The prestigious Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards has announced Glenwood School as the winner in the Community Benefit category. The Special Educational Needs (SEN) school in Benfleet, Essex was recognised for addressing the needs of SEN school places and community facilities in the local area at the RICS
The managing partner at the property and construction consultancy Pick Everard, Duncan Green, is sharing his views on the successes, obstacles, and political changes that affected the construction industry during 2017 and what is going to come in 2018. 1. Brexit Brexit has been a permanent concern for the construction
A new sporting facility has just opened at the University of South Wales (USW) Sport Park, located near the University’s Pontypridd Campus in Treforest. The modern sporting facilities include the first full-size indoor 3G football pitch at a university in Wales and one out of three at a UK university.
INDEPENDENT property, construction and infrastructure consultancy, Pick Everard, has launched a series of new podcasts delving under the skin of the new suite of NEC contracts. The first episode of ‘Perspective’ has now launched, with ‘Common Pitfalls’ now available to download. Partner Alastair Hamilton discusses what listeners can expect from
An educational institution in the London Borough of Richmond was reportedly in a poor state of affairs indeed, but the building and construction industry ensured that the school is now back to the standard that it should have been in all along. The Queen’s Church of England Primary School in
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
The prestigious Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards has announced Glenwood School as the winner in the Community Benefit category. The Special Educational Needs (SEN) school in Benfleet, Essex was recognised for addressing the needs of SEN school places and community facilities in the local area at the RICS East of England Awards, which recognises outstanding developments in the region. The £15 million scheme was commissioned by Essex County Council through its own construction framework utilising leading property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard for project and cost management services, with design and build expertise being provided by construction firm Morgan Sindall. “We’re delighted that Glenwood has won this incredibly prestigious award,” said Gary Buick, director at Pick Everard. “This project was delivered to address a chronic shortage of SEN school places in Essex, and the team worked closely with the school to ensure that the design met the needs of the pupils and fitted the ethos of the school.” The new state-of-the-art building includes 26 classrooms and facilities such as a hydrotherapy pool, swing therapy rooms and a trampoline room to help promote body awareness, sequencing, postural control and organisation of the senses. “Glenwood School provides the very best support and learning opportunities for children and young adults with special educational needs. The new state-of-the-art facilities will provide a secure and exciting learning space for pupils,” said Gary. “The new building also provides much-needed lettable space for community groups that require accessible facilities including hall spaces, a swimming pool, playing fields and a multi-use games area.” Councillor Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, named Glenwood School as the perfect example of the investment offered by the council in special school places. “We are committed to ensuring all pupils receive the best possible education and work hard to ensure this is within an environment that meets their individual needs,” he said. The RICS Awards were held on Friday, the 11th of May, and are the premier property and construction awards in the country, honouring the most innovative projects in the region and their impact on local communities.
The managing partner at the property and construction consultancy Pick Everard, Duncan Green, is sharing his views on the successes, obstacles, and political changes that affected the construction industry during 2017 and what is going to come in 2018. 1. Brexit Brexit has been a permanent concern for the construction industry since last year. Now, the confidence in the market has slowly returned, but there are still many negotiations that need to take place that might affect the market. 2. Political instability The political changes that keep happening mean that the industry needs to keep adapting to them. The industry has remained resilient and flexible and managed to handle these changes, however, a calmer political landscape would bring stability and national schemes will be able to get underway. 4. How is 2018 looking? Pick Everard ended 2017 with the first Autumn Budget that detailed further investment into T levels, which is a new system aiming to encourage more students to take maths for A Level by rewarding schools and a new Transforming Cities fund that will improve transport connections and fibre optic broadband. 3. Pick Everard’s 2017 Speaking of Pick Everard, the company completed some fantastic projects in 2017, working across the UK on schemes such as the Discovery Building at BioCity in Nottingham, a multi-million pound bioscience centre which boasts the most incredible LED cladding which has lights mirroring solar flares in the Earth’s atmosphere and The Oculus at Warwick University, which is an architecturally stunning, flagship multi-use teaching facility. The company held its own ‘women in the construction’ campaign that showcased the incredible talent it has in the industry, including women who hold some of the top positions at Everard. This year is the ideal time to promote jobs to talented young professionals and hopefully bring more women in the industry. Duncan Green is optimistic regarding the future of the industry and expects housebuilding to continue to increase. Once the Brexit deal is settled, the construction industry will have a better understanding of where the UK is moving in terms of construction and output. He is also looking further to seeing more apprenticeships and training, which will secure the future of the industry.
A new sporting facility has just opened at the University of South Wales (USW) Sport Park, located near the University’s Pontypridd Campus in Treforest. The modern sporting facilities include the first full-size indoor 3G football pitch at a university in Wales and one out of three at a UK university. The project and management services on the scheme were delivered by Pick Everard, the leading independent property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy, which completed it in January 2018. “This brand new facility provides the very best in modern sporting facilities for the University and we are proud to have been involved in what is a very important project for USW,” said Mike Petersen, director at Pick Everard’s Cardiff office. “Pick Everard has extensive experience of delivering schemes within the higher education sector, so we understand the importance of high-quality facilities in attracting and retaining the very best students and staff to universities, and that is exactly what this new facility will promote at USW.” The main attraction at the new facility is the indoor full-size 3G football pitch that meets both the FIFA standards for football and the World Rugby standards. Other features include a specialist centre for strength and conditioning with 12 lifting platforms, teaching rooms, changing rooms, and offices. “As the largest provider of football coaching degrees in Europe, being partner with 30 Premier League and English Football League clubs; having plans in place to work closely with the WRU on providing coaching and development qualifications; students providing football coaching in the USA, and further plans to support community initiatives and elite sport teams; this first-class facility will further strengthen USW’s reputation as a leader in sports education,” commented Professor Julie Lydon, USW Vice-Chancellor. Kier Construction built the facility and Atkins designed it. Pick Everard is renowned in Wales as it works with many major organisations including blue chip organisations such as EDF Energy and National Grid, public sector bodies including South Wales Police, Cardiff, Swansea and Aberystwyth Universities, and contractors including Wilmott Dixon and Kier.
INDEPENDENT property, construction and infrastructure consultancy, Pick Everard, has launched a series of new podcasts delving under the skin of the new suite of NEC contracts. The first episode of ‘Perspective’ has now launched, with ‘Common Pitfalls’ now available to download. Partner Alastair Hamilton discusses what listeners can expect from the firm’s first podcast and what the common pitfalls are when using the contracts. Producing a podcast series is a first for Pick Everard and we’re delighted to have launched such an innovative and insightful series which aims to aid discussion and improve understanding, educating those in the industry who may not have yet come into contact with the new suite of NEC contracts. Each episode will feature property and construction leaders – from mechanical and electrical engineers to project managers to surveyors – with a combined experience of more than 100 years. We’re passionate about the industry and I think it really shows. Our first episode looks at common pitfalls that can arise from NEC3 contracts and how best to avoid them. The first potential pitfall highlighted as a potential cause for concern is: not understanding what you’re trying to produce and deliver. It’s imperative that there’s clear understanding among all delivery partners involved in a scheme – as well as the client – as to what they’re looking to achieve; what are the client’s key objectives? Once this has been established this will inform a brief and, ultimately, the contract type. Secondly, understanding the client itself is important as a pitfall can often be a misunderstanding of a company’s structure, its attitude to risk and any potential constraints with regards budget and time. Some clients don’t have a construction background so need and advice and guidance – particularly when it comes to contracts – and, in order to provide this information, a clear understanding of a business is required. Selecting the correct NEC contract is crucial to ensure that it can enable the key drivers for the project and allocate risks appropriately. Failure to select the most appropriate contract will result in a programme of works that simply doesn’t work for anyone – not to mention creating a particularly difficult job for the project manager, having to negotiate a contract that is not aligned to the requirements of the project. The idea of ‘one size fits all’ contracts is a contentious subject when it comes to the introduction of Z clauses. These are put in place to personalise a contract but clients need to be aware that they can create ambiguity and duplication which can potentially promote misunderstanding. At Pick Everard, we have a standard set of Z clauses we use but we adopt a precautionary approach to their use to ensure they do not become contradictory. Finally, the terminology used in NEC contracts can present pitfalls. There are changes to terminology in the new edition, NEC 4, and it is imperative that this is maintained throughout to avoid ambiguity. Failure to maintain consistency means that you risk a subcontractor or client not understanding a contract. This is particularly important with the NEC suite as it is also an important project management tool which is referred to at every stage of a project so needs to be as clear as possible. Small differences in terminology – for example ‘risk registers’ now being referred to as ‘early warning registers’ – can have a large impact on a project if they’re not accurately identified and understood. Getting a clear and accepted programme of work in place is crucial from the outset and, if used correctly, NEC contracts are an excellent project management tool to ensure that this is the case.
An educational institution in the London Borough of Richmond was reportedly in a poor state of affairs indeed, but the building and construction industry ensured that the school is now back to the standard that it should have been in all along. The Queen’s Church of England Primary School in the wealthy Richmond borough was apparently in a bad state of affairs, with lack of lighting and heat distribution that was costing the educational establishment a great deal of money to maintain. The school therefore took upon itself to resolve to rebuilding measures that would help to resolve these problems and enlisted the help of consulting expertise firm Pick Everard to see what could be done. With the government backing of a staggering £4.2 million, Pick Everard advised them on the different steps that they would need to take in order to make the school a safer and better place for its pupils. Eventually, a construction contractual company known as Bowmer and Kirkland were hired to carry out and finish the various ambitious engineering and construction implementations that would help restore the school to an appropriate standard fit for study and education. A new building was designed in order to comply with these demands. It included the building of a corridor down the middle as well as classrooms with same-floor access to the playground thus making it a geographically more sensible location that would be able to cope with the excited rush of pupils running out after the eagerly awaited end of term bell. Similarly, other facilities were built into the school by Bowmer and Kirkland contractors, such as designs to ensure that as much heat energy and water were saved as possible in order to make the building itself more sustainable. Bowmer and Kirkland also installed a “daylight dimming” system that would enable more lights to be switched so that pupils could benefit from natural sunlight instead of artificial bulbs.
