activities are commercial development and construction.

The Group’s portfolio includes building operational facilities, distribution warehouses, retail parks, offices both in city centres and on business parks, residential property, city centre retail development, hotels and leisure uses such as cinemas, bars and restaurants.

The Marshall Group takes its responsibility

for health and safety very seriously and employs two full time health and safety managers that are responsible for ensuring that the Group’s standards either meet or exceed the industry standard.

Also of high importance to the Group are its environmental responsibilities. The construction companies within the Marshall Group operate an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. The Group promotes an ethos of commitment to sustainability and promote energy efficiency. This includes recycling office waste and operating an environmental friendly vehicle policy.

When it comes to developments, the Group applies BREEAM where appropriate, with schemes being increasingly designed and built to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ ratings.

This impressive new facility will help CK Foods to continue to provide quality, innovative food concepts capable of meeting today’s needs.

Precast Concrete Erectors

Contact: Terry Pickles T: 07711 744352 E:terry.pickles@btopenworld.com 36 Bank Street, Morley, Leeds LS27 9JB

We are pleased to be associated with Marshalls Construction and wish them continued success for the future Est. 1969

INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTORS A.F. Connell Ltd are proud to have been associated with Marshall Construction (West Yorkshire) Ltd for over 25 years.

1 ALFRED STREET, WEST VALE, HALIFAX HX4 8LT

Tel. 01422 310400 Fax 01422 310033 e-mail: electrical@afconnell.com mechanical@afconnell.com 40

Unit F04 Longfield Court, Middlewoods Way, Wharncliffe Business Park, Carlton, Barnsley S71 3GN

Tel: 01226 630194 Fax: 0872 111 3248 email: steve@ewsl.net

HOUSING UKC

Pure Student Living secures fifth site in London Aldgate development due to complete this summer 2010 saw Derwent London secure planning for a 417 room student scheme and 26,500sq ft office building in Aldgate, London.

Tower Hamlets granted permission for the mixed use scheme at 60 Commercial Road, just a few minutes walk from Aldgate East tube station, and is currently being developed by Pure Student Living Carlyle Group’s joint venture with Generation Estates.

Pure Student Living provides exclusive student accommodation in four central London locations. With years of experience in developing and managing bespoke student accommodation, Pure Student Living understands its residents needs better than anyone else. Every Pure Student Living hall therefore offers; all inclusive rents, 24-hour security, dedicated housekeeping and maintenance teams, free Wi-Fi, free contents insurance, outdoor courtyards, social spaces and much more.

Pure is about simplifying things and they believe finding a place to live should be uncomplicated and stress free; which is why over a thousand UK and international students choose

to live with Pure each year.

Hafiz Ali, Director at the Carlyle Group, said: “60 Commercial Road brings our Pure Student Living portfolio in Central London to five properties and, following the successful launch of our Pure Highbury scheme in 2012, means we will have 2,150 beds available by the end of 2015.”

Construction of the 19-storey tower and neighbouring office building commenced in April 2013, with Main Contractor Wates Construction.

At the start of the project, Wates Director, Richard Shroll, said: “We have spent the past few months in close consultation with our Client to ensure that the two developments in Aldgate will provide high quality and high specification accommodation for its occupants. Both sites have considerable tight footprints and meticulous logistical management and off-site construction will subsequently enable us to efficiently deliver the buildings concurrently with minimal disruption to our neighbours.”

Architect, Buckley Gray Yeoman has skilfully created two distinctive buildings.

The 95,000sq ft student building replaces

some A2 and B1 offices located on the site, and contains a mixture of single and double studio rooms with excellent communal facilities on the ground and first floor that includes a gym, laundry, study and relaxation areas. On the top floor there will be a sky lounge with panoramic views of London. While on the ground floor is a flexible commercial units of 2,100sq ft. Landscaped ground and upper terraces add to the ambience and attraction of the building.

The office building in Back Church Lane, which replaces an existing office building, demanded a different design approach with height, massing and brick cladding that reflects the local scale and texture.

Working closely with Arup, who advised Derwent London on a sustainability agenda, both the buildings aim to reduce carbon emissions with energy efficient design and renewable energy technologies. Each building will be constructed and designed to meet BREEAM Excellent standard.

With a contract worth a combined £34M, both buildings are due to be complete this summer.

We are a specialist design and installation company providing both uPVC and aluminium windows, doors, curtain wall systems and roof lights. With a renowned resource of technical expertise and installation excellence, our company focus on delivering the best product to the commercial and specification market.

Cheshire Architectural Aluminium plc have a long list of prestigious glazing projects to its credit, including some of the most high profile contracts of recent years.

Our work is regularly featured in the trade literature produced by some of the largest aluminium and uPVC suppliers and some of these photographs can be seen on our Facebook page.

Unit 3A, Trident Industrial Estate, Risley, Warrington WA3 6AX

Tel: 01925 850022 Fax: 01925 850044 Web: www.northcheshirewindows.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/CheshireArchitecturalAluminium

We have a well established relationship with a number of major suppliers, including Sapa “the worlds largest producer of aluminium extruded profiles”. Sapa recommends Cheshire Architectural Aluminium as one of the UK’s leading aluminium framed glazing and curtain wall installers.

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UKC COMMERCIAL

Growing for the future

Grotech Production

Founded in 1977 as Protech Formulations Ltd, Grotech Production Ltd was established in 2002 to further develop Protech’s business as a specialist formulator and packer to the agrochemical industry.

In 1980, Protech Formulations moved to Goole, East Yorkshire, where it operated from a 10,000sq ft factory, with additional warehousing space nearby. In 2005 Grotech Production constructed a purposebuilt 12,000sq ft factory at Britannia Road, Goole, whilst retaining the original Larsen Road premises as a warehouse.

Working with a range of multinational ‘Blue Chip’ companies, as well as smaller organisations that do not have in house production facilities, Grotech’s expertise lies in providing a confidential contract service in the formulation ad packing of powders, granules and liquids.

Grotech have manufacturing capacity in solids blending, granulation and repacking and also in liquids formulation, filling and packing, and can accommodate various end-of-line promotional packaging variants and a range of delivery options.

The Company can provide a facility for the manufacture of new products for companies in the nursery

development phase and also for the mature and declining product stage.

The existing factory, office and laboratory building at Brittania Road, Glews Hollow comprises 1,000sq m of single-storey production space in a light airy environment with the maximum flexibility to meet variable production requirements.

Construction of a new Design & Build 2,000sq m warehouse and production facility completed last year. It was developed in order to facilitate growing numbers of customers and a growing demand for its mixing, packing and product development services, resulting in a trebled output and creation of new jobs.

The new building has increased the warehouse storage capacity and allows the withdrawal from some nearby leased premises. This has made savings in transport between production and the warehouse and allows for more efficient storage racking to be installed.

Additionally, there is further space for increasing the liquids processing capacity and for the installation for some raw material bulk storage tanks.

The steel frame warehouse is located on land adjacent to the existing warehouse and comprises a single-storey of seven

Unit 12, Driffield Business Centre, Skerne Road, Driffield, East Yorkshire YO25 6EF

meters to eaves, nine and a half to peak.

Works included M&E services, hard standings, planting, fencing and drainage as well as the structural steel frame and cladding. The same gable profile as the existing building has been used.

Roofing comprises plasticol coated steel profiled classing in Goosewing Grey with some translucent sheeting providing natural light to the building.

The greatest challenge of the project was to complete on a tight schedule starting in the worst time of the year. However, founder and managing director, Martin Usher, said he was very pleased and proud of the service provided by everyone involved. Main Contractor for the project was George Houlton & Sons, with Hill Cannon Consulting LLP providing designs.

The building has already shown benefits in improved efficiencies and utilisation of production space. In common with the original building, the attractive design and light and airy environment has proven a marketing asset in attracting new customers and the business continues to grow.

Established over 30 years ago, BDS are road surfacing contractors who have earned an excellent reputation for providing quality tarmac road surfacing services in Yorkshire and the UK. Unit 55 Warfield Road, Kelleythorpe Industrial Estate, Driffield, YO25 9DJ

TEL/Fax: 01377 232038 MOB: 07772 965529 E-MAIL: rpo@rporoofcladding.co.uk

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Tel: 01377 240403 01377 240405 Fax: 01377 240406 Email: info@bdsyorkshire.com Website: www.bdsyorkshire.com

COMMERCIAL UKC

Image courtesy of Premier Commercial Interiors

Fircroft Way Industrial Units Work is due to complete on the second phase of a project for CPA Engineering, which has seen the conversion of the Company’s manufacturing building into three modern office buildings.

Alcho Electrical Ltd originally purchased the building back in 1984 to house CPA’s engineering and steel stockholding businesses. However, the steel stockholders ceased trading in 2000 and the engineering side was rattling around in the space. This wasn’t a problem for CPA until the introduction of ‘empty property rates’ in April 2008, which pushed the owner, Simon Hilton, into looking for solutions.

Unfortunately the building itself was pretty dilapidated, having been built in the 1960s and a large amount of work was needed to rent the vacant property out.

In 2011, Simon was approached about selling the offices attached to the manufacturing area which CPA were using, and this has allowed him to finance the refurbishment and redevelopment of the remaining factory unit; creating smaller premises for CPA Engineering itself and allowing two further units to be created for rent.

Serendipitously, once this decision was

taken, a nearby industrial estate was in the installed together with new phone lines. process of being sold to a supermarket and Externally, the roof has been over clad tenants there had to find new premises, with metal cladding and the walls reclad which led some to Simon’s door. to create a more modern appearance.

Interior Solutions was approached to One client approached CPA looking to take design the conversion, while Premier space and it was reconfigured to create Commercial Interiors was contracted two units, with the larger portion of the

by Simon to carry out the works, due building taken by Oliver James Furniture to their enthusiasm for the project.

Ltd, with CPA operating from a smaller unit.

Work initially started on site in March 2014 with the first phase completing in June and the second phase is due to complete this February.

Works have involved the complete overhaul of the building, with existing interiors completely stripped out and replaced with suspended Telephone: 0208 643 9899 ceilings, cladded Fax: 0208 643 2295 and insulated walls, new floor finishes Email: enquiries@commercialroofinguk.com and redecoration throughout. New electrical and Unit 1, Rear of 37 Station Road, Belmont, Surrey SM2 6DF gas installations have also been

43

UKC LEISURE

The Belle and Lion, Sheerness Last summer saw pub operator, JD Wetherspoon open its new pub in Sheerness.

Opened in July, The Belle and Lion, has been created from a £1.63M investment by the chain in developing the former TV/electrical appliance shop Brittain and Hobbes.

Specialising in real ales, serving a wide range of beers, including those from local and regional brewers, the new look pub features one bar, as well as a beer garden to the rear of the building.

Sheerness is located on the Isle of Sheppey, off the north Kent coast; famous for the Royal Naval dockyard located on the island and its construction of HMS Polyphemus, this local inspiration has been included throughout the pub: The back bar tiling is reminiscent of Nelson Chequer and timber panelling has been modelled on Nelson’s quarters on the Victory, with gilding highlights on the dark timber panels, while nautical theme light fittings, with panelling designed to evoke the form of a ship’s hull, all blend together to help create the new outlet.

Giving a nod to the local area, external booths are made from reclaimed fishing boats; while photos, local history and local artists’ work are displayed in the pub. A commissioned sculpture from local artist Sam Holland, also known as Jonesey, has pride of place on the back bar, depicting the Polyphemus figurehead in stainless steel.

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The name of the new pub was chosen WPM prides itself on creating to mark the original Belle and Lion, successful solutions for Clients, which was the first public house designing buildings which succeed to be built in Mile Town, and listed commercially, aesthetically and where in the local directory in 1824. possible simultaneously minimising Development of the pub has involved the their impact on the environment. strip out of all fixtures and fittings, while A flair for design is balanced with original brick arches and features have its experience and expertise, makes been preserved. A timber shopfront has WPM an obvious choice for Clients. been carefully designed to fit in with the conservation area and is fully opening.

Contact them on: 01371 870079 or In the middle of the pub, which could info@witcombprojectmanagement.com have been quite dark, a glass brick window which was discovered behind wall panelling, has been utilised, along with a glass block window in the glass wash, allowing borrowed light into the customer area.

In addition to the opening shopfronts in the rear, there are two glazed roof lanterns letting in natural light and two sliding sash windows have been reclaimed and utilised in the scheme.

Wishing J D Wetherspoon PLC continued success and looking Witcomb Project forward to working on new projects in 2015.

Management was employed

by Wetherspoon Unit 13 Greenhill Court, Springmeadow Business Park, Cardiff CF3 2ES to help with Tel: 02920 799700 Fax: 02920 799666 the design of the new pub.

HOUSING UKC

Bringing Mayfair to Mill Hill The Village Green, Mill Hill offers the ultimate in countryside village living from a London postcode.

Not many parts of London are bounded by green belt and yet still on the Tube map.

Mill Hill is one such place, making it a destination for home buyers who like the country feel. With its ponds and pubs, the old village sits on the top of the hill, part of an ancient route called The Ridgeway, off which are the area’s best addresses.

The newly landscaped grounds of a Victorian school, opened in 1896 by the Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, are the leafy setting for The Village Green.

Bringing Mayfair to Mill Hill, The Village Green consists of eight two- to sixbed family homes, fitted out to a 21st century turnkey specification, designed to the highest quality with security in mind with privacy preserved.

This development, by Vision Residences, provides arts & crafts houses set around a village green, with the backdrop of a historic chapel. The construction itself has involved the conversion of the existing Listed Grade II Convent School building, and the Chapel to form some of the new homes.

While alterations and extensions have been carried out to various separate buildings on the site, namely East and West Lodges, The School House and the Croft, plus five new buildings to provide a further 11 dwellings and

associated underground car park.

The Croft is a cottage-style house with three bedrooms and two ensuite bathrooms with modern designer furnishings, set on the beautiful village green. The impressive specification features comfort cooling to the living rooms, kitchen and master bedroom, plus a heat recovery whole house ventilation system; while bespoke veneer finish doors and an engineered Turgon timber floor feature in the reception areas, hallways are tiled and carpets fitted to the bedrooms. Bedrooms feature bespoke wardrobes and fittings, while the kitchen is a cooks dream, with Poggen Pohl Segmento units, quartz stone worktops and Miele appliances.

A separate utility room features an extra large separate washer and dryer and a freezer. Bathrooms are of a similar spec, with Bauhaus furniture and waterproof televisions, Hangrohe chrome taps and bespoke frameless Matki clear glass shower enclosures.

From Mill Hill

East you can be at Oxford Circus in 35 minutes, Mill Hill Broadway is 28 minutes to the city of London on Tames Link, and by road, The Village Green is just ten miles from Hyde Park Corner. There is an amazing selection of excellent schools within walking distance.

Construction has been undertaken by Boxmoor Construction, with designs provided by Osel architecture.

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UKC COMMENT

The Art of Education Creating well-designed school and college interiors can have a positive impact on learning. The latest entrance matting and wall-covering systems can enhance and individualise designs, while delivering a durable solution that reduces long-term maintenance costs, says Kate Waterston, UK Sales Manager of Construction Specialties.

Studies have shown that school and college design, and in particular the internal environment, may have a significant impact on pupils and students, with well-designed classrooms attributed with improving learning by up to 25%.

Alongside considerations of physical layout within classrooms and the building itself, colour and images have their own part to play. Inspirational messages and imagery help to motivate and engage students and engender pride, while displaying school values acts as a visual reminder of the conduct expected.

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The first line of defence is at the entrance, as dirt tracked into a building can quickly damage flooring in corridors, halls and classrooms. Typically, entrance matting systems comprise of aluminium or stainless steel rails or grids, incorporating treads and inserts to scrape off dirt and mud and to absorb moisture. Highperformance entrance carpet tiles can also be laid in a “clean-off zone�, preventing dirt and moisture being tracked into the building. Moisture removal is an important safety measure as it can prevent slips; so floor surfaces at entrances should be slip and trip resistant in all weather conditions.

In further education colleges and universities, where promoting a professional appearance is crucial in attracting investment, incorporating logos, graphics or colour into the design helps create a favourable impression, while building a distinctive and memorable brand.

Aesthetics need to be balanced with

durability however, as scruffy and damaged surfaces not only create a bad image but also pose a health and safety risk to pupils and staff, with cracks, dents and tears harbouring dirt and bacteria.

Ongoing requirements for replacing elements of the building fabric can make maintaining interiors a potentially costly business for cash-strapped establishments, where educational resources are the spending priority.

As well as damage to floors in the busiest areas, surface damage in schools and colleges most frequently occurs through bags and rucksacks causing scuffing.

In the classroom, chair backs impacting walls and doors being opened by feet and trolleys loaded with equipment can lead to plaster chips and paint abrasion.

Surfaces may also be damaged by cleaning chemicals and abrasives.

A cost-effective solution for protecting large wall surfaces is to use a high-

performance wall coating offering more protection than conventional emulsion paint. The latest products are robust (some include optional fibreglass reinforcement for added durability), resistant to impact and abrasion and easy to clean. While these high-performance coatings may be more expensive, they are more durable and, in the long term, can help reduce maintenance and repair costs as a result.

Wall sheet products can also be fitted to doors to create full or half height protection, kick plates and push plates, maintaining doors’ integrity and increasing their working life. Doors and door frames are clearly some of the most vulnerable items in a school or college and damage can not only compromise interior aesthetics but may also lead to issues with fire safety compliance.

When it comes to aesthetics, the latest wall-protection systems come in a wide range of colours, with those made of

“through-colour” material specifically designed to minimise and hide the effects of impact damage. Wall sheet protection can be cut into different shapes and used in different colour combinations to achieve visual contrast, with the added benefit that they can brighten up classrooms and corridors and reduce the “institutional” feel.

The announcement in March 2014 that more than £194M is to be invested in building modern facilities at 22 colleges in England and Wales demonstrates that there is a commitment by both Government and private investors to create state-of-the-art education establishments across the country.

Interior design will play a key role in delivering first-class learning environments for these projects and can also help revitalise existing buildings. Fortunately, there is a wealth of innovative products offering complete design freedom, while delivering hygienic, impact

resistant, low-maintenance protection that helps reduce on-going operational and whole-life maintenance costs.

Founded in the US, Construction Specialties has been a global manufacturer and supplier of a range of specialist building products for over 60 years. The UK Head Office, based in Buckinghamshire, is the sales and manufacturing hub for servicing markets across the UK, Ireland and the Nordic region.

47

UKC PROFILE

Bardsley Construction Ltd Celebrating 50 years in construction

Beacon Centre

With 50 years heritage, Bardsley has a solid foundation upon which a dynamic, innovative and creative multi disciplinary business has been built.

With a turnover of £50M+ the Company has grown from humble beginnings to be the byword in delivery and customer satisfaction.

This success has been secured through the Company’s commitment to partnership and collaborative working with public and private sector client groups, including local authorities, education bodies, and housing associations. Numerous Design and Build contracts have been undertaken with these types of clients, together with traditional contracts and partnering arrangements.

Bardsley has a diverse workload which includes the construction of residential properties, supported living and care provision, education buildings, leisure and sporting facilities, commercial offices, industrial and retail premises.

The Company also has a wealth of experience in refurbishment and conversion projects including work on behalf of local authorities to housing stock, schools and other civic and municipal buildings.

The Company was set up in 1964

by Roland Bardsley, a joiner at Manchester City Council, who was made redundant and decided to embark on a company of his own.

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With a Head Office in Manchester and a regional office in Leeds, Bardsley is very regionally focused and likes to operate with its own staff and trades-people within each area. The Company was established with a set of customer-focused values and an honest remit of doing the best job they could for customers, and these values still hold true today. Even through the recession, Bardsley has held on to these traditions in doing a good job for a Client, treating them with respect whilst remaining competitive.

This has resulted in many repeat customers and a well earned reputation as a trusted and valued contractor.

Bardsley is also immensely proud of its many apprentice initiatives. A continuous rolling recruitment plan sees apprentices paired with mentors to encourage growth and trained to a NVQ Level 3 standard.

Elsewhere, the Company has taken part in the Get Britain Working Initiative, through which 14 full-time positions Abbeyfields have been filled.

Bardsley’s current portfolio consists of a raft of high profile projects, with over 80% of the Company’s workload being

with repeat clients and their involvement in a number of partnering agreements with housing association consortia and education providers.

In June 2014 Bardsley began construction of The Edge, an X1 Developments project to provide 231 purpose-built studio apartments in Liverpool City Centre.

Due for completion in time for the 2015 student intake, The Edge is intended to bolster Liverpool’s beleaguered student accommodation provision while providing undergraduates with first class living facilities Contemporary in style, The Edge is a striking five- to seven-storey concrete and timber frame structure clad in facing brickwork, metal cladding with uPVC windows, and aluminium curtain walling. The £7.88M development will include ensuite bathrooms, shared communal kitchens, a resident’s gym and office support facilities.

The Edge is one of several X1 contract

Dorset Court

wins for Bardsley. Indeed, the Contractor previously completed a 160bed student accommodation block at Arndale House in Liverpool and a £3.45M 109 unit block at Chapel Street, Salford, while a £6.7M refurbishment of Salford Town Hall is ongoing.

In November 2014, Bardsley secured a fifth key contract with X1 Developments – The Exchange on Trafford Road, Salford Quays.

To be built on the site of a disused car park, the £13.6M scheme will see the provision of 140 one- and two-bed apartments alongside office space, a resident’s gym and basement car park. The 11-storey Exchange will be composed of a reinforced concrete frame with metal cladding, Trespa boarding and render. Overall completion of the scheme is expected in April 2016.

A similar partnership has been established with the Salford based social housing provider City West Housing Trust, with whom Bardsley has worked on a number of significant projects, most recently the third phase of the Amblecote development.

The £3.4M Phase Three works will see the construction of 34 new build two-storey houses, including 16 two-bed four person units and 18 three-bed five person homes.

Built to achieve a Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 rating, Amblecote will also include numerous sewer and statutory service disconnections and diversions,

together with a new access road, hard and soft landscaping and new incoming service and drainage connections. Previous phases have also been undertaken by Bardsley, alongside several separate City West Housing Trust developments in the Salford region. This most recent phase is due for completion in June 2015.

Elsewhere, Bardsley is working with The Abbeyfield Society – a St Albans-based charity specialising in the provision of housing, support and care for those at different stages of later life. This sizeable £10.4M development consists of 47 self-contained apartments and 30 dementia flats alongside a day centre for community use. An assortment of high specification care facilities will also be provided to ensure a comfortable living environment for all occupants.

The 7,800sq m structure spans seven separate storeys and incorporates a number of concrete retaining walls to accommodate the sloping site.

Aesthetically, the outer leaf of the building is stone and render with aluminium and composite windows and curtain walling.

The 87 week scheme was competitively tendered under a traditional single stage procurement process and in competition with a number of national contractors.

The New Year promises a number of similar high profile projects for

the Company. Bardsley was recently named preferred contractor for a West Yorkshire Archive Service scheme in Wakefield and will be begin delivery of Halifax Academy in January 2015.

With a rich and storied heritage 50 years strong, Bardsley Construction has gone from strength to strength, developing from a single joiner to a leading North West contractor with a programme of sustainable growth and a number of substantial projects planned for 2015, year 51 looks to be another successful year.

For more information please visit: http://www.bardsley.co.uk/ The Exchange

49

Stepping Over the Line - A Tale of Alleged Misrepresentation, Wasted Time and Money Clients often ask me, "How do we win in adjudication?" My response to such a question is always on a similar theme………………

• Make sure that the dispute has actually crystallised • Make sure you have good representation • Prepare well by drafting the Referral Notice before you finalise the Notice of Adjudication • Make sure you serve the Notice of Adjudication on your opponent before applying to the correct Adjudicator Nominating Body (ANB) for the appointment of an adjudicator • Pray that the ANB appoints an adjudicator that knows what he or she is doing.

It is this last point that this article is concerned with.

Can you influence which adjudicator the ANB will appoint?

The major adjudication panels take care to ensure that all their panel adjudicators are well trained, experienced, familiar with the latest legal developments and so on. With this criteria satisfied you would wonder why a party would want to try and steer an ANB to appoint a particular adjudicator or, more importantly, avoid appointing a particular adjudicator. But people are people and it is always tempting for a party to try and tip the odds in its favour and, if it can, seek an appointment of an adjudicator who is known to it and to try and stay away from adjudicators it might have had a negative result from in the past.

The RICS is the biggest and busiest ANB in the UK and on its application form appear a number of questions that an applicant is invited to answer. One of these questions says...“Are there any adjudicators who would have a conflict of interest in this case?”

It is no secret that party representatives have often answered this question in the past by listing adjudicators who they would wish to avoid, for whatever reason, regardless of whether the named adjudicators would have a conflict or not. They do this in the hope of improving the odds of securing a home win for their client.

All that is about to change, as a result of a case called Eurocom Limited v Siemens Plc [2014] EWHC 3710 (TCC) which is likely to put a stop to this practice for all time. The judgement contains important guidance on the limits to which parties may go to in order to control the appointment of an adjudicator by an ANB.

Background In 2011, Siemens acted as main contractor to install communication systems on the London Underground. Siemens engaged Eurocom as sub-contractor to install part of the works. In 2012 Siemens terminated Eurocom’s employment and Eurocom referred the ensuing dispute to adjudication. The adjudicator, Mr Molloy, decided against Eurocom, but that is not the end of the story.

In 2013, Eurocom started a second adjudication.

Eurocom’s representative, Knowles, applied to the RICS for the nomination of an adjudicator. The RICS application form contained the question “Are there any adjudicators who would have a conflict of interest in this case?”. Knowles answered that question by naming a number of people, including the adjudicator from the first adjudication. Siemens did not see the application form and a new adjudicator, Mr Bingham, was appointed.

Mr Bingham decided against Siemens' and ordered it to pay Eurocom £1.6m. Siemens refused and Eurocom applied to the Technology and Construction Court for enforcement of Mr Bingham's decision. As part of its preparation to defend the enforcement proceedings, Siemens obtained a copy of Eurocom’s application form to the RICS for the adjudicator’s nomination and became aware that Knowles had listed a number of adjudicators, including Mr Molloy, as being conflicted. Siemens contacted the list of "conflicted adjudicators" only to find that they were not in fact conflicted.

Siemens resisted enforcement of Mr Bingham's decision on a number of grounds, including that the adjudicator was invalidly appointed. Siemens argued that the information in the RICS application form amounted to a misrepresentation which went to the “foundation” of the adjudicator’s jurisdiction.

Eurocom denied this, arguing that an ANB does not make a substantive decision affecting the rights and liabilities of the parties. It said that the person who completed the form was answering the question “Are there any adjudicators who would have a conflict of interest in this case?” largely as a means of saying which adjudicators, based on past experience, he would not send a referral document to. This was in effect an adjudicator rejection list, which would save time and money that would otherwise be spent allowing notices of adjudication to lapse before re-applying for alternative adjudicators. As Eurocom pointed out, such “adjudicator shopping” was allowed following the 2011 case of Lanes Group plc v Galliford Try Infrastructure Limited which I have written about in previous articles.

independent party which is exercising a discretion, the exercise of that discretion will be invalidated.

Further, there is an implied term that a party applying for the nomination of an adjudicator should not act dishonestly. That includes not subverting the system of nomination by making a false misrepresentation. Such a misrepresentation would invalidate the process of the adjudicator’s appointment and make it a nullity. Accordingly, the adjudicator did not have jurisdiction and the award was unenforceable.

Summary When applying to an ANB for the appointment of an adjudicator, it is good practice to let the ANB know if a previous adjudicator has been appointed in an earlier dispute between the same parties on the same contract but, above all else, answer all the questions posed truthfully and don't be tempted to try and subvert the process.

A false misrepresentation made in the appointment process can result in the appointed adjudicator lacking jurisdiction, rendering any decision unenforceable and wasting substantial amounts of time and money.

Peter Vinden is a practising Arbitrator, Adjudicator and Mediator, expert and conciliator. He is Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership and can be contacted by email at pvinden@vinden.co.uk

The judgement The court decided that there was a very strong prima facie case that the person who had completed the application form had deliberately or recklessly answered the question “Are there any adjudicators who would have a conflict in this case?” falsely. Therefore a fraudulent misrepresentation had been made to the RICS as the ANB. The court concluded that without such a misrepresentation by Eurocom's representative, Mr Molloy would likely have been nominated again, based on the RICS’s policy of nominating previous adjudicators to save time and costs. Additionally, other adjudicators were wrongly eliminated which “improperly limited” the pool of possible adjudicators to the dispute.

The court stated that, where a party makes a material fraudulent misrepresentation to an

Regent House, Folds Point, Folds Road, Bolton BL1 2RZ t. 01204 362888 f. 01204 362808 tvp@vinden.co.uk www.vinden.co.uk

Birketts is ending its 40th year with another twelve months of bog mat supply under its belt and many more orders for its timber access mats in the pipeline.

The West Cumbrian bog mat specialist supplies construction and civil engineering projects worldwide with its hardwood timber bog mats, which enable heavy plant to access project sites without any worries about instability or poor ground conditions. Birkett’s bog mats have been used in pipeline, construction, bridging and roadway projects, supporting project managers who have recognised the value of Birkett’s product, but also its excellent service.

Swift delivery, thanks to holding a large amount of stock in strategically placed depots around the UK, is just one of the reasons clients turn to Birketts. Its reputation as a company putting the customer at the heart of all it does, has enabled it to achieve a global presence, not to mention being used in projects as prestigious as the London Olympic Games in 2012.

When Spiecapag needed approximately 7000 metres of hardwood timber mats within the space of ten weeks, Birketts was able to respond, ensuring that the GRT Gaz pipeline project, in France, had its bog mats on site exactly when required.

Ensuring that pricing is keen, as well as offering both hire and purchase options for bog mats, is another reason why Birkett Bogmats is becoming the supplier of choice for many engineering, oil and gas, marine, infrastructure and building projects.

Juanita Watts

Birketts is also a family firm with good, honest old-fashioned values – something many of its clients like. Managed by Juanita Watts (nee Birkett), the company has blossomed in recent years, following Juanita’s decision to move the business on from fencing supply. She is always at the end of the phone, ready to oversee all the logistics of getting bog mats to the required location and takes a hands-on approach to the day-to-day operation of the business. Clients have the confidence of knowing Juanita never takes her eye off the ball, or away from market pricing, ensuring they receive the best of all worlds – competitive pricing, but excellent service and after-sales care.

Having one point of contact managing a contract from start to finish is another big plus for busy construction managers and engineers. Clients trust Birketts to do what it promises and are never let down. The bog mat supplier goes to the nth degree to ensure mats are delivered on time and within budget, organising delivery through preferred haulage contractors that it knows also commit to service excellence.

With four decades of experience to draw upon, Birketts is a well-run, excellently managed operation, which is why its reach and reputation go far beyond its head office in the tiny village of Rowrah. Birketts has supplied projects as far afield as New Caledonia and is never fazed by the ‘abnormal’ request, which goes beyond the supply of its standard-sized mats. Helping clients achieve their goals is part and parcel of Juanita’s working day.

With an option of setting UK-wide rates already proving hugely popular and a 2015 order book already teeming with contracts, Birketts knows it has got its approach very right. If it had to put something high up the wish list, it would be for more large corporate construction clients to make Birketts their first port of call. However, with so many global endorsements in its locker, Birketts will undoubtedly still be focusing on both the world map and the UK-wide picture in 2015.

www.birkettsbogmats.com

BMC Combustion Ltd is a new company but have a background of over 25 years within the mechanical engineering industry and have many clients from schools, commercial premises and working with the NHS. We are Gas Safe registered and use an external health and safety team to address all our policies.

BM

We have installed all major boilers from Potterton, Hamworthy, Broag and Ideal. All engineers are fully trained within our field.

BMC Combustion can offer full service and breakdown cover to all clients and also offer maintenance contracts which allows the client to have peace of mind.

We also install all types of heating and domestic pumps including booster sets for buildings with low water pressure.

For more details please contact us: 3 Chilton Grove, London SE8 5DX

Tel: 07909 730322 Email: brian1@bmccombustionltd.co.uk