Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s leading ports group, has awarded the design contract for its ambitious Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility (LEEF) to McLaughlin & Harvey. ABP’s vision for LEEF is to provide a facility that is suitable for Operations & Maintenance (O&M) activities and construction support for the offshore
Norfolk County Council has launched a public consultation on proposals for the West Winch Housing Access Road. The pre-planning application consultation will give people the opportunity to put forward their views before the planning application is finalised and submitted next year. The consultation will run for eight weeks until Sunday
Martin Tugwell, Chief Executive at Transport for the North responding to the announcement of the approval of the A57 Link Roads, said: “Transport for the North welcomes the Secretary of State’s support for this scheme, which will see work start on site next spring. Transport for the North has long-supported the
The first freight train arrived at HS2’s newest Bucks construction hub this week as the high speed rail project confirmed that the new facility is expected to take the equivalent of 300,000 lorry movements off local roads. Situated on an existing freight line north of Aylesbury, the new railhead will
DEVELOPERS, local highway authorities and consultants should be working more closely to ensure that fully integrated sustainable transport planning is made a reality, according to a leading transport expert. Matt Harrison, head of transport planning at national engineering consultancy Rodgers Leask, believes that transport planning consultants and their local highway
Leading heating, plumbing and air movement materials supplier TG Lynes has invested in state-of-the-art technology to warn its delivery drivers of potential hazards on the road. TG Lynes, based in Enfield, is in the process of adding Brigade’s Sidescan Predict® system to its entire fleet of HGV vehicles. The intelligent
Hot on the heels of HS2’s first London TBM, ‘Sushila’, who set off earlier this month, the 2,000 tonnes TBM, ‘Caroline’ has today begun the 5-mile journey towards Greenford from West Ruislip in West London TBM named after ‘first professional’ female astronomer Caroline Herschel HS2 Ltd has just launched the
Civil engineering specialist GRAHAM has commenced work on an upgrade of the M25 junction 28 for National Highways. Junction 28 plays a major role in connecting the A12 and the M25, as well as providing access to Brentwood via the A1023. Up to 7,500 vehicles currently travel through the junction
Major construction work is due to start on the Lyminster Bypass in West Sussex, which will help ease congestion. Jackson Civil Engineering were the ones who managed to win the £23.8 million contract, due to begin immediately. According to the existing plans, the new road will link up with the
The launch of HS2’s giant tunnel boring machine, which set off on its five-mile journey from West Ruislip to Greenford on 6th October, has sparked new training and employment opportunities for residents in seven London boroughs. HS2’s construction partner, Skanska Costain STRABAG (SCS), is working in partnership with Danny Sullivan
Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s leading ports group, has awarded the design contract for its ambitious Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility (LEEF) to McLaughlin & Harvey. ABP’s vision for LEEF is to provide a facility that is suitable for Operations & Maintenance (O&M) activities and construction support for the offshore energy industry, helping to transform the town of Lowestoft into East of England’s premier offshore energy hub. As part of the next phase of the project, ABP will invest around £1m in the detailed design of infrastructural upgrades of the site, including the addition of extra capacity to accommodate the next generation of larger offshore support vessels. The design phase is anticipated to last around 6 months with the construction following over the next 12 months and potential for vessels to begin using the facility from 2024. Andrew Harston, ABP Director for Wales and Short Sea Ports, said: “The winning design for LEEF will enable us to deliver this hugely exciting project and create a competitive edge for companies across the Southern North Sea (SNS) energy sector. “Having recently won ‘Best Project’ in the regional Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence 2022, LEEF has the potential to attract many supply chain companies to Lowestoft, bringing new jobs and prosperity to the area.” LEEF forms part of the Port Gateway project which is 1 of 5 projects that will benefit from Lowestoft’s £24.9M towns deal awarded in 2020 by the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities as a result of a successful Investment Plan submitted by East Suffolk Council. Craig Rivett, Councillor at East Suffolk Council, said: “We are proud to be supporting the Port Gateway development through the recently announced Town Deal. It is a vital project that will create a significant number of highly skilled jobs in the town for many years to come, whilst building on Lowestoft as the region’s hub for offshore wind operations and maintenance. “This development, once completed, will in turn provide further future opportunities for the supply chain as Lowestoft remains at the forefront of operational support for the renewable sector.” The Port of Lowestoft has a long history of servicing the offshore energy sector, as a home to O&M bases for Scottish Power Renewables and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE). It also benefits from its strategic location and close proximity to Orbis Energy and PowerPark, where key offshore energy developers, operators and service providers are located. Seamus Devlin, McLaughlin & Harvey Civil Engineering Director, said, “McLaughlin & Harvey is delighted to have been awarded the design contract for ABP’s Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility. We bring experience from our ever-expanding expertise in civils and marine works, and look forward to commencing the design of this exciting project in the near future.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Norfolk County Council has launched a public consultation on proposals for the West Winch Housing Access Road. The pre-planning application consultation will give people the opportunity to put forward their views before the planning application is finalised and submitted next year. The consultation will run for eight weeks until Sunday 8 January, with the proposals available to view online. In addition, three local events will be held during the consultation period, with information on display and members of the project team on hand to answer questions. The new road will serve the South East King’s Lynn Growth Area (known locally as the West Winch Growth area) which will see up to 4,000 new homes built over the next 20 years. “The road is an essential part of the wider plans to create new housing in the area and resolve traffic issues on the existing A10. We are therefore working closely with the borough council and local partners to deliver this vital piece of infrastructure as soon as possible,” said David Allfrey, Assistant Director for Infrastructure Delivery at Norfolk County Council. “This consultation will provide everyone with more detail about the proposed scheme which would see the A10 rerouted as it approaches King’s Lynn. This is an important opportunity for us to receive local input before we finalise and submit the planning application next year. I would encourage as many people as possible to look through the proposals and give us their feedback.” The road’s route connects the A10 to the A47 via new 1.5-mile road, starting to the south of Gravelhill Lane in West Winch and joining the A47 before it reaches the Hardwick Junction. The road joins the A47 via a new signalised roundabout and dedicated free-flow slip road. The scheme would see the dualling of the A47 between Hardwick and the new road. Changes will be made to the Hardwick Interchange to account for the extra housing traffic and the rerouted A10. The West Winch Housing Access Road will provide an alternative route around village of West Winch. The traffic flows through West Winch are expected to fall significantly once the new road opens. In the new road’s opening year, it is forecast that the daily traffic through West Winch will be 55-62% lower than 2018 levels. The reduction in traffic will allow the introduction of measures through the village to improve safety and living conditions for local residents. This could include a reduction to existing speed limits, weight restriction on heavy good vehicles and new crossings for pedestrians and cyclists. The new road would intersect two existing local roads in Rectory Lane and Chequers Lane. The proposals would see a new bridge built to carry Rectory Lane over the access road to maintain connectivity between West Winch and North Runcton. Chequers Lane would be severed to prevent traffic travelling through North Runcton to the A47. The opportunity for a pedestrian and cycle crossing at Chequers Lane will be explored as part of the consultation. Steps are also being taken to consider the local landscape and ecology. The consultation will include details about themes such as air quality, noise, biodiversity, drainage, and climate. The consultation will also provide information about sustainable transport. This includes the connectivity between new and existing walking and cycling routes, and the opportunity for improvements to public transport. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Martin Tugwell, Chief Executive at Transport for the North responding to the announcement of the approval of the A57 Link Roads, said: “Transport for the North welcomes the Secretary of State’s support for this scheme, which will see work start on site next spring. Transport for the North has long-supported the need to better connect Manchester and Sheffield, through investment in the rail and road links between two of the North’s most important City Regions.The A57 Link Roads project will bring substantial benefits for local communities, reducing noise and levels of air pollution and creating new and improved facilities for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, and will deliver much more reliable connectivity for traffic on this busy Trans-Pennine route, bringing significant economic benefits and improving opportunities for strengthening business and trade links between Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The first freight train arrived at HS2’s newest Bucks construction hub this week as the high speed rail project confirmed that the new facility is expected to take the equivalent of 300,000 lorry movements off local roads. Situated on an existing freight line north of Aylesbury, the new railhead will welcome approx. 1,800 freight trains over the next three years as construction of HS2 – which will improve links between London, Birmingham and the north – gathers pace. Delivering this material by rail instead of HGV is expected to save 27,903 tCO2e (tonnes of carbon), the equivalent of 126 million miles driven by an average petrol car – or 156,408 return journeys between London and Edinburgh. The news comes two years after HS2 began delivering construction material to its other Buckinghamshire sites by rail. In that time 655 trains have delivered 1.1 million tonnes of aggregate, removing more than 116,000 truck journeys from the road and saving an estimated 13,000 tonnes co2e. The new site near Quainton, will allow HS2 to continue shipping material by rail as construction ramps up and is expected to handle 3 million tonnes of material – mainly aggregates used for construction. Once on site, most of the material will be stockpiled before being moved up or down the trace of the new high speed line on a series of dedicated haul roads to keep it away from local road users. Welcoming the news, HS2 Ltd Senior Project Manager Paul Marshall said: “We are serious about reducing the impact of construction on the local community and promoting sustainable construction methods. That’s why we started delivering materials by rail two years ago and this new railhead will help us continue to take huge numbers of trucks off local roads. “We’ve been working closely with Network Rail, EKFB and the Freight Operators for a number of years to make this possible, and to deliver not only low carbon journeys for our passengers, but also cut carbon in construction.” The railhead was set up by HS2’s main works contractor EKFB – a team made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and Bam Nuttall. EKFB is delivering the 80km central section of the route, including 17 viaducts, 81 bridges and three cut and cover ‘green tunnels’. They worked with a team from Network Rail who have completed a series of alterations which will enable freight services to operate in and out of the new railhead at Quainton. Simon Winfield, head of delivery unit for Network Rail, said: “Our team have worked at pace to complete adjustments on this section of railway which will help our partners at HS2 to reduce carbon by taking lorries off the roads in Buckinghamshire. “Network Rail staff will continue to support the material by rail freight operation in Quainton by ensuring that trains are safely operated in and out of the new railhead.” EKFB’s Head of Logistics & Security Chris Barton is delighted with the new railhead, commenting: “EKFB and our supply chain partners, Fishbone Solutions, DB Cargo and Hanson, are extremely proud to be introducing our fourth railhead into the project and in less than two years. Our local communities are important to us and the railhead allows us to transport material efficiently, with minimal distribution to those living close to our construction works. “Establishing a new railhead in Bucks also means we are reducing our carbon footprint and the number of HGVs on local roads, as well as helping us to deliver our works on time.” The railhead will be operated by Fishbone Solutions on behalf of EKFB with trains operated by DB Cargo UK Ltd on behalf of Hanson. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
DEVELOPERS, local highway authorities and consultants should be working more closely to ensure that fully integrated sustainable transport planning is made a reality, according to a leading transport expert. Matt Harrison, head of transport planning at national engineering consultancy Rodgers Leask, believes that transport planning consultants and their local highway authority counterparts have focussed on vehicular traffic, and more specifically peak period commuter traffic, for too long. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) promotes sustainable development but, as any transport planner knows, NPPF paragraph 111 states: “development should only be prevented or refused on highways grounds if there would be an unacceptable impact on highway safety, or the residual cumulative impacts on the road network would be severe.” Matt said: “The somewhat ambiguous ending to NPPF paragraph 111 is open to subjective interpretation, but it inherently places an emphasis on the need to quantify impacts on the road network. “The NPPF, in conjunction with often outdated local transport planning policies, perpetuate the focus on peak period vehicular impact, so collectively the industry continues to plan for the worst-case peak hour scenario. “This can often result in a siloed and unbalanced approach to the planning of sustainable transport, quantifying residual impacts and ultimately delivering development. “People, not vehicles, should be the most important element of transport planning. This focus should be present from the very start of a project, through pre-application discussions with local highway authorities and during the subsequent production of a Transport Assessment and Travel Plan. “Unfortunately, Travel Plans have long been the poor relation to a Transport Assessment because the document is typically simpler, quicker and cheaper to produce”, explains Harrison. This commercial reality mirrors local highway authority policies and resources, which often place greater emphasis on robust traffic assumptions within the confines of a ‘predict and provide’ methodology and less emphasis on the delivery of Travel Plans through a ‘vision and validate’ concept of sustainable development. “It’s no surprise to find that Travel Plans are often not monitored or enforced rigorously because less resource is allocated to them. If developers, local highway authorities and consultants are serious about promoting a sustainable development then they must accept that more time, effort and cost will need to go into the production of a better Travel Plan. This shift needs to happen quickly if we are serious about achieving the nation’s net zero target by 2050. “The global events in recent years and the ongoing political and economic upheaval have affected national travel patterns. According to the Department for Transports’ latest National Travel Survey in 2021 the overall number of trips (all transport modes) made by people living in England remains 19% lower than in 2019, though this statistic is skewed by the significantly lower number of public transport trips made on bus and rail. More of the people who are able to work from home now do so more regularly than they did pre-pandemic, but people are slowly returning to offices or adopting a hybrid working pattern. “Many people who travelled on public transport pre-pandemic have been reluctant to continue this routine due to various factors – including health concerns, cost and available services. As a result, peak period traffic flows are now at similar or even higher level than those recorded pre-pandemic across many local authorities. This is due in part to people now opting to travel by car instead, so local highway authorities and developers need to be more rigorous in their drive to promote sustainable transport and deliver a modal shift away from the single passenger private vehicle trips”, said Matt. With over 16 years of experience working in transport planning, Matt appreciates the difficulty of balancing the commercial interests of developers with the vagaries of the planning system, the needs of a development’s end-users, and the need to adapt to new issues like the cost of living crisis, or a global pandemic. However, he urges those concerned to remember that sustainable transport solutions must start somewhere and they require commitment and cooperation from all parties. Matt continued: “Travel Plans are living documents that embody the strategy behind minimising the number of vehicle trips generated by a development while simultaneously giving people the choice to travel in the most convenient way. They need to be realistic and relevant to the people living and/or working on the development. “Travel Plans have the best chance of working effectively if they’re taken seriously throughout the design development concept stage, all the way through planning and into construction. This helps to ensure that the infrastructure and the Travel Plan are ready for implementation before the first site occupant moves in. If this does not take place, end users’ ability to choose more sustainable travel options will be limited and their quality-of-life impacted accordingly. “When done properly, Travel Plans provide a roadmap for shifting towards more sustainable modes of transport, they can effect a change in personal habits, help those who work and live on those developments to achieve time and cost savings, as well as improve health and fitness by adopting active travel choices.” While Travel Plans provide a framework for developments to work from, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to sustainability. New technologies and change in social conventions are opening up new opportunities to present alternative options to people. Giving people what they actually need via a sustainable option is how to make a Travel Plan truly work. Matt concluded: “There is no single answer to the question of ‘what is sustainable transport?’ because it means different things to different people in different places. “You only have to look at our team at Rodgers Leask and ask them how they travel in to work and the different methods of sustainable transport they use to know that simply putting in more bus stops or electrical vehicle charging points isn’t going to work in every situation. “It is essential for developers to have experienced travel plan coordinators in place to ensure that those behind a development can continue engaging with
Leading heating, plumbing and air movement materials supplier TG Lynes has invested in state-of-the-art technology to warn its delivery drivers of potential hazards on the road. TG Lynes, based in Enfield, is in the process of adding Brigade’s Sidescan Predict® system to its entire fleet of HGV vehicles. The intelligent side detection system has been developed for rigid vehicles with large blind spots. Six ultrasonic sensors on the side of the vehicle detect objects and vulnerable road users, whether they are stationary or moving. The technology calculates the risk of collision and alerts the driver either visually or audibly, depending on the risk. TG Lynes plans to have the technology installed on a quarter of its distribution fleet by March next year Andrew Ingram, General Manager at TG Lynes, said: “We are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to make life easier and safer for all of our colleagues. “It is crucial that vehicles with complex blind spots utilise technology to help reduce collisions. “Brigade’s Sidescan Predict system is one of the most technically sophisticated products available. It will offer peace of mind to our drivers and false alarms are significantly reduced, meaning they can be confident in the accuracy of the warning.” TG Lynes has used other Brigade safety products for more than 10 years. Used in conjunction with driver training and regular internal safety briefings, TG Lynes has managed to avoid any serious incidents with vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and motorbikes. Andrew added: “Safety is a top priority for us. The protocols and safety equipment we have put in place, in conjunction with internal and external training, have enabled us to reduce near-miss incidents and has eradicated any side-swipe incidents and road traffic collisions.” The Sidescan Predict® system remains switched on when the vehicle’s speed is below 22mph, regardless of the indicator selection, and cannot be deactivated by the driver. Emily Hardy, Marketing Manager of Brigade Electronics UK: “Unlike existing systems, which simply register the presence of a potential obstacle, Sidescan Predict® is constantly gathering data in a vehicle’s vicinity. “This provides additional benefits to operators by significantly reducing false alarms and increasing confidence in the accuracy of warning alerts. We are delighted to add Sidescan Predict® to our range of commercial vehicle safety systems and we are confident that it will make a positive impact to road and worksite safety and preventing fatalities.” As well as the HGVs, TG Lynes’ fleet also includes 3.5 tonne vans and an electric bike. TG Lynes offers a daily delivery service to sites across London, the South East, East Anglia and the Midlands, with the first vehicles on the road for 6am. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Hot on the heels of HS2’s first London TBM, ‘Sushila’, who set off earlier this month, the 2,000 tonnes TBM, ‘Caroline’ has today begun the 5-mile journey towards Greenford from West Ruislip in West London TBM named after ‘first professional’ female astronomer Caroline Herschel HS2 Ltd has just launched the fifth Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), ‘Caroline’, that will be constructing tunnels for the HS2 railway through London. The second launched in the capital, the 2,000 tonnes machine joins ‘Sushila’, that was switched on earlier this month on the same West London site. Named after 18th century astronomer Caroline Herschel, the giant machine will now dig for 22 months, non-stop except for Christmas Day, towards Greenpark way in Greenford – boring five miles of the twin-bore Northolt Tunnel. ‘Caroline’ will be operated by a crew of 15 people, working in shifts. An additional 25 people will directly support each tunnel drive on the surface. Travelling at an average of 14m per day, ‘Caroline’ will dig the five-mile tunnel and install 4,207 tunnel segment rings to create the tunnel. Each ring of the tunnel is made up of seven concrete segments which have been manufactured in the UK by Pacadar based in Kent. The machine was switched on by HS2’s Civils Delivery Director, Mike Lyons, who said: “HS2’s construction continues to gather pace, and the launch of the fifth Tunnel Boring Machine on HS2 is another significant moment for Britain’s number one levelling-up project. “Creating jobs and contracts for businesses today, HS2 is an investment in Britain’s economic growth now and for generations of rail passengers to come.” The machine was given the name ‘Caroline’ after it was put forward by pupils at Brentside Primary Academy in Ealing, who were inspired by her contribution to astronomy whilst learning about earth and space in their science lessons. German-born British astronomer Caroline Herschel was considered the first professional female astronomer. In her career she discovered three new nebulae (hazy clouds where stars form) and was the first woman to ever discover a comet in 1786. She compiled a catalogue of 2500 nebulae and, in 1828, the Royal Astronomical Society awarded her its gold medal for this work. ‘Caroline’ will be operated by Skanska Costain STRABAG JV (SCS JV), HS2’s Main Works Civils Contractor constructing the HS2 tunnels in London. She joins ‘Sushila’ who has already travelled over 70m in the three weeks since launch. James Richardson, Managing Director of Skanska Costain STRABAG JV said: “We’re delighted to have begun our tunnelling journey towards Euston, travelling under one of the busiest cities in the world. Getting to this point has been a huge team effort and the scale of this programme has enabled many new people to join the industry and work on this crucial national infrastructure project.” Once ‘Caroline’ and ‘Sushila’ reach their destination at Greenpark Way, they will be dismantled and extracted from a 40m deep shaft. Separately, two other equally massive tunnel boring machines will set off towards Greenpark Way from HS2’s Victoria Road site in 2023 to build a further 3.4mile twin-bore tunnel. Combined, the quartet of TBMs will build 8.4miles of twin bored tunnels between West Ruislip and the new high speed rail super hub station at Old Oak Common. Further facts about the TBMS: Each machine is 140 metres in length, one and a quarter times the length of a football pitch Each has a cutter head that is 9.84m in diameter, almost as tall as two giraffes standing on top of each other They each weigh approximately 2,050 tonnes, roughly the weight of 10 blue whales 2 million cubic metres of excavated material will be removed, weighing 2.46 million tonnes A single tunnel segment ring weighs 8.5 tonnes Another tunnel 4.5 mile twin-bore tunnel extending from Old Oak Common to Euston will complete HS2’s journey to its London terminus. Spoil from the tunnels at West Ruislip will not travel far as it will be used for sustainable placement to the North, creating embankments for the new railway, as well as new environmental habitats. It will also be used to remodel the West Ruislip golf course which is closed during HS2 construction.
Civil engineering specialist GRAHAM has commenced work on an upgrade of the M25 junction 28 for National Highways. Junction 28 plays a major role in connecting the A12 and the M25, as well as providing access to Brentwood via the A1023. Up to 7,500 vehicles currently travel through the junction roundabout every hour at peak times, which is already operating at capacity, with motorists regularly experiencing congestion and delays. GRAHAM’s work involves the creation of a two-lane loop road with a hard shoulder for traffic travelling from the M25 northbound carriageway anti-clockwise onto the A12 eastbound carriageway towards Essex. This will include the construction of new bridges to take the loop road over or under the other road links and the Weald Brook, along with new signage and changes to the landscape. GRAHAM’s project team will also change the position of the A12’s eastbound exit slip road and the M25’s anti-clockwise entry slip road to allow for the new loop road. In addition, work will involve widening the M25 anti-clockwise carriageway to provide more space for traffic leaving the A12 heading eastbound. The majority of the construction work will take place off the road network, with the new loop road and links being almost fully completed before any work takes place that will impact drivers. Work on the scheme is expected to take 36 months, with an anticipated completion date of summer 2025. Discussing the scheme, GRAHAM Highways Director, Dave Brown, said: “We are pleased to have begun work on the upgrade of the M25’s junction 28. “National Highways is a valued and longstanding client for GRAHAM, and this scheme will play a major role in improving journey times for those travelling on one of the country’s busiest junctions. Dave added: “We’ll be delivering the project with a collaborative and safety-led approach, working as part of an integrated team with National Highways to ensure the upgrade is completed with disruption to motorists minimised as much as possible.” National Highways project manager Zach Pepper said: “These improvements will provide safer journeys for thousands of drivers, cyclists and walkers who use this route every day as part of our wider investment to enhance capacity at this vital junction. “Improving the flow of traffic and allowing more capacity on the exit slip roads will provide a safer and more integrated network for everyone. There will also be less likelihood of traffic queuing back onto the M25 once this upgrade and reconfiguration of the junction is complete.”
Major construction work is due to start on the Lyminster Bypass in West Sussex, which will help ease congestion. Jackson Civil Engineering were the ones who managed to win the £23.8 million contract, due to begin immediately. According to the existing plans, the new road will link up with the recently-constructed southern section of the bypass to complete a new, 1.1-mile carriageway running to the east of Lyminster and Wick villages. As far as possible, the new carriageway will be constructed off-line from the existing highway network to minimise disruption for road users. “Initial, enabling works, such as vegetation clearance, had already been completed, but now the main construction phase started on Monday. This is very positive news. Helping to provide a sustainable and prosperous economy is one of the priorities in Our Council Plan and, by providing this new highway infrastructure, we will be supporting the provision of 1,260 new homes and 700 new jobs in the region,” said Joy Dennis, the County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport. “It’s also hoped that, by providing improved cyclist and pedestrian facilities, more people will be encouraged to make local trips on foot or by bike, helping lower our carbon footprint, another key priority in our Council Plan,” Joy Dennis added. The existing public bridleway will be maintained with a Pegasus Crossing, provided to ensure the safety of equestrians, cyclists and pedestrians. Moreover, a new viaduct will be constructed over Black Ditch with an associated flood plain to ensure that there is no increase in flood risk. The existing culvert will be extended at Brookfield Stream as well. The scheme is being funded by Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership Local Growth Fund, developer contributions (Section 106 funds), the Department for Transport and the County Council. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction and Property News
The launch of HS2’s giant tunnel boring machine, which set off on its five-mile journey from West Ruislip to Greenford on 6th October, has sparked new training and employment opportunities for residents in seven London boroughs. HS2’s construction partner, Skanska Costain STRABAG (SCS), is working in partnership with Danny Sullivan Group, Camden Council and TheForge@ParkRoyal (part of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation) to deliver a bespoke training and work placement programme especially for residents who live in Brent, Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster. The three-week training programme, delivered with West London College and United Colleges Group, starts on 24th October and will be followed by a four-week paid work placement, to enable candidates to get a feel for what it’s like to work in construction, and as part of the team operating the giant 2,000 tonne machines. During its construction programme SCS will launch five more tunnel boring machines, creating a total of 26 miles of tunnel beneath the capital, ready to transport HS2’s state of the art British-built bullet-style trains into the terminus station at Euston. Ambrose Quashie, HS2’s Skills Manager for Greater London said: “We’re teaming up with some brilliant partners, as we know they are well placed to ensure that local people, who are most in need, benefit from these unique training and employment opportunities on HS2.” “Tunnelling is a highly-skilled career for life, and this is a fantastic opportunity to join the team tasked with constructing some of the most challenging sections of the whole HS2 route.” The training programme will prepare candidates for their four-week paid work placement. They’ll gain the vital construction and health and safety accreditation they need to begin working alongside and learning from some of the most experienced engineers in the industry. Skanska Costain STRABAG contractor, Danny Sullivan Group, will be looking for standout candidates throughout the programme and will invest in providing tunnelling operative apprenticeships to those eager to earn, learn and progress into this specialist engineering role. Frankie Jones, Skills Employment and Education Manager at Skanska Costain STRABAG Joint Venture said: “HS2 is a project for future generations, and this extends to inspiring the next generation of the future stars in our industry. It is great to be able to offer a unique opportunity for people to get involved in tunnelling, whilst learning about our programme of construction and helping us construct the railway.” Camden Council and TheForge@ParkRoyal will play a vital role in supporting local residents who are out of work, and live in one for the seven qualifying boroughs, with their job applications. This forms part of an ongoing ‘job brokerage’ partnership with HS2, which is designed to ensure that local people benefit from the thousands of employment opportunities HS2’s construction is creating. Billy Seago, Manager at TheForge@ParkRoyal said: “We’re excited to join HS2, SCS and wider partners to deliver this important training opportunity. The training programme offers a fantastic opportunity for residents to gain skills to be an important part of a ground-breaking project like HS2, while also being paid.” “TheForge @ParkRoyal has already placed more than 150 west Londoners into training and employment and we encourage residents to consider this opportunity and get in touch with us to find out more.” For more information about the programme, contact Camden’s Council’s King’s Cross Construction Skills Centre or TheForge@ParkRoyal.
