The Government of Jersey has granted planning consent for the first phase of the St Helier Harbour Regeneration This long-term project, led by Ports of Jersey, will renew ageing infrastructure and improve facilities for passenger and freight traffic to secure the viability of the lifeline port and its associated harbours which have served the people of Jersey and visitors to the island for 250 years. The scheme,  by global urbanism and architecture practice Broadway Malyan, responds to an initial ‘sense of place’ study and extensive consultation process. The first phase of implementation will deliver a new harbourside environment, rooted in St Helier’s historic and cultural heritage, that will deliver significantly improved user experience and facilities for the local community and travellers. The proposals, centred on Elizabeth Harbour, include a passenger terminal, customs and inspection facilities and freight distribution centre within a significant area of waterside public realm, connected to St Helier via network of landscaped routes, that will extend the town’s green infrastructure. The masterplan locates the passenger terminal and linear park alongside Elizabeth Marina creating a waterfront destination with significant views over the Jersey coastline and towards Elizabeth Castle. Importantly, this strategy will see the removal of high concrete walls that have severed the port estate from St Helier town centre for the past 35 years. The linear park will extend existing active travel routes for pedestrians and cyclists whilst also providing opportunities for rest and play. The passenger terminal takes a curved form that responds to the coastline, and its structure and materiality draw inspiration from the rich character of the port and sea transport. A modular approach has been developed for the building, using standardised components to enable future expansion if needed, and to maximise off-site manufacture with the aim of minimising the amount of energy used in the construction process. A passive design approach, including low and zero carbon technologies have been incorporated into the building. The façade uses just five repeatable elements resulting in paired back, highly-engineered appearance. Vertical fins project from the façade to shade the building’s interior and adding visual depth to the elevations when seen from a distance. Coastal views are preserved through solar controlled, low-emissivity glazing to help moderate the internal environment, combined with a system of mechanical façade openings that facilitate a mixed-mode ventilation strategy to reduce operational carbon to help meet Ports of Jersey’s net zero goal for harbour operations by 2030. All buildings feature biodiverse green roofs with integrated photovoltaic panels and are linked by a district energy network designed for future connection to water source heat pumps, utilising seawater from the harbour as the primary energy source to will further reduce the harbour’s carbon footprint. The public realm design significantly reduces material sent to landfill by repurposing the dismantled concrete walls as retaining structures and beneath landscaped berms that have been introduced to provide shelter from the wind and mounds that children can use for informal play. A significant area of existing paving will also be used alongside new material. To reduce waste, un-trimmed slabs will be laid with informal edges along soft-planted or gravel beds reminiscent of coastal boardwalks. The exterior spaces feature marine tolerant trees planted in a pinetum near the water’s edge with deciduous tree species planting in an arboretum towards the town. To activate the public realm, the design team proposes a series of art installations and sonic sculptures, including maritime flotsam and jetsam from redundant buoys to ships funnels to create a wayfinding trail from the town, through the site, culminating at a new observation pier. Team Client: Ports of JerseyArchitecture & Landscape Design: Broadway MalyanArchitecture & Public Art Strategy: WaddingtonSustainability, Building Services, Transport, Project & Cost Management: Mott MacdonaldStructural & Civil Engineering: HartiganSense of Place: Louise Browne Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Balfour Beatty VINCI and its UK materials suppliers have now provided over one million cubic metres of concrete for HS2 in the West Midlands as the railway’s network of viaducts and bridges continues to take shape. With a total of 1.9 million cubic metres of concrete needed for the 90km stretch of railway structures, this means over 50% of the required concrete has been used. Balfour Beatty VINCI has three concrete suppliers, keeping their order books full for the foreseeable future, and supporting over 250 jobs. Aggregate Industries, Tarmac and Cemex have batched and delivered the one million cubic metres of concrete, with the milestone achieved on the Chattle Hill structure at the Delta Junction in North Warwickshire. There are 11 local batching plants supplying the concrete, five of which are on HS2 sites. The entire concrete programme in the West Midlands is managed by a dedicated Balfour Beatty VINCI team at HS2’s Kingsbury site near Lea Marston. The use of low carbon concrete mixes is an integral part of Balfour Beatty VINCI’s concrete supply strategy. High proportions of secondary materials – namely ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) as part of the total cementitious content is embedded into the design and specification for all mixes. Balfour Beatty VINCI has worked with its supply chain to optimise mixes based on the performance required, maximising the content of GGBS and minimising total cementitious contents to reduce carbon and cost. The mixes supplied cover a wide range of uses from deep foundations up to 30 metres placed via tremie pipes, large structural elements where the concrete is pumped into place, to the onsite precast factories producing segments for both tunnel lining and the large viaduct spans. A number of fully electric trucks are being used to transport the concrete to sites, with two of HS2’s batching plants able to run off semi-battery technology, further reducing the project’s carbon footprint. Balfour Beatty VINCI and their suppliers have also implemented a digital measuring system – VERIFI – which enables real-time monitoring, measurement and management of fresh concrete during transportation. This eliminates waste, cuts carbon and improves productivity. Chris Jones, Senior Construction Manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI Joint Venture said: “The planning, communication and logistics management needed to achieve this milestone cannot be underestimated. Working in partnership with our three concrete suppliers, the team have kept this massive operation moving, supporting delivery of HS2’s construction programme in the region. “Carbon reduction is a big part of our materials strategy, and we’ve worked closely with our supply chain to minimise the total cementitious contents in order to cut carbon and cost.” Jon Knights, Materials and Durability Lead at HS2 said: “The operation to manage the materials needed to build HS2’s structures is hugely complex, so this milestone is a great achievement for the whole team.  “With more than half the concrete poured for structures in the West Midlands, we’re well on the way to completing the viaducts and bridges that will carry the country’s new high-speed railway through the region.” Aggregate Industries are supplying concrete for the Delta Junction structures, where the scale of HS2’s construction programme is now clearly visible. A network of 13 viaducts is being built over the complex network of motorways, railway lines and rivers in the North Warwickshire area. The Chattle Hill structure – where the milestone was achieved – will carry four HS2 tracks over the A446 Lichfield Road on the mainline of the railway between London and Handsacre. The structure is 165m long, 8.3m high and 23m wide. Over 4,100 cubic metres out of a total of around 10,200 cubic metres of concrete have been used for the structure to date. The A446 diversion to take the road under the new Chattle Hill structure was completed at the end of October 2024, with the second phase of construction set to start. This includes the central reservation piers, northern abutments and decks that will span over the A446. Tarmac is supplying to the southern end of the route through Warwickshire, along with Washwood Heath and the Curzon approaches viaducts in Birmingham. Cemex are also providing material in Birmingham, as well as for structures being built in Staffordshire. Construction of HS2 continues at pace between the West Midlands and London, with the programme now supporting more than 31,000 jobs. When complete, HS2 services will run between London and the West Midlands on a dedicated high-speed line before reaching destinations further north via the existing West Coast Main Line. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals