Thorn Turn Highways Depot
Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire
Project Details
Client
Central Bedfordshire Council
Project Manager
Central Bedfordshire Council
Architect
Atkins
Contractor
Morgan Sindall
Value
£18.7million
Contract Period
71 weeks
Procurement Type
Traditional
Form of Contract
JCT 2011 SFC / CDP
Size
2,795 square meters
Apprentices Employed
Two
Project Brief
The project consisted of the construction of a highways and waste disposal depot to service the maintenance requirements across the council’s highways whilst relieving pressure on the existing household waste and recycling centre (HWRC) nearby.
A new modular office was built to accommodate approx. 100 highways staff, a large tension fabric salt barn, a Highways Maintenance Dry store warehouse which enables the ongoing maintenance of fleet vehicles, whilst providing a suitable storage area for high value materials. The building was also fitted out with a small office provision for up to 10 staff. A refuelling area was also provided on the site.
“I am delighted that this ambitious project continues to progress so positively. We went through a highly competitive exercise to appoint them [Morgan Sindall] and were impressed with their ambitious vision for the new highways depot and household waste recycling centre.”
Community Engagement
Careers
- Two apprentices employed through the project
Key Challenges
The initial cost plan from the client was below the proposed project value aspiratise therefore causing issues to the Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC).
- At Gateway 2, we presented a very open and honest cost plan to give CBC sight of the initial deficiencies. We then worked closely with CBC on an extensive Value Engineering exercise, resulting in all four main buildings being taken on as CDP’s. By doing so, we were able to deliver the project in line with the Employers Requirements whilst offering considerable savings on the initial design. The VE exercise resulted in a saving of nearly £2m.
Commencing works on site in time to avoid the bird nesting season (March to September), despite the budgetary issues.
- We provided accurate forecast figures for the main contract sum, which gave CBC confidence to issue a notice to commence for £3m to undertake initial earthworks ahead of bird nesting season – without this, the project start date would have slipped by six months.
Liaison with Ringway Jacobs for the S278 highways works and the various interfaces between the two project.
- Early engagement and involvement with CBC and Ringway Jacobs throughout the design phase of the S278 works enabled the programmes to run concurrently without causing delay to the programme.
Project Takeaways
Our Success
- Employment and skills plan targets were exceeded
- Full team collaboration from appointment to completion
- Early and continued engagement with CBC fostering a good relationship with the client
Our Learnings
- Interpretation of the end user requirements has meant that some areas of the site are not being utilised to their full extent, e.g. the vehicle wash bays and the vehicle maintenance store.
- The project would have benefited from buildability input from Morgan Sindall during the design stage.
Value Added
KPI’s & Statistics
| Contract | Gateway 2 Planning | Gateway 3 Contract Agreement | Gateway 4 Completion |
| Cost | £24,284,755 | £16,952,854 | £18,714,980 |
| Time | 63 weeks | 63 weeks | 71 weeks |
| Value Engineering | Saving |
|---|---|
| Change construction of Salt Barn | £300,000 |
| Use alternative supply chain partner for Highways Depot | £500,000 |
| Change construction of Maintenance Shed | £450,000 |
Apprentices: 2
Average AIR: 0
Average CCS score: 46 (out of 50)
Waste diverted from landfill: 99.95%
Contact: Tom Martin, MS Project Manager
Email: Thomas.Martin@morgansindall.com
