Quayside House

Client
Gloucestershire Count Council
Contractor
Value
£16.8m
Completion Date
September 2021

The Challenge

This was Gloucestershire County Council’s first development venture to find a way of generating income from assets. Quayside house was an outdated, lightweight building, with cellular offices and two courtyards. It was demolished when Kier were next door refurbishing Shire Hall. GCC approached Kier to work on a business case for generating income, from a blank piece of paper, after securing two anchor tenants, GP practices Severnside and GHAC (Gloucester Health Access centre), a move which was essential to the development. Kier worked with the tenants and GCC to understand their requirements, the conformities of GP standards and strategies to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ for the medical facilities.

Additional challenges came from the potential of Archaeological implications, satisfying the requirements of local planners for a link to Gloucester’s heritage and the delivery of the project through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Solution

A grant was obtained for the maximum number of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof and air handling units, a wet system, air conditioning and natural ventilation were installed.  ‘Excellent’ was achieved through BUCKL heat/cooling calculations; the building was designed for an air test of 3 but achieved 2. Electric car charging points, secure bike stores, and bat and bird boxes incorporated into the façade also added to maximum credits.

The original city wall ran under the line of Quayside house and the team needed to minimise the impact of the cost/time implications of Roman and Medieval archaeology. After surveys of the original piled foundations and extensive testing for subsidence, including static load testing, the decision was made to reuse the old foundations and design the light-weight super structure of the new build around the existing grid loadings. 

The Results

Gloucester now has a first-floor modern medical centre where patients can park. The building also houses a pharmacy on the ground floor, and an occupational health department.

The second floor consists of four different-sized shell and core letting demises each with meeting rooms and facilities, with access directly from the ground floor.

With Covid-19 implications GCC rethought the sizing of the premises and decided to further divide areas with flexible folding, sound-proof partitions which gives capacity to go from 4 to 7 areas, without compromising access control, fire and security.

Kier worked with the design team and planners on a proposal which reflected the historical industrial background of Gloucester docks. They spent time understanding the planner’s ideas to arrive at optimum solutions for design and build. The resulting contemporary ‘blue’ brick and irregular roof ‘Sawtooth’ scheme fits the area perfectly.

Number of Apprentices

86%

SME Spend

£425k

Added Value

8/10

Client Satisfaction

Client Testimonials

Contractor Performance | Commitments

Legacy

Throughout the duration of the project, we completed: Launched the first cohort of Hard Hat Ready, the first 4-week programme focused on bringing the unemployed into employment based on a live site in partnership with Seetec Plus. 31 learners took part in the programme, 30 gained CSCS cards, 28 progressed into employment and/ or apprenticeship opportunities.

Community Engagement: Throughout the duration of the project, we completed: Kier volunteers dedicated their time to maintaining Weston Mill Cemetery and Efford Crematorium, working through challenging conditions to clear litter and debris from graves and tend to the garden of remembrance. This effort reinforced our commitment to social value, complementing the construction of the new crematorium by supporting the local community and its surroundings.

Kier supported YMCA Plymouth through initiatives like the young girls’ mentoring programme and the “Pledge to Paint” campaign, which renovated two classrooms that hadn’t been updated in over 20 years. These efforts empowered local youth and improved educational spaces, highlighting Kier’s dedication to creating lasting social value in the community.

Sustainability

Collaborating with the design team and creating a detailed cut and fill model greatly reduced surplus excavation carted away to landfill, saving traffic movements, carbon emissions, time, and costs. The landscaping design was wildlife friendly, incorporating wildflower meadows and tree planting. Efforts were made to maximise retention of existing hedgerows and achieve an ecological net gain of over 10%. This had to be sympathetically done whilst incorporating suitable external features and space for memorialisation’s.

This project included an extensive SUDs system with associate ponds and included the diversion of an existing watercourse that was enhanced with native planting and bridged. A foul treatment plant was installed to save time and cost by avoiding the need to connect to existing offsite main drainage infrastructure.

The carbon footprint of the building was reduced by producing renewable energy on site and reducing the power consumption of the building. This has been done by installing a substantial solar arrangement to the rear of the main building, and installing LED lighting installed throughout the premises. Additionally, electric vehicle (EV) charging points have been installed in the car parks.

Safe

Zero RIDDORS

Aftercare

Soft landings for handover

Dedicated Morgan Sindall point of contact

On-line portal for notifying any defects with 3 priority categories for response times

Fair

100% payment within 30 days terms