Specialist contractor North Piling is celebrating the successful completion of a 248-pile design, supply and installation project on behalf of sustainable developers Citu at its award-winning Climate Innovation District, Leeds.
North Piling used
a Junttan PM20 driven piling rig to install the 300sq & 250sq pre-cast
concrete piles, overseen by Director of Operations Gary Weir. The team were
onsite a total of 3 weeks.
The riverside site, on the edge of
Leeds city centre, was not without its challenges with unforeseen ground
obstructions and poor weather conditions, including lengthy snow periods,
having to be overcome so the final schedule was unaffected. The piles are
supporting Citu’s “Aire Lofts”, consisting of 108 mainly one and
two-bedroom apartments, with a handful of penthouses, due to complete in 2022.
The Climate Innovation District is the largest sustainable development currently underway in the UK with 1,000 homes being built on car-free streets on the former brownfield site which straddles the north and south banks of the River Aire. These are connected by an iconic bridge, installed by Citu, to serve both sides of the community.
Citu is an award-winning vertically integrated developer that designs and wholly manages the construction of a range of 1, 2, 3 and 4-bedroom homes and apartments, based around a Scandinavian model of medium density urban housing. All the homes are uniquely manufactured at Citu’s factory, Citu Works, again reducing the carbon footprint of the overall build.
Said North Piling Managing Director Adam Silverwood: “North Piling prides itself on accurate quoting and complete transparency from the outset and throughout the project in order the gain trust, build relationships and allow for effective communication. Feedback from Citu was that they were delighted with the communications throughout the project and our fast response times meant for a streamlined delivery of service.
“I am thrilled that North Piling was involved in what is turning into an iconic development for Leeds city centre. It is even more personal to me as this is my home city and where North Piling began its journey,” added Adam. “I am extremely proud of my team for their consistent hard work and dedication in very testing circumstances due to the Pandemic. I pass this site regularly and look forward to watching the site progress and deliver a development that is leading the way in sustainable living.”
Leeds-based Citu was set up in 2004 by Chris Thompson, who continues to lead the business today. Citu aims to tackle climate change through developing exemplar and innovative developments that help create a ripple effect in the industry and lead to more widespread adoption of sustainable methodologies. Always brownfield, urban, connected and embodying a sense of community, Citu has been developing a framework of what sustainable development looks like and believes the wider benefits around health and wellbeing, air quality, ecology, fuel poverty, economic development, connectivity and tackling the housing shortage – all mean that the net effect is a very positive one.
Chris added: “We were delighted with the work undertaken by the North Piling team which was delivered on time, despite some challenging conditions. The communication was excellent, site inspections were undertaken at very short notice to ensure we could go ahead with the planned date for the piling works, nothing was too much trouble.”
Note to Editors:
North Piling is a specialist piling company based in Leeds, Yorkshire and operates nationwide offering reliable cost-effective piling solutions. The team has 15 years’ experience in the piling industry, can undertake all methods of piling, offer a personalised and transparent service.
North Piling install piled foundations for house extensions to large housing developments, commercial buildings, flood lights, wind turbines and many more. www.northpiling.co.uk
Climate Innovation District:
Citu is developing over 1,000 new low carbon homes alongside manufacturing, leisure, offices, a primary school, care home and climate resilient public facilities in Leeds.
The homes will be a mix of 1,2 and 3 bedroom apartments, and 3 and 4 bedroom ‘family’ houses based around a European model of medium density urban housing with high architectural and design standards that create homes that feel light, bright and well designed. Each home will have access to large amounts of outdoor space and the district creates a series of inter-linked pieces of high-quality public realm designed to encourage community interaction.
