Birmingham’s New Street Station and Grand Central development is in the running to become the most popular civil engineering project in the UK. The huge scheme, named the winner of this year’s Institution of Civil Engineers West Midlands’ 2016 Annual Awards, is one of the projects listed for the ICE
The South Devon Highway has picked up another major national award. At the British Construction Industry awards, the link road scheme won the Community Engagement Award. The project team, made up of WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, Torbay Council, Devon County Council, construction firm Galliford Try and its designer Ramboll, accepted the
Warwickshire based civil engineering firm O’Brien Contractors has secured a contract to begin working on the development of a major new factory complex in Staffordshire. Readie Construction has signed the firm up to work on the £126.3 million construction of the new Gestamp site at Bericote Properties’ Four Ashes Park
Highways England is mulling several changes to its work procurement methods as part of its £7 billion Routes to Market framework. Jim O’Sullivan, Chief Executive of Highways England, said that the body was in the process of consulting with contractors regarding the structure of the framework and that several changes
Water control and fabrication specialist ECS Engineering Services has continued its work on the Environment Agency’s Romney Weir by fabricating nine radial gates for use at the facility. Designed to operate on the weir for at least 60 years and minimise operating costs – the new gates add to already
Foresight Group has ploughed £3 million into Manchester bases civil engineering firm Utilities Design & Planning from the Foresight Regional Investment Fund. UDP, a provider of traffic management and civil engineering services, offers inspections, planning works and project management of utilities, sewer connections and highways and rail schemes. The firm
A major North East infrastructure scheme has been nominated for a national award. People of the North East are being asked to vote for the Crag End Landslip Stabilisation project in Northumberland, which is one of the possible winners of the UK’s most popular civil engineering project. Voting is now
The developer of a major North Yorkshire mining project has revealed a £1 billion financing plan to allow construction to get under way, having agreed a £245 million deal with a firm chaired by an Australian billionaire. Last month, Sirius Minerals entered into the £245 million finance deal with Hancock
Kier Integrated Services and Morrison Utility Services have secured places on a £400 million framework with Affinity Water. The companies have been appointed to the four year framework by the Home Counties and North West London water supplier. Broken down into three programmes, the framework has a combined value of
A number of major construction industry forecasts suggest strong growth in the UK’s infrastructure spending in the coming years. It is hoped that this would mitigate the faltering commercial industry which is predicted to worsen as the effects of Brexit take its toll. New reports indicate that this influx of
Birmingham’s New Street Station and Grand Central development is in the running to become the most popular civil engineering project in the UK. The huge scheme, named the winner of this year’s Institution of Civil Engineers West Midlands’ 2016 Annual Awards, is one of the projects listed for the ICE People’s Choice Award. It will line up against 11 other schemes from throughout the UK, with the general public having until November 30 to vote for its favourite. The winning infrastructure project will be named in January next year. The Queen opened the new look station in November last year, and features an iconic new atrium over a big passenger concourse, which is five times the size of the atrium at London Euston. The site is characterised by brighter, more spacious platforms, improved entrances, a range of new facilities and an abundance of natural light over the new concourse. At concourse level, it is home to 43 shops with the new Grand Central shopping complex located above, including one of the biggest department stores in the UK – John Lewis. The 450,000 sq ft shopping facility is set to create over 1,000 jobs and will attract more than 50 million visitors each year. ICE said the project had created a dramatic space for rail passengers and redefined the way people use the station – providing them with an impressive new environment for doing business, shopping and socialising. The project has also boosted the city’s image and is acting as a major catalyst for job creation and regeneration. Stephen Ashton, engineering director, Transportation at Atkins said: “We are very proud to have worked in collaboration with our partner organisations to have delivered this iconic station, which has made such a positive impact in just one year to the city of Birmingham and its visitors.” Patrick Power, station manager at Birmingham New Street, said: “The transformation of the station is nothing short of stunning. It is now bigger, brighter and better able to meet the needs of the growing number of passengers who use it each day.”
The South Devon Highway has picked up another major national award. At the British Construction Industry awards, the link road scheme won the Community Engagement Award. The project team, made up of WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, Torbay Council, Devon County Council, construction firm Galliford Try and its designer Ramboll, accepted the prize at the London awards ceremony. They are considered the UK’s most prestigious awards for the entire built environment. The project has won a number of awards since it opened, including a gold Green Apple award for its environmental activities, a regional Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation South West award, an institute of Highway Engineers award, a gold Considerate Constructors award and two Institute of Civil Engineering regional awards. Devon County Council cabinet member for economy and growth, Cllr Andrew Leadbetter, commented: “Building the South Devon Highway was highly complex, involving many partners and engineering challenges. “The proximity of the project to residents meant engaging with the community was crucial to the success of the project. This award is therefore formal recognition of our thorough communication with residents and motorists throughout the project.” Gordon Oliver, mayor of Torbay, said: “This is brilliant news for the project and is well deserved. “We know the community engagement activities, including setting up a community liaison group, all helped to keep people informed of activity on the project and helped activity to progress smoothly.” Chris Hastings, Galliford Try project director, added: “The award is a tribute to the huge effort made by the team. “Close collaboration and strong working relationships with the community played a huge part in the project staying on programme. “The community was kept informed of developments at all times and had a say in the construction process through the community liaison group.” The scheme also received a highly commended rating in the major civil engineering project of the year (over £50 million) category and was shortlisted in the low carbon construction, judges special and Prime Minister’s better public building categories.
Warwickshire based civil engineering firm O’Brien Contractors has secured a contract to begin working on the development of a major new factory complex in Staffordshire. Readie Construction has signed the firm up to work on the £126.3 million construction of the new Gestamp site at Bericote Properties’ Four Ashes Park site, located near to Wolverhampton. The new 50,000 m2 manufacturing site is set to replace the existing Gestamp facility in Cannock, which is struggling because of capacity restrictions. The new facility will be fitted out with new state of the art stamping equipment and is designed to ensure the safety of 800 jobs at the current factory. Gestamp develops, designs and makes automotive components for carmakers such as Toyota, Nissan-Renault, Honda, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover. O’Brien will carry out the installation of three 6 metre deep factory pits, office floor slab, capping beam, service trenches, associated internal and external drainage and external works. Managing Director at O’Brien Contractors, Peter O’Brien commented: “We are very pleased to have been awarded another subcontract by Readie Construction. We have an excellent track record of delivering civil engineering services across the Midlands.” O’Brien Contractors was established in 1958 as a second generation, family run firm. Among its portfolio of civil engineering projects are: the regeneration of Longbridge Town Centre, Beacon Barracks SFA housing scheme in Stafford, Primark Distribution Centre in Kettering, New Cross Hospital’s new Accident and Emergency Centre in Wolverhampton and University of Birmingham’s campus expansion. Earlier in the year, O’Brien was appointed to the campus expansion project at the University of Birmingham. The company was chosen to work on a design and build contract for the construction of a new footpath and cycle way from the main campus to the student residence village, the Vale, along with associated works and soft landscaping.
Highways England is mulling several changes to its work procurement methods as part of its £7 billion Routes to Market framework. Jim O’Sullivan, Chief Executive of Highways England, said that the body was in the process of consulting with contractors regarding the structure of the framework and that several changes were being considered. Among the potential changes is the procurement of major road projects away from the framework. O’Sullivan said that the scale and size of schemes such as the A303 tunnel and Lower Thames Crossing made it a clear step for the organisation to take. He also confirmed that there is a high possibility of mini-bids being scrapped and replaced with a system of allocation based on the successful delivery of previous jobs. O’Sullivan explained: “If you deliver the last job to budget, to quality and to time, then we will try to roll it on to the next job. “If you are in a particular lot, then we will simply allocate the next job to the most successful contractor or team.” He also said that Highways England was looking at new methods of dividing the Routes to Market framework and was eager to add more flexibility to the lots. Its existing Collaborative Delivery Framework is divided lots organised by project value, with the smallest covering work up to and including £25 million and the highest comprising projects between £100 million and £450 million. Mr O’Sullivan said the organisation was reviewing whether lots based strictly on project values was the most efficient way to move forward. “We recognise that it is not a straight line correlation between complexity and size; a smaller complex project may find itself in the wrong lot if you are working on the basis of capital value,” Mr O’Sullivan said. He added that there had also been situations on the current framework where five £20m projects, which could have been procured as a £100 million job, were instead divided between contractors across different lots.
Water control and fabrication specialist ECS Engineering Services has continued its work on the Environment Agency’s Romney Weir by fabricating nine radial gates for use at the facility. Designed to operate on the weir for at least 60 years and minimise operating costs – the new gates add to already extensive renovation work carried out in the area by ECS. ECS was contracted to produce one 2.38m wide x 1.13m high and eight 2.68m wide x 4.43m high radial gates for installation by their in-house engineers at the weir. The entire design process of each gate was carried out in-house by ECS, with all designs adhering to BS EN 1090-2 certification. The gates were required to geometrically match the existing gates at the weir and mirror their crest level, preserving the water dynamics through the weir. Radial gates are intrinsically economic in design, providing a light-weight solution that can be open and closed with minimal effort, consequently reducing energy costs for end users during operation. ECS has a proven track-record in such installations, having recently completed a similar project at Old Windsor Weir. As ECS is also able to offer completely customised radial gates to client specifications and execution class 3 standards, the company was an obvious choice for the project. Each radial gate was fabricated in-house by ECS from steel to the required Environment Agency MEICA specification and applicable CE standards. All sealing arrangements on the gates were also redesigned to offer the maximum service life, reducing maintenance requirements. Each of the eight larger gates weighed in at four tonnes upon completion. Following construction, a painted protection system was also added to the gates, guaranteeing a minimum service life of 25 years without maintenance. Maximum control over gate speed Once installed, the new gates will be connected to a new Rotork actuator based drive system allowing maximum control over gate speed and positioning, therefore enabling precise control of water flow through the weir. This will be managed via a control kiosk incorporating a PLC and HMI control panel. ECS are existing framework contractors to the Environment Agency and continue to support both the Agency and its WEM framework contractors in its continuing multi-million pound renovation of these types of structures on the River Thames.
Foresight Group has ploughed £3 million into Manchester bases civil engineering firm Utilities Design & Planning from the Foresight Regional Investment Fund. UDP, a provider of traffic management and civil engineering services, offers inspections, planning works and project management of utilities, sewer connections and highways and rail schemes. The firm has sales of around £6 million and employs 33 members of staff, a number that will rise through the use of sub-contractors. The investment will allow the continued expansion of the company and the ability to make the most of the major infrastructure investments in the North West. UDP was established in Salford 20 years ago by the current directors Noel Gallagher and David Hilton who will stay with the firm as part of the transaction. Former MD at Enterprise, Richard Fraser, will join as non-executive chairman, and former FD at Amey Plc, David Atherton, will join as finance director to support the current management team. This is the third investment from the £40 million FRIF which is led out of Foresight’s office in Manchester and invests in high growth SMEs in the North West area. Managing Director UDP, Dave Hilton, commented: “The Manchester market is fast providing more opportunities for expansion with focus on a growing economy and infrastructure. Foresight’s support will allow us to engage with this growth in activity through driving sales, and by expanding services into adjacent geographies to meet emerging demands.” Among UDP’s clients are Manchester and Salford City Councils, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Police and property developer Argent. Claire Alvarez, senior investment manager, Foresight added: “UDP has demonstrated strong growth in recent years, and is a great example of the type of SME that we look for in the FRIF.” Foresight WAS advised in the transaction by a team from Addleshaw Goddard led by Katie Simpson and Andy Green with financial due diligence provided by Stephen Green’s team at RSM, commercial diligence carried out by Roger Penny of RPL and management due diligence carried out by Mike Hicks of Catalysis.
A major North East infrastructure scheme has been nominated for a national award. People of the North East are being asked to vote for the Crag End Landslip Stabilisation project in Northumberland, which is one of the possible winners of the UK’s most popular civil engineering project. Voting is now open online for the ICE People’s Choice Award, which allows everyone who uses infrastructure to select the greatest civil engineering achievements of the year in the UK. The Crag End Landslip Stabilisation scheme, which repaired and future proofed a stretch of the B6344, is one of 12 nominated projects from throughout the country. The public has until November 30 to choose its favourite project. The winning infrastructure scheme will be revealed in January 2017. The £9.5 million scheme saw the reconstruction of a 300 metre section of road that was previously closed by a huge landslip in December 2012. Not only did it deal with the direct impact of the 2012 landslip, but also addressed the underlying causes of ground instability, which ensured the residents of Rothbury will no longer have to take lengthy detours to reach the town. In achieving this, civil engineers from the VBA Joint Venture, who were commissioned by Northumberland County Council, designed and built an anchored bored piled retaining wall to support the road. An innovative passive dewatering system was also constructed to reduce groundwater pressure. Civil engineers working in local communities across the North East and throughout the world are always finding new ways of providing practical solutions to the everyday problems encountered by society, and will propel nations in the future with new, ever-improving infrastructure. ICE North East Regional Director, Penny Marshall, commented: “Civil engineers create, maintain and operate almost everything between and under our homes. The infrastructure they build connects, nourishes and improves the lives of everyone it serves.”
The developer of a major North Yorkshire mining project has revealed a £1 billion financing plan to allow construction to get under way, having agreed a £245 million deal with a firm chaired by an Australian billionaire. Last month, Sirius Minerals entered into the £245 million finance deal with Hancock Prospecting, which is a privately owned firm operating in the agricultural and mining sectors which is chaired by the richest woman in Australia, Gina Rinehart. Along with the royalty financing deal with Hancock, Sirius said it would launch an underwritten placing and open offer to raise around £330 million to £400 million and an underwritten convertible bond offering to raise around £326 million to £367 million. Chris Fraser, Sirius Managing Director, said that the scheme will create jobs throughout Teesside and North Yorkshire, and represents a major business investment in the UK. ‘Compelling value proposition’ Fraser continued: “It’s been a long journey to this point, and we still have some way to go, but I want to thank everyone who has supported the company in its efforts to reach this major milestone. “Once we have received shareholder approval, we want to get on with the job of delivering this compelling value proposition, not only for our shareholders but also for the North Yorkshire community.” Sirius is anticipating that the project will progress in two phases: the initial construction phase and the expansion phase. The initial construction phase is intended to achieve first production from the mine within the next five years. The expansion phase will be funded from operational cash flows and is intended to eventually increase production capacity subject to receipt of further planning permissions and the completion of additional infrastructure. This first tranche of cash will finance the cost of all site preparation, mine shaft excavations, tunnel caverns and the money is expected to be spent in three years. The second round of fundraising will bring in a further US$1.8 billion.
Kier Integrated Services and Morrison Utility Services have secured places on a £400 million framework with Affinity Water. The companies have been appointed to the four year framework by the Home Counties and North West London water supplier. Broken down into three programmes, the framework has a combined value of £100 million per year. Its three programmes are made up of: Distribution Mains; Developer New Mains and Services (Developer Services); and Design and Installation of Trunk Mains. Morrison Utility Services has been appointed to the Distribution Mains and Developer Services programmes. The company will take responsibility for design and build works covering 100 km of mains renewals per year, while also working on more than 600 developer services schemes. Kier has been chosen for the Trunks Mains programme and will design and install trunk mains to transport water around the Affinity Water network. The contracts will start in January. The framework makes up the bulk of Affinity Water’s £500m infrastructure investment between 2015 and 2020. Kier and Morrison Utility Services previously worked together under Anglian Water’s AMP6 programme. The two firms secured contracts with the water supplier in 2014. Kier was selected along with Clancy Docwra to deliver Anglian Water’s AMP6 Integrated Metering and Developer Services contract, valued at up to £12m a year. Kier, Morrison Utility Services and Barhale were chosen for Anglian Water’s Integrated Operational Solutions contract, valued at around £70m over five years. Meanwhile, Kier has announced “significant revenue growth to £1.7 billion, up 34 per cent,” according to the firm’s full-year results. The company said that the results for the year ending June 30 this year were underpinned by “a raft of strong facilities management contract wins, worth a total of around £100 million.” The results also showed that underlying profit from operations of £150 million increased by 44%, including a full year’s contribution from Mouchel.
A number of major construction industry forecasts suggest strong growth in the UK’s infrastructure spending in the coming years. It is hoped that this would mitigate the faltering commercial industry which is predicted to worsen as the effects of Brexit take its toll. New reports indicate that this influx of monies into the sector could result in a post-Brexit growth of between 0.2% and 0.3%. A sharp deviation from the predicted 3.6% growth before the referendum. Figures from the CPA suggest that a majority of the industry activity in the interim are being sustained by the work on projects that were agreed on or started before the referendum. The construction forecast posits Construction output to rise 0.6% in 2016, 0.3% in 2017 and 0.2% in 2018 Offices construction to increase 8% in 2016 before falling 3% in 2017 and a further 10% in 2018 Factories construction to fall 5% in 2016 and 2% in 2017 Infrastructure work to rise by 6.2% in 2017 and 10.2% in 2018 Private housing starts to rise 2% but remain flat in 2017 and fall 2% in 2018 Retail construction to fall 8.0% in 2016 before falls of 4% in 2017 and 2% in 2018 This implies continued activity in the industry for the first half of next year. The second half though, does not bode well for privately funded construction sectors who are poised to suffer more from the uncertainty of the current times. Noble Francis, the economics director at the CPA predicts that industrial construction outputs could fall as much as 11% by 2018. This he argues is because large players in the industry would likely make fewer major investments as a result of the economic uncertainty that has gripped the industry. Reports indicate that it is vital that the Chancellor, for the upcoming autumn statement, focuses on reducing uncertainty for the private sector and ensure the delivery of projects that are already in the pipeline if the industry is to survive the times.
