Loddiswell Primary School

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Loddiswell Primary School

Loddiswell, Devon

Project Details

Client
Devon County Council

Project Manager
NPS South West Limited

Architect
NPS South West Limited

Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd

Value £2.4m

Contract Period
37 weeks

Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage

Form of Contract
NEC3 Option A

Size 890m²

Apprentices
3

Project summary

Situated in rural village surroundings, Loddiswell Primary School provides a welcoming and inclusive learning environment. The school is a 150-place, one form-entry single storey building with capacity to expand as the school grows. The school provides four classrooms, complete with interactive whiteboards and modern ICT equipment, a library, school hall and extensive outside space including a multi-use games area and playgrounds.

The building is timber frame with Structural Insulated Panels with a sectional roof, supported by glulam beams. The finished building features a 14kw PV array, larch weatherboarding and rubble stone walling, with an access road and car parking.Externally, Midas completed landscaping works and created a swale planted with wetland wildflowers as part of the Sustainable Urban Drainage Strategy, to help manage drainage, prevent flooding or run off, increase biodiversity and provide a source of natural interest for the pupils.The project scored 88% in the customer satisfaction survey at practical completion and received a CCS 2019 Bronze National Site Award.

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“Our aim is to provide the best possible learning environment for all of the children in a caring supportive atmosphere.”

Community Engagement

Career Opportunities

  • Three apprenticeships provided through the project

Key Challenges

To address the power supply Midas installed air-source heat pumps, with a 14kw PV array on the roof. The building includes wind-catchers to increase natural ventilation, designed through the Building Physics strategy to meet requirements for natural ventilation, solar shading and natural daylight.

Midas implemented Structural Insulated Panel (SIPS) construction. This off site construction method is then fitted at the premises, enabling the team to make the building watertight sooner and resulting in a positive impact on the programme whilst also reducing waste, noise, dust and air pollution on site.

To manage the constrained access Midas restricted delivery vehicle size and scheduled deliveries to avoid rush hour and early mornings, directing site traffic to circumvent the village, and closely managed vehicle movements and timing to avoid disruption. The team reduced site movements by completing a cut and fill exercise, retaining 1,100m³ of excavated materials for the sports pitch and landscaping. The site team monitored the cleanliness of the access road, preempting the need for a road sweeper where necessary, and formed a tarmac car park within the site at the start of the project. Contractors used on-site parking to keep the residential roads clear and the vehicle controller monitored contractor parking to mitigate disturbance to the neighbours.

Project Takeaways

Our Success

  • The client requested several changes near the end of the project. Midas collaborated with them, the consultants and representatives from the school to adjust the programme to accommodate these works and still complete on the agreed date. Midas liaised frequently with these stakeholders to maintain a positive working relationship and accommodate the client’s requests.
  • The site team undertook extensive pre-start planning and consultation with NPS South West and the design team. The clients required the project to receive planning permission prior to them completing purchase of the land; Midas liaised with stakeholders at the preconstruction stage to collaboratively support the planning, in line with the philosophy of the SCF Framework, developing the design to maximise efficiency within the budget through an integrated team. Midas developed the cost plan and risk register with the client team to ensure a collaborative approach.
  • Midas invited representatives from the school to attend regular site meetings, keeping them informed on the progress of works. The team completed a sample room early in the programme, to use as a quality standard for subcontractors, to allow the client and end users to view the planned final standard and décor of the rooms

Our Learnings

  • The site experienced severe inclement weather during the winter and spring of 2017/18. To accommodate this, Midas liaised with the client and the school as a team to agree a solution. Midas completed works to the sports pitch, play area and gazebo at the end of the project during the school summer holidays, an adjustment that suited the school and enabled works to progress whilst mitigating the impact of the weather on the programme.

Value Added

  • Midas delivered over £90k (3.7%) of savings to the client by project completion Gateway 4, with a combination of best practice and added value reviews including: saving £15k through programme mitigation; and saving £56k through early contribution to the risk register and managing potential issues.
  • The project worked to the Employment Skills Plan, providing seven work placements for persons aged 16 or over; supported seven curriculum activities; advertised four jobs through local employment vehicles; supported three NVQ starters through subcontractors; completed seven training plans for subcontractors and supervisor training for one subcontractor; and provided advanced health and safety training for 21 subcontractors. The site provided four of the work experience placements through the ‘Step In Step Up’ careers campaign and subsequently made an offer of employment, with the candidate accepting a job with the site team.
  • The site employed 100% SMEs, with 61% of firms based within 30 miles of the project

KPI’s & Statistics

ContractGateway 2 Planning Gateway 3 Contract Agreement Variation
Cost£2,238,653£2,420,067-£40,300 (8.1%)
Time37 weeks37 weeks0 weeks

KPI Graphs

Apprentices 3
Average AIR 0
Average CCS score 41
Waste diverted from landfill 41%
Cost/m2 £2,793m²
Cost/m2 excl abnormals £1,948m²
Cost/m2 Industry average £ m

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