Paignton Community and Sports Academy

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Paignton Community and Sports Academy

Paignton, Devon


Project Details



Client
Bay Education Trust

Project Manager
Torbay Development Agency

Architect
KTA Architects Ltd

Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd

Value
£2.4m

Contract Period
38 weeks

Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage

Form of Contract
JCT Intermediate Building Contract with Contractors Design 2016

Size
880m²

Apprentices
17

Project Brief

Supported by the Torquay Development Agency (TDA) and with capital funding secured via a Condition Improvement Fund from the Education and Skills Funding Agency, this project at Paignton Community and Sports Academy (part of the Bay Education Trust), saw construction of a single-storey, multi-use hall.

Delivered at the Academy’s live Borough Road campus, the new Events Centre provides a flexible working space suitable for a full range of sporting and extracurricular activities. The hall features retractable seating, a mezzanine level and dual-purpose lecture theatre/ performance space. The Centre includes a kitchen and dining area, entrance lobby and reception, and an external covered walkway.

Midas constructed the Events Centre following demolition of an outdated 1930s teaching block, further enhancing the Borough Road campus through groundworks, landscaping and improved car parking.

The project received a customer satisfaction score of 87% in the survey at practical completion.



“I have been at the Academy since 1986 and this has to be the best news I have ever received – it will give the students both now and in the ensuing years access to state of the art facilities.”

Key Challenges

  • To manage works close to live school buildings, Midas secured the site with fencing developed a bespoke logistics plan, scheduling deliveries to avoid school drop off and collection times in accordance with the client’s instructions, to ensure access to the academy was not disrupted. The site employed a full time gate controller for the duration of the project; kept access gates closed and locked when not in use; fitted door closers to pedestrian access gates; enforced a one-way vehicle access system; and established a corral at the entry point to get deliveries off the main road. The team and completed all works, loading and unloading within site boundaries only. The Senior Site Manager met frequently with the Academy Head Teacher to discuss relevant aspects of the work, and liaised with the Academy’s Health & Safety Coordinator and caretaker with regard to programming and access.
  • Partway through the project and in agreement with the client, Midas moved the Academy’s office and canteen facilities to within the new Event Centre. The Midas team positioned pedestrian barriers in the corridors, to prevent unauthorised access and to direct site operatives, with access monitored by Midas and Academy staff. Midas risk assessed all activities with consideration for the proximity to pupils.
  • During the enabling works, Midas commissioned a ground penetrating radar survey of the site. The team identified routes of live services, using spray paint to colour code manhole covers for service type (blue for storm drains, red for foul drains and a red C for combined drains). Operatives worked under permits to dig and CAT scanned areas prior to excavation works. As the team brought new services onto the site Midas marked them up on service drawings, displayed routes on notice boards and attached to drawings to relevant permits.

Project Takeaways

Our Success

  • The client appointed separate contractors to complete fit out works during our project. Midas ensured all operatives received a full site induction prior to accessing live areas of the site and ensured operatives followed site rules and restrictions, avoided restricted areas and followed noise and dust controls stated within the induction and specific risk assessment method statements. The Midas Site Manager controlled the process.
  • To bring the works in line with the budget, Midas led a detailed best value review, with £390k of our proposed savings accepted by the client. Amendments included changing the design from three flexible classrooms to a hall, a better provision for the client’s needs; and working closely with the design team to deliver proposed solutions.
  • The project successfully diverted 100% of waste from landfill, through measures including crushing and reusing hard materials from the demolished building as a piling mat. To further reduce the project’s carbon footprint and manage the limited parking availability, Midas actively encouraged the use of vehicle sharing, public transport, cycling or walking to site, providing public transport timetables in the site office.

Our Learnings

  • The site had limited space for contractor parking, which presented a challenge outside of school holidays when contractors parked in nearby roads. The team implemented parking controls and advised contactors of local restrictions, with the Senior Site Manager delivering toolbox talks on restrictions and briefing contractors that anyone not adhering to site rules would be removed. Vehicles displayed a Midas notice with the Senior Site Manager’s contact information, to ensure any issues could be promptly addressed.
  • Working closely with our specialist subcontractors and the client, Midas resolved an issue with availability of high-level cladding panels. With agreement from the client the team implemented a temporary cladding solution, fitting a sacrificial profiled metal cladding, which rapidly waterproofed the building and allowed the site team to progress with internal works. The Senior Site Manager worked closely with the design team and M&E subcontractor to incorporate design changes implemented part way through construction, coordinating services to mitigate potential delays and ensure on-time completion.

Value Added

  • £390,000 (16.3% of project value) of savings offered to the client at Gateway 3, with £392,818 (16.4%) of savings delivered at Gateway 4 through a combination of best practice and added value measures. Midas delivered £75,000 of savings by rationalising the size of the kitchen; saved £50,000 through amendments to the cladding specification; and saved £100,000 through rationalisation of rooflines and building footprint.
  • The project worked to the Employment and Skills Plan (ESP) and surpassed all agreed targets, hosting five work placements; creating two jobs with the National Skills Academy for Construction; attending 11 Construction Careers Information, Advice & Guidance Events; delivering 98 waged training weeks on site; supporting 18 workforce qualifications; and delivering seven training plans for subcontractors. The Midas Employment & Skills Coordinator and the Academy’s Mentor & Recruitment Manager spoke to approximately 300 students about careers in construction, as part of an assembly. Including those employed by the supply chain, the site supported 17 apprentices.
  • The project employed 95.2% small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with 95% of SMEs based within 30 miles of the site.
  • The team donated timber offcuts and old pallets to a local scout group; supported the school’s construction curriculum; and Midas sponsored the school’s football kit.

KPI’s & Statistics

Apprentices: 17
Average AIR: 0.7
Average CCS: score 37
Waste diverted from landfill: 100%
Cost/m²: 2,874m2
Cost/m²: excl abnormals 2,189m2

Exterior view of the Weston College Health and Active Living CentreMidas Group Ltd

Health and Active Living (HAL) Centre

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Health and Active Living Centre

Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset


Project Details



Client
Weston College

Project Manager
Weston College

Architect
View Architects Ltd

Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd

Value
£6.7m

Contract Period
48 weeks

Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage

Form of Contract
JCT Design & Build 2016

Size
2,841m²

Apprentices
7

Project Summary

Delivered for our valued clients Weston College, the Health and Active Living Skills (HAL) Centre is the region’s first state-of-the-art learning environment for sport, health and social care. The Centre provides modern facilities for students and the public, aiming to increase the community’s health and well-being.

Constructed at the college’s Loxton campus, to the south of Weston-super-Mare, this three-storey building houses a sports hall and associated changing facilities, classrooms and sport science labs. Outside are an all-weather 3G sports pitch and a natural football pitch.

The HAL Centre features a range of facilities to benefit the college and community. The multi-use sports hall includes provision for badminton, basketball, netball and five-a-side football, plus retractable basketball hoops; and the Centre includes community use space, a reception and public café.

The Centre provides an innovative learning environment with science labs, a health therapy suite with separate clinic and therapy room, and a six-bed simulation ward including high-tech patient mannequins.

The project received a customer satisfaction score of 92% in the survey at practical completion.



  • Exterior view of the Weston College Health and Active Living Centre

“This is an important investment in the future of healthcare in the region. We looked at a number of options when it came to building this new centre, but the one that was most viable was to build it at our Loxton Campus, which is a stone’s throw away from Weston General Hospital. The development will bring together the College’s health and social care, sports therapy and active living curricula into one bespoke facility, which will benefit our students as well as the wider community.”

“This is a fantastic opportunity for partnership working between Weston College and Weston General Hospital. This demonstrates the investment we are both making to support the learning and development of students. We hope it will also help the recruitment and retention of staff as well as supporting the increased demand on healthcare locally”.

“This is an ambitious project that will deliver important investment in skills for health and social care professionals working in our region. We need to train more people for future careers in our hospitals and community services – this will improve the quality of care and improve people’s lives. With more highly qualified professionals, and with people trained in a wider range of disciplines, people will be better cared for.”

 “We are very pleased to be taking forward our excellent relationship with Weston College on this exciting project which will bring significant positive benefits to the College, its students and staff and the local community. As we have done on our previous projects with the college, most recently at the Winter Gardens, we will be working closely with local people and our local supply chain to ensure that we maximise the economic benefits of the construction project in the Weston and North Somerset areas.”

Key Challenges

  • The client set an ambitious BREEAM requirement of Excellent. Midas successfully attained this level by commissioning significant ecological surveys at the start of the project; enhanced the local ecology through planting of native trees and shrubs; used an efficient drainage design to manage surface water, and protected local waterways from runoff or contamination; provided permanent, secure bicycle storage; and diverted 100% of waste from landfill. The ecological surveys identified the site as a bat corridor, which the team protected through retention of trees and by directing site and permanent lighting away from the route. The centre has four bat boxes, and the landscaping forms a corridor for wildlife. The building design maximises natural ventilation, including wind catchers, and features a 20.8kW SunGift Solar PV array.
  • To manage works within the live college campus, Midas used a combination of timber hoarding and Heras fencing to secure the site boundary and implemented parking restrictions on Loxton Road, with a bespoke traffic management plan and a vehicle controller to supervise deliveries and access. At the start of the project, Midas issued a letter to the local neighbours advising them of the planned works, expected duration and providing contact details for feedback. The team issued regular updates with 24-hour contact information and notice in advance of potentially disruptive works. To reduce disturbance to the college and neighbours, Midas established a dedicated and screened cutting zone, kept construction noise below background noise levels at the nearest noise sensitivities and appointed a suitably qualified acoustician to carry out a noise impact testing.
  • Midas came onto this project at RIBA Stage 1, appointing our own design team with Smith Consult Limited novated to the M&E subcontractor. The Health and Active Living Centre and the Construction Training Centre projects were initially over the client’s budget. At RIBA Stage 3, Midas completed an extensive and effective best value review with the clients, providing design and material amendments to make the projects financially viable. Midas conducted stakeholder engagement exercises, working with the college and modular manufacturers to conduct a best value review of external finishes, delivering a cost-effective solution without compromising the quality of the finish. Midas also completed a total redesign of both the Health and Active Living Centre and the Construction Training Centre to ensure the architectural plans met the site requirements. The team designed out any challenges in the planning stages, including a piled foundation solution with piles at a maximum depth of between 5m and 11m to manage the granite layer below the topsoil.

Project Takeaways

Our Successes
  • Working with the client’s design team and Sport England, Midas ensured the new centre facilitated the best possible ‘Community Use’ of its amenities – as defined by Sport England – when not in use by the college. By changing the building’s internal layout and configuration, Midas delivered the project to a Sport England Community Use Agreement and increased the extent of community use areas of the Centre. Midas designed the facility in compliance with Sport England Design, Specification and Construction Guidance.
  • The building is in proximity to an environmentally sensitive area to the north and adjacent to a high-risk watercourse area. Midas liaised with the North Somerset Levels Internal Drainage Board (NSLIDB) to manage the risk of works in proximity to rhynes (drainage ditches used as local flood management systems). The team secured a licence from the NSLIDB to work within nine metres of rhynes, ensuring they remained clear throughout the works. Midas identified drain routes and risk potential as part of site inductions, and managed surface water through an efficient drainage design. The site used silt busters to filter all water sent off site.
  • The Midas team installed an observation board at the site welfare area with a progress board highlighting defect-free areas and providing example posters confirming quality requirements and correct finishes. The client scored the project 9/10 for quality for workmanship in the satisfaction survey at practical completion, with an overall score of 92%.
  • To achieve BREEAM Excellent and provide an improved whole life value for the centre, Midas installed enhanced cladding, insulation and insulated render. The composite cladding panel insulation on the external walls has an approved environmental profile with a BRE Ecopoints score of 0.497; the acoustic stud insulation achieve summary ratings of A+; and the cavity wall insulation achieves a Green Guide Rating of A+. The completed building has an air tightness (m³/(h.m²) at 50Pa) rating of 5.00, against the maximum of 15.00, with an Air Leakage Rate less than 5m³/hr/m².
Our Learnings
  • Restrictions on the client’s funding meant the team had to complete project works and spend allocated monies by the end of their financial year (01 April 2019). Weston College could not set a contract end date beyond this point, putting pressure on the programme; however, during contract negotiations with Midas, the client agreed a three-week extension of time to allow completion of the works. Midas led collective subcontractor coordination meetings, worked to short-term programmes to hit deadlines, maintained regular communication with suppliers, subcontractors and the client, and effectively selected subcontractors to ensure a suitable team that delivered on time. Adaptations included the use of a mechanically fixed single ply membrane waterproofing system on the roof. This incorporates a PVC pad fixing system that secures the membrane and insulation with the same fixing, reducing the site installation programme and providing water tightness at an early stage in the construction programme. The team also completed works such as coating the floors with latex over weekends, to minimise disruption to other trades. This enabled Midas to finish three weeks ahead of the anticipated completion date
Added Value
  • Midas delivered £230,500 (3.4%) of added value and best practice savings at Gateway 4. Savings included: £116k of design review and rationalisation savings; using specialist contractor advice to make an acoustic design change to the hall, saving £25k; and increasing the Structural Steel Framing System (SFS), including changing the precast concrete staircase to steel, limiting the required amount of brick- and blockwork to save £55k.
  • The site employed 60% local labour; with 93.1% of total firms on site being small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Midas used local resources wherever possible with 71.4% of the SMEs based within 30 miles of the site.
  • The project team collaborated with the team at the Construction Skills Centre site to deliver a combined Employment and Skills Plan. The sites supported eight work experience placements; created 13 jobs with the National Skills Academy for Construction, including six apprentices; supported 11 Construction Careers Information, Advice & Guidance events; delivered 218.9 training weeks on site; delivered four training plans for subcontractors; and supported the achievement of 85 NVQs and industry certifications. Representatives from the project attended the North Somerset Careers Convention and the Weston-super-Mare Careers Convention. The project had five site visits from students of Weston College, with almost 100 students visiting in total, plus a site visit from students with the Positive Steps project. The site directly employed a management apprentice.
  • Midas liaised with a local church, collected food on site to donate to their food bank. The team also contacted a local financial institution, who agreed to offer free financial aid to the community, with Midas welfare offices available for this use. The team donated unwanted wooden pallets to neighbours for their wood burning stoves.

KPI’s & Statistics

ContractGateway 2 Planning Gateway 3 Contract Agreement Variation
Cost£6,918,904£6,780,718-£138,186
(-2%)
Time46.4 weeks46.4 weeks0 weeks
(0%)

KPI Graphs

Apprentices 7
Average AIR 0
Average CCS score 40
Waste diverted from landfill 100%
Cost/m2 £2,352m²
Cost/m2 excl abnormals £1,799m²

Torbay Hospital – Devon

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Critical Care Unit, Torbay Hospital – New Build

Torquay, Devon


Project Details



Client
South Devon Healthcare
NHS Foundation Trust

Project Manager
South Devon Healthcare
NHS Foundation Trust

Architect
Avanti

Contractor
Interserve

Value
£9.1m

Contract Period
90 weeks

Procurement Type
Design & Construct

Form of Contract
NEC (Option A)
with activity schedules

Size
2625m2

Local SME’s employed
60% within 30 miles
20% within 60 miles
20% over 60 miles

Project Brief

This major investment project for the hospital delivered a 14-bed Critical Care Unit that has all the associated technology and equipment required to provide a modern, patient focused environment. A dedicated facility for relatives recognises the emotional effect on families and friends that can occur when loved ones are in hospital. This is transforming the delivery of care for patients, visitors and staff.

A warm and inviting new main entrance was built with pleasant waiting and café areas, a shop and additional public amenities. A new health and wellbeing zone offers the opportunity for advice, support and carer liaison services.

The project was delivered on a very busy hospital site and adjacent to the Accident and Emergency department. The building has been designed and constructed with the future capability of extending upwards to provide an additional two ward floors.



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“Teamwork has been the essence of our project, we’ve worked together on creative problem solving, value engineering, involving the clinicians, the clinicians have all had the phone numbers of the Interserve team so have been able to ring them any time. The organisation could not be more pleased with the outcome, we’ve got a fantastic building, high quality, a fantastic outcome for the patients and it was delivered on time and within budget.”

Community Engagement

Key Challenges

We relocated the main entrance of the hospital to Level 2 (instead of Level 4) temporarily whilst the works were carried out, this included redirection of traffic whilst ensuring the ambulance route remained free at all times.

All works were carried out in strict coordination with the Trust’s Estates department, and included consultation with stakeholders to implement logistics planning and out-of-hours working. Liaison with ward matrons to agree mitigation measures, i.e. infection prevention procedures, took place prior to works being undertaken. The welfare and absolute minimisation of disturbance to patients, visitors and hospital staff was of paramount importance throughout the contract programme.

Project Takeaways

Our Success

  • Open and honest collaborative team approach played a large part in the success of this project.
  • The access road passing the compound and to the main work site is an emergency blue route and therefore could not be obstructed at any time. The hospital complex is exceedingly busy and access roads are very narrow. Both of these points were always highlighted in orders placed with subcontractors, again repeated via phone calls to the subcontractors and through site inductions. A traffic management plan was circulated to suppliers, timed deliveries were put in place, non-critical materials were delivered to compound, a lay by for lorry waiting was put in place, we had banksman supervision and there was no parking on the road with contractor parking in the compound only.

Our Learnings

  • A more robust solution in terms of floor screeds could have improved the building.

Value Added

  • The Framework processes put in place enabled a quality on time delivery.
  • £9.1 million facility

KPI’s & Statistics

ContractGateway 3 Contract FormationGateway 4 Final AccountVariation
Cost£8,813,488£9,912,651 £1m – change in glazed screens with integral blinds
Time3/2/1724/2/173 weeks due to a large void being found during enabling works.

Average CCS Score: 41
Cost per sqm: £3445

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