BC&DS 2 (OTX)

BC&DSBUILDING CONTROL & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES / MAGAZINEwww.bcanddsmagazine.co.uk SPRING 2012

Building

Control&

Develop

mentServices

Mag

azineSp

ring2012

Interview:GrahamWatts OBE

Retrofit:Here’s thescience bit

Project profile:UAL campus,Kings Cross

www.bcanddsmagazine.co.uk / 1

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CONTENTS

9NNAATTIIOONNAALL NNEEWWSS7-11 BR Minsiter Stunell welcomesnew BCA research, a Heritage Skillstraining course north of the border, a3D toolkit launch, the BSI’s new greenstandard and much more

FFEEAATTUURREESS4 Interview: Graham Watts OBEThe Chief Executive of the ConstructionIndustry Council on how construction isrun; carbon reduction and the economy

12 SustainabilityThe Dog Trust’s new centre is one of onlysix projects in the world to achieve an‘Outstanding’ certification across allBREEAM categories

17 Part M: Making access complyTerry Warren of the National Register ofAccess Consultants explains his role

21 Fire PreventionIn the concluding part of our series NiallRowan, Technical Officer of the

Association for Specialist FireProtection addresses the use ofcellular beams

23 Part L: Renewables in Education

Paul Wilkins of Butler & Youngoutlines his environmental criteria

27 Part H: DrainageSenior civil engineer Ryan Lundy talked toBC&DS to help provide us with an insightinto the operation of a new SUDS scheme

31 Part E: Acoustics Highlighting the benefits of usingaccredited/registered testers

35 CDM RegulationsBy Jane White of the Institution ofOccupational Safety and Health (IOSH)

37 Green Deal/Retrofit Articles from Erik Bichard, Professor ofRegeneration and Sustainable Developmentat Salford University’s School of the BuiltEnvironment and Alan Yates of theSustainable Housing Action Partnership

41 Part P: Plugging into safetyBy Phil Buckle, Director General of theElectrical Safety Council

43 Part N/Glazing Giles Willson on impact variation

12

352 / www.bcanddsmagazine.co.uk

Every care has been taken in compiling this publication and the statements it contains, however, neither the promoter involved, nor the publisher, can accept responsibility for any errors orinaccuracies contained within, or for the products or services advertised. Published by BC&DS. March 2012. All rights reserved. No part of BC&DS may be reproduced by any means ortranslated into a machine language without the written permission of the copyright holder. (OTX)

Editor: Alex GriffithsTel: 0161 838 2596 Fax: 0161 832 [email protected]

Research: Alison SeabornTel: 01625 667632 Fax: 01625 [email protected]

Sales: Glyn JacksonTel: 01625 667700 Fax: 01625 [email protected]

45 South East

University of the Arts London, StMartins Central Kings Cross NC1The transformation of 67 acres ofderelict land to a seat of learning

Priestman Point, Bow, east LondonThe first phase of a plan to provide 385new homes and 295 refurbished homesby 2014

73 South West

Bristol and Bath Science Park, BristolSustainability is at the heart of thedesign, construction and operatingprinciples of the new Bristol & BathScience Park

81 Midlands

Escabeche restaurant, West BridgfordWhere the Mediterranean meetsNottinghamshire’s River Trent

92 North

Willowbank, ManchesterAn eco-Victorian villa valued at £1m

The Rock Triangle, BuryThe inside story from Bury BC

107 Wales

Plas Newydd Country House and Gardens makeover

Helping this corner of Anglesey ingetting fixed up to sustainable speed

45RREEGGIIOONNAALL CCAASSEE SSTTUUDDIIEESS

CONTACTS

93

73



Sign of the timesGraham Watts OBE, Chief Executive of the ConstructionIndustry Council, talks to Anthony Woodburn about the bigthree challenges for the construction sector: how it’s run,reducing carbon and the economy

Interview

Graham Watts was appointed ChiefExecutive of CIC in October 1991.Representing the interests of more

than 300 different niche groups andorganisations has been a difficult job atthe best of times, he said: “It is a difficultindustry in which to create unity because itis so heavily fragmented. I have beeninvolved in the industry since the late1970s, and I suspect that today, in 2012,it’s even more fragmented because of therise of different specialisms, technologies,and products.“And it’s even more difficult to define.

We regard the industry as a cyclicalindustry rather than a linear process; it’snot just from planning and design of abuilding to completion, it’s actually theongoing life of that project. If we take thatbreadth of definition then it’s an absolutelyhuge industry, bigger than anybody givesit credit for. “Gaining some recognition for the

importance of the built environment andmaintaining an effective built environmentwhile getting the industry to somehow be

the sum of its parts, with each of the partslooking to be an individual entity, hasprobably been CIC’s biggest achievementto date.”

AT THE SHARP END One of the biggest challenges facing the

construction industry today is changingthe way the industry operates, continuedGraham: “At the one end you have gothighly sophisticated companies workingacross all sectors… and then yougradually drift through the layers and rightat the other extreme you have got thecowboy builders who don’t even have anaddress. “The trick is to eradicate the rogue

traders, and that is obviously a massiveissue, and get the ‘bona fide’ part of theindustry, that pays its taxes, employs itspeople properly, pays its bills, has properlyqualified people, all up to speed to delivertomorrow’s construction projects in the bestpossible way. There is no doubt in my mindthat that is through a better arrangement in

terms of the exchange of information andBIM is at the sharp end of that.” He explained: “All the case studies that I

have seen show me that there is amassive amount of savings in terms oftime and cost without impinging on thequality of the output in terms of theconstructed facility by implementing evenLevel 2 BIM.”Graham concedes the Government’s

decision to procure all construction workthrough BIM for projects over £5 million by2016 is a big ask: “First of all you have tomake sure that all the people that procureconstruction work in the public sector,that’s several thousand people, are up tospeed in terms of the expertise they needto have the capability to procure throughBIM. On the other side, you have got tomake sure the industry has got the skills todeliver. “Although 2016 is fours years away, it’s

still a huge job but I am quite confidentthat it will happen because I think themarket is very resilient in these ways. Theexpertise is there and it will have to absorbit, otherwise the work will be left to thosecompanies who do have the capability.”Graham also acknowledges BIM

concerns within the supply chain. “Theconstruction industry has, and probablyalways will have, a long supply chain ofspecialists that have to be involved, butwhat they have been seeking for a verylong time in terms of fair payment, greaterintegration, greater involvement at anearlier stage in the project are all axiomatic

All projects over £5 million must be procured through BIM by 2016


Interview

with BIM, so there is so much to be gainedby these companies further down thesupply chain, so they should see it as anopportunity and not a threat.”

GREEN DEALCarbon reduction remains a big issue

for the industry and one the Government’sflagship initiatives, the Green Deal, hasbeen dogged with controversysurrounding the timetable for itsimplementation in the Autumn. Wattsremains cautious on the timetable,suggesting it’s now become something ofa poisoned chalice for the Government:“It’s very difficult because there’s alwaysgoing to be problems introducingsomething like Green Deal; and becauseit is such a massive undertaking, the mainthrust of the work to date has focused onmaking sure that financial packages arein place.“My concern is the need for the

industry to have the capability to deliverand is accredited to do so as quickly aspossible. The amount of time to do that isless than is needed to meet thesecondary legislation in May. But, as withBIM, the market is highly resilient and Ithink that, in these times, if there is anopportunity, the good firms will make surethat they are in position to do it becausethey need that income stream. “While I do not believe there is going to

be a capability issue within the industry,getting the technical detail of thelegislation right is a major issue… Themost important thing is making sure it’s

the genuine parts of the industry isgetting the work and not the roguetraders because that would be somethingthat would kill the Green Deal off veryquickly.” A good example of how capable and

resilient the construction industry can beis the Olympic Park and the legacy it hascreated, continued Graham: “For me thegold medals in this Olympics havealready been won for procurement in itsconstruction, in terms of delivering ontime and on budget – fantastic projects,delivered with the health and safety of theconstruction team as paramount.“However, the biggest legacy of all will

be the Olympic Park itself because of theincredible regeneration that has takenplace there. If you visited before 2005 youwould have seen a derelict, contaminatedeyesore that was a blot on the landscapeof London.” He added: “The actual business of

hosting the Olympics is only a minisculepart of it. The Olympics will come and gobut all these changes, both to theprocess of how we procured the Park andthe buildings, and the actual landscapeitself, will be utilised for years to come.

A NEW AGEAs for the future of the industry itself,

Graham believes that while the sector hasexperienced recession over the pastcouple of years, it is now steering throughunknown territory, a new era. “The levelof work in 2012 is the level we sawgrowth in 2007, so there is still billions of

pounds worth of work in the industry, butwhat is most interesting, compared to thelast major recession 18-19 years ago, isthat back then it was very much thewhole industry went off the edge of a cliffand there was very little work being wonanywhere, in any sector. “The issue now is that we have a very

patchy situation both regionally and bysector. If you work in certain sectors likerail for example, there is growth. But ifyou work in other sectors particularlythose sectors that rely on public sectormoney, and I suppose schools isprobably the most obvious area, wherethere has been huge reduction in funding,it’s very difficult at the moment.”

Regional disparities are also verysignificant in this recession, said Graham:“What we are finding is those companiesout there who are diversifying are actuallysurviving this recession pretty well.London and the South East is a bubble inthat there is as much work around todayas there was two years ago. It’s only inplaces such as Northern Ireland andNorth East, where things are very, verybad, so it’s an incredibly patchy scenario.I don’t think we have ever seen anythingquite like this before in terms of differentsectors behaving in different ways.”Graham’s message for the industry is

simple: diversify to survive. “If you put allyour eggs in the one basket there is adanger that suddenly one day that basketmay not be there,” he warned.“Companies have to manage themselvesthrough the recession and a lot ofcompanies just can’t seem to do that.”

The Olympic Park and surrounding landscape, which will be utilised for years to come

The romance of the beach house isundeniable, but even the mostbeautifully constructed designs,

such as those by Lissett Homes for aseaside leisure park must withstand theharsh realities of a coastal climate... andmake use of the most advanced AVCL andmembrane systems. In today’s culturalclimate of sustainability, qualityconstruction from residential housing(whether private or social) to commercialand public sector, must aim for bothoptimal energy efficiency and indoorcomfort, using reliable products withproven performance. The new holiday homes at The Warren

in Abersoch, operated by the HaulfrynGroup, benefit from an air-tight, thermallyefficient, weather-proof envelope courtesyof high-performance membranes fromDuPont Building Innovations. In fact, thesuperior specifications for these ultra-desirable chalets exceed the regulationsfor holiday home construction, aiming forthe highest standards of sustainability,reliability and comfort. The ‘holistic’ overview was for the

building envelope to work in harmony withfeatures such as a heat recovery systemand this involved the optimisingcombination of DuPont™ Tyvek® breathermembranes (in two different types) andDuPont™ AirGuard® air and vapourcontrol layer to create a durable barrieragainst wind, water and interstitialcondensation. The lightweight timberframe structures were assembled andsealed off site and delivered to Haulfrynready for smart interior finishing andexternal landscaping.

DUPONT™ AIRGUARD®

REFLECTIVE AVCL FITTED OFF-SITE BY LISSETT HOMES DuPont™ Tyvek® Enercor® Roof and

DuPont™ Tyvek® Reflex (both metallisedfor high reflectivity and very low emissivity)offer excellent protection against radiantheat loss in winter and excessive gains insummer, and are reliably water-tight whileallowing any trapped interstitial vapour todiffuse through the unique membranestructure. In partnership with DuPont™AirGuard® Reflective, a metallised layerwith even lower emissivity which preventsair and vapour leakage from the interiorinto the structure, these productssignificantly enhance the integrity and

thermal performance of a building. Andy Prescott, Head of Operations at

Lissett Homes, comments, “Using thisadvanced combination of membraneswithin the construction for this type ofbuild is a first and will create a lodge thatoutperforms most new build houses, whilecreating a stylish, efficient, low-carbonbuilding with all the luxuries one wouldexpect at such a prestigious site as TheWarren.”While most of this technology will be out

of sight for relaxing holiday-makers, theirbenefits, not just in terms of greaterenjoyment of the property, but also forlong term economy and sustainability, willplay a significant contribution to thiscoastal leisure park development.


Specialist Services

Weathering the coastAdvanced membranes from DuPont offer a holistic solution to air-tightnessand moisture control for these new Welsh holiday homes from the HaulfrynGroup

A metallised layer prevents air andvapour leakage into the structure

Holiday lodges newly built by Lissett Homes at The Warren in Abersoch, WalesAll photography courtesy of Lissett Homes. All rights reserved

The end result is a stylish, efficient,low carbon building

After the presentation BuildingRegulations Minister Andrew Stunellsaid: “I very much welcome the

Building Control industry coming together torise to the challenge and undertake thesetwo timely and important pieces of work.The reports and their findings will informdiscussions as we look to shape theBuilding Regulations and Building Controlsystem for 2013 and beyond.”Both research surveys are linked. The first

records the extent of complianceinstructions issued by building controlsurveyors and the second measurescustomer opinion.The levels of compliance activity

undertaken by both public and privatesector building control surveyors are higherthan previously estimated. The BCA surveyran for a whole working month and involving248 (67%) of all Building Control bodies. Itestablished that, on an annual basis, justunder 5 million instructions would be issuedto change designs or construction toachieve compliance. Looking at the monthly totals by ‘Part’ of

the Building Regulations is revealing. Claimsby lobby groups that Building Controlsurveyors only enforce life threateningcontraventions are not true. Part L is thethird highest source of interventions and isclose to the level of activity on fire andstructure. In fact, there is a very gooddistribution of compliance actions across allareas including Part E covering acoustics,Part P electrical work and Part N glazing, where alternative complianceroutes should have minimised interventions.Disappointingly, Part M, covering Access, isstill an area creating relatively high levels ofcompliance interventions despite continuing

publicity and campaigns by disabled groupsand charities. The compliance research alsolooked at the importance of theseinterventions and established that over two-thirds would cause serious, immediate orlong-term problems if left unchanged.The second survey, undertaken by

Lychgate Projects, measured customeropinions of Building Control. It used a largerepresentative sample across all users ofBuilding Control, from small specialistcontractors to national PLCs, and local planarchitects to top 100 firms.

Part Total InterventionsA Structure 55,538B Fire 54,736L Energy 38,899H Drainage 23,796C Moisture 22,845M Access 14,863F Ventilation 14,809K Falls 11,184P Electrics 9,754E Sound 8,791J Flues 7,736G Hygiene 5,991N Glazing 4,801D Toxics 592

There was extensive feedback from thisstudy in a number of areas. It coveredbusiness customers’ opinions of theBuilding Regulations and the BuildingControl system. It asked their opinion onalternatives. It measured, in detail, theirexperience of service from Building ControlBodies – local authorities and AIs. It alsoestablished what customers want and howexisting service matches these needs.The results were extraordinarily positive in

support of the existing system with 92%believing they benefited most from anindependent third party service. Almost halfof those responding had no issues with thecurrent system. Even when asked whethertheir own company would be better off withself-certification, 80% said “no” and thatthey preferred external inspection. On thispoint 94% felt that the end-customer wasreassured by external Building Controlinvolvement and 70% felt that anindependent check reduced risk byproviding expert peer review. Perhaps thebiggest surprise in the study was thepositive experience of Building Controlservice levels. Despite the fact that 4:10found the process “challenging”, businesscustomers still rated the service delivered to

be more than satisfactory. In fact, comparedwith surveys of other service providers in thebuilding industry, Building Control is in thetop quartile of service satisfaction. The maindiscussion points concerned short-termresponsiveness and the need for consistentadvice between surveyors and bodies. Allfindings go to BCPSAG (Building ControlPerformance Standards Advisory Groupestablished by DCLG) and will be added tonew surveys on Building ControlPerformance Indicators issued in May 2012.This is intended to broaden and deepen themonitoring of the service and its outcomesfor all users.Nigel Barr, commentating on behalf of

ACAI, said: “Building Control attracts a lot ofcomments from people not directly involvedor who represent interest groups. If youlistened to all the criticism we attract, youmight think the service was in chaos andonly focused on life threatening issues. Thepleasing thing about these surveys is thatthey categorically refute this view.”Paul Everall, commenting on behalf of

LABC, said: “Surveyors working in BuildingControl have adapted to the needs oftoday’s industry and have taken on board ahuge amount of regulatory changes and alsoseen extensive innovations in the methodsand products used in the industry. No oneshould be complacent, but at least our realcustomers appreciate our role even thoughwe often have to point out to them thechanges that must be made.”

For full findings in PDF format:www.labc.uk.com/LABC.News/News/Detail?id=2140


Bullseye for BCA researchBuilding Regulations Minister Andrew Stunell has welcomed the findings presented to himby the Building Control Alliance after new research into Building Control activity in Englandand Wales revealed positive feedback for both the role and the work of Local AuthorityBuilding Control and Association of Consult Approved Inspectors (ACAI) members

News

Building Regulations MinisterAndrew stunell

Paul Everall CBE of LABC


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Edinburgh’s Telford College has beenworking in partnership with CitadelYouth Centre, Edinburgh World

Heritage, Historic Scotland and City ofEdinburgh Council to help deliver aHeritage Skills training course aimed at S4pupils.Pupils from Drummond High School

were lucky enough to be among the first toparticipate and complete the uniqueHeritage Skills training course which sawthem learn skills in plastering, marbling,joinery and stonemasonry.After the seven week course ended, the

pupils received certificates for completingthe course in a special event held in the

City Chambers. Miles Dibsdall OBE,principal of Edinburgh’s Telford Collegesaid: “We were honoured to be able toassist in delivering these unique coursesto the pupils of Drummond High School.We feel it is a real positive step in securingthe future of heritage buildings inScotland. “It is extremely important to help

educate the young people of Scotlandabout their heritage. We are delighted tobe involved in teaching skills which will inturn help keep our historic buildings alive.”The event also marked the start of other

traditional skills being run by the collegebetween January and March of this yearfor young people not in employment,education or training.Dibsdall added: “With the job market

being in the worst state it’s been for yearsand the percentage of people out of workat an all time low, we feel it is so importantto try and help young people get involvedin courses such as our traditional skills. Itgives them a real purpose in life and helpsencourage more people into the sector.”Edinburgh’s Telford College, provides a

wide range of career related programmesto help learners progress into work orUniversity education. Currently the collegehas around 17,000 students and 600members of staff.

http://www.ed-coll.ac.uk/


Skills in heritageOne of Scotland’s largest colleges has helped to deliver aunique training course to school pupils, showing how they canpreserve the future of Scotland’s heritage buildings

News

SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTEThe Leeds Sustainability Institute waslaunched in March to address thechallenges of creating more sustainableplaces, communities and economies. Seewww.leedsmet.ac.uk/research/leeds-sustainability-institute.htm

DESIGNED FOR LIFEInterserve, the international supportservices and construction group, hasbeen appointed as a Supply Chain Partneron all three of the Welsh Government’s‘Designed for Life: Building for Wales 2’Regional Frameworks. These frameworkscover NHS building projects in Wales withconstruction values of between £4 millionand £10m, and are procured andmanaged by NHS Wales Shared ServicesPartnership-Facilities Services (formerlyWelsh Health Estates).

CENTRE FOR SKILLSWilmott Dixon will open a training anddevelopment facility in Birmingham inJuly. The Willmott Dixon ‘Centre for Skills’aims to provide training in a number ofareas for up to 2,000 people per year, withcourses ranging from one-dayprogrammes to four-year apprenticeships.

NEW TOWNThe biggest New Town proposed sinceMilton Keynes moved a step closer whenNorthstowe, the major new town plannedfor the north west of Cambridge, saw itsplanning application submitted inFebruary for a first phase of 1,500 newhomes and related facilities.

Bricks ’n’ bobs

The product was developed byarchitecture and offers a series ofscenarios, including the layout of

communal spaces, use of lighting, maildelivery and landscape planting. Eachhighlights the design decisions that wouldincrease the risk of crime and anti-socialbehaviour. An alternative is provided for every

example, detailing the relevant standardsrecommended by Secured by Design andthe Police services.The requirements and recommendations

within the toolkit are based upon verified

research and have been proven to achievea reduction in crime risk of up to 60%. Richard Childs, Managing Director of

Secured by Design, says: “This is anintuitive new way to showcase simplesolutions to help design-out crime. We’revery proud of it, and thank HampshirePolice for their involvement”. Simon Bottom, Crime Prevention Design

Adviser for Hampshire Police, says: “Thestrength of this tool is its ability to presentthese examples in a format in keeping withthe industry. Also, by hosting it online it isalways accessible. It should become a key

resource for professionals.”Stephen Lampard, Director of Re-

Format, says: “As a studio of architectsand graphic designers we were in a uniqueposition to create the Secured by Designtoolkit to be something that architects andurban designers will relate to well.” The toolkit complements the Secured by

Design ‘New Homes' guide(http://www.securedbydesign.com/professionals/guides.aspx), which should bereferred to for additional information.

www.securedbydesign.com/toolkit

3D toolkit launchA toolkit which is free to use on the Secured By Designwebsite allows professionals to explore the principles ofdesigning-out crime within a 3D CAD-style housing plan

Candidates at work on surface repair


Specialist Services


News

A £2.5m fund has been set up to trainseveral hundred workers how to installsolid wall insulation.The programme is an initiative bytraining board CITB-ConstructionSkills to help the industryprepare for the Green Deal. CITB-ConstructionSkills is adding a grandtotal of £500,000 from its growth fundto a £2m investment from theDepartment of Energy & ClimateChange (DECC.It has also published commonminimum technical competencies –standards of competency that GreenDeal installers will have to meet to beable to retrofit energy efficiencymeasures to domestic propertiesunder the scheme. Seehttp://cutcarbon.info/green_deal_cmtcCITB-ConstructionSkills CEO MarkFarrar said: “These announcementsrepresent a huge leap forwardtowards preparing the constructionindustry for the government’s flagshipefficiency scheme.“Training shortfalls have beenidentified as one of the main barriersto the success of the scheme. Wehave invested funds to tackle trainingshortages and unlock commercialopportunities for SMEs and wewelcome DECC’s commitment toskills and training by doing the samething. Supporting the training are thenew common minimum technicalcompetencies, which form part of therobust accreditation that will ensureGreen Deal installers have therequired level of competency toprotect consumers from shoddyworkmanship.”

WORKERS’FUND FORINSULATION

The Green Deal financial mechanisminvolves identifying opportunities forenergy improvements using qualified

advisors, energy efficient products andapproved installers.Developed by industry and sponsored by

the Department of Energy and ClimateChange (DECC), PAS 2030 – Improving theenergy efficiency of existing buildings–Specification for installation process,process management and service provision –will give property owners confidence in thecompetence of Green Deal installers and thequality of their work. The standard will alsoenable installers to take advantage of themajor commercial opportunity created by thescheme, which is expected to create 65,000jobs and £15 billion worth of businessopportunities.PAS 2030 will provide a framework against

which Green Deal installer services can beassessed and audited and compliance to thestandard will be a requirement for all GreenDeal installers whatever theiraffiliation/background/size. The evolution of PAS 2030 brings together

the views of an expert working groupincluding government, trade associationsfrom the construction, building, energy andmanufacturing sectors, business andconsumers. The document specifiesrequirements for installation methods,equipment, tools, product and materialsuitability, skills and competence of thepeople undertaking such installation. Dr Scott Steedman, Director (Designate) of

Standards at BSI said: “BSI’s Green DealInstallation Standard, PAS 2030 not onlyprovides installers with the ability to

demonstrate their competence but isdesigned to provide assurance for the publicthat the quality of work will be at theappropriate level. We were delighted to haveworked with DECC in delivering the firstGreen Deal standard which will helpencourage adoption of the scheme and thebest possible result for the UK with thisenergy efficiency initiative.”BSI is one of a few pilot organisations

selected by UKAS to trial and offer anaccredited service to installers and advisorsenhancing public trust in the scheme. Thecompany is also one of a number ofcommercial entities promoting greaterunderstanding of the benefits associated withthe Green Deal and take-up of the scheme.

ONLINE HELP FOR INSTALLERSTens of thousands of businesses are being

helped to make the most of the scheme by awebsite, www.greendealmanager.co.uk,which enables general contractors, plumbers,heating engineers, door and windowinstallers, electricians and renewable energyinstallers to comply with a vast array ofrequirements needed to take part in thescheme and become PAS2030 accredited.With installations to be funded by a charge

on energy bills guaranteed by the so-called‘Golden Rule’ – savings on those bills will begreater than the loan repayment – someexperts expect installers to increase turnoverby as much as 20%. Website codeveloper and Eco-Architect

Graham Jack said: “Given the vast number ofinstallers now and in the future, we areexpecting the site to be of huge interest.”

Green StandardBSI has launched a new standard in support of the GreenDeal initiative which will enable households andcommercial properties to improve their energy efficiency,while a new website for installers has also been launched

CITB CEO Mark Farrar

New version of Part MThe DCLG (Department of Communities and Local Government) has released a newversion of Part M of the Building Regulations. It is called: Access to and use ofbuildings: 2004 edition incorporating 2010 amendments.This new edition reflects changes made as a result of the

Building Regulations 2010 and The Building (ApprovedInspectors etc) Regulations 2010. The changes mainly reflectregulation number changes as a result of reordering that hashappened, and ensures that references to secondary andother legislation are up to date.However the new edition has not changed the references to

the Disability Discrimination Act at the front of the document,to reflect the Equality Act 2010.The new version of Part M can be downloaded from theGovernment’s Planning Portal website:

www.planningportal.gov.uk


Canine construction and‘carbon pawprints’Ranked among the best animal welfare centres in the world, the Dog Trust’s new RehomingCentre in Shrewsbury is also one of the most eco-friendly – the £5.25 million developmentis the first building in the world to achieve the highest BREEAM Bespoke rating ofOutstanding and one of only six projects in the world to achieve an Outstandingcertification across all BREEAM categories

Sustainability

The world-beating constructionproject involved the redevelopmentof the existing Rehoming Centre at

Roden, which over the last 41 years hadcared for more than 25,000 rescue dogs ofall shapes and sizes. The new centre, constructed to give

dogs a stress free environment whileawaiting re-homing, was completed in twophases to allow it to remain open andoperational. The first phase, from June toDecember 2010, demolished 16 buildingsand upgraded kennels to temporarilyaccommodate the old centre on the 14acre site, while the new 2,700m2 centre,built in Phase Two, comprised a newreception, intake kennels, training andbehavioural centre as well as newveterinary facilities.Innovative energy saving features have

reduced energy consumption by 70%compared to the original development.Built to Passivhaus principles, the centreutilises bio-fuels grown on site to provideheating while all parts of the building aredesigned to save energy, from the roof andwalls down to floor level and beyond.Paul Wass, Project Surveyor for Dogs

Trust, said: “Our primary aim was todevelop a high quality rehoming centrethat would provide a better environmentand facilities for dogs than had beenavailable. Using BREEAM helps to providegreater comfort for the dogs – andbenefits for our staff and visitors – byencouraging Dogs Trust and our design

team to aspire to greater daylight levelsand improved sound insulation, and thecareful selection of internal finishes.“In addition, we wanted the lowest

possible operational energy consumptionand a reduction in the overall operationalcosts – including those of waterconsumption, maintenance and staffturnover.”Peter Napier & Co, in collaboration with

Inbuilt (now David Strong Consulting, whowere advising Dogs Trust on thesustainability and energy strategy), werekey members of the design team. Napier said: “The construction phase

experienced a similar collaborativeapproach with all parties working hard toensure the success of the project. Creditmust go to the main contractor, McPhilips,and their sub contractors for the approachthat they took in the build because withouttheir combined efforts all the designintentions would have come to nothing.

He explained: “High levels of airtightness for example are particularly hardto achieve without a diligent approachfrom the contractor’s workforce with anunderstanding of what is needed and a willon their part to achieve it. Sound site andhead office management and sitesupervision are key to delivering a

successful project and McPhillips showedno shortage of these.”David Strong of David Strong

Consulting, said: “Dogs Trust ShrewsburyRehoming Centre is an excellent exampleof the benefits of integrative design. Thiswas achieved by the client adopting ahighly collaborative approach based upona detailed architectural brief, with theenergy and sustainability objectives beingclearly defined at the outset . Thedesigner, contractor and all theprofessionals’ advisers worked seamlesslytogether to deliver an exemplary building.The BSRIA Soft Landings Protocol wasalso adopted, with all the key risksassociated with energy performance beingidentified and mitigated from conceptualdesign, through to post-completioninduction and training of staff. Notsurprising then that this exemplar projectcan boast some of the highest greencredentials available. These include:� Rainwater harvesting – supplies waterfor washing down kennels, a major useof water in a rehoming centre, andirrigating the green roof

� Green roof – over the 750m2, mainrehoming corridor, featuring native plantspecies and contributing to thebuilding’s insulation

The building’s green roof features native plant species

A world-beating environment for dogs


Sustainability

� Onsite renewable energy – a 30kW PVinstallation and a 56kW biomass boilercontribute to an extremely low EnergyPerformance Certificate (EPC) rating,supplying energy for the building itselfplus a financial return from both theFeed-in Tariff and Renewable HeatIncentive schemes

� Airtightness – a value of 2.5m3/m2/hr at50Pa has been achieved for the entirebuilding, through careful detailing andattention to joins and penetrationsduring construction

� Acoustic attenuation – additionalacoustic insulation is providedthroughout the site, including acousticceiling tiles, noise bunds and acousticfences, to mitigate dog barking noise

� Energy walk – information boards havebeen installed around the site todemonstrate the key environmentalfeatures, along with a buildingmanagement system (BMS) displayscreen in reception that displays thebuilding’s energy and water use, andthe PV system output.

BUILDING SERVICESThe building’s main heating provider is a

biomass boiler fed by wood pellets,supported by a high efficiency gas boiler.The human occupied areas have wallmounted radiators, and the areas in whichthe dogs sleep have underfloor heating.Windows and roof vents provide

ventilation and cooling, with the roof ventsopening automatically when a certaintemperature or CO2 concentration isreached. The reception area has tempered air for

occupancy in winter, with additional freshair top up on hot summer days when theroof vents cannot sufficiently reduce theoverall temperature.Air conditioning is only provided in the

veterinary suite, for when windows can’tbe opened for operational reasons. Each

kennel is designed to be provided with atleast four air changes an hour. A single extract fan, controlled by the

BMS and linked to the concentration ofCO2 in the air, extracts air from each of thesleeping areas within the Rehoming wing,and other kennels in the building useopenable windows.The building’s heating, cooling and

ventilation strategies are linked to theBMS, preventing dual operation of energyconsuming heating and cooling equipmentwherever possible.

GREEN STRATEGYA key element in the success of the

green strategy was the collaborativeapproach taken by the design team fromthe start, and the team’s willingness toseek solutions to any issues. As part of theSoft Landings approach adopted by all

team members at the start of construction,the team carried out risk reviewworkshops during design andconstruction. These workshops helped tohighlight any potential risks to achievingDogs Trust’s operational targets, andmitigation strategies were developed toensure the risks were avoided.

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT Eco friendliness and sustainability were

also very prominent in the constructionmanagement techniques employedthroughout the construction process.These include:� ISO 14001 audit carried out on site toidentify and mitigate against anysignificant environmental impacts

� An ecologist was appointed early onand all advice followed, including pondprotection, significant construction/siteworks taking place outside of the birdbreeding season and wildflower plantingto the earth mound over the Intakebuilding

� A weekly site visit by architect,contractor and client involving walkinground the site to inspect the progress.This meant any potential snaggingcomplaints or contractor requests forinformation could be addressed soonerrather than later, not leaving them to theend of the project

� Soft Landings Protocol – the wholeteam working together throughout theproject to address potential risks beforethey arise and taking a team approachto problem solvingThe project is now up for a raft of

industry awards and was a finalist in theBuilding & Construction Category at thePEA Business Awards, sponsored byLloyds TSB. Commercial. The building benefits from a 30kW PV installation

The centre can now care for over 156 dogs at any one time. A newRehoming Block features specially designed glass fronted kennels to helpreduce stress and noise. Pregnant mothers can now give birth in the comfortof a quiet Whelping Block and puppies now have an amazing Puppy Playarea where the focus is on socialisation. Brand new exercise areas have a variety of surfaces to keep them healthyand mentally stimulated and there is an onsite Veterinary Suite. A newSpecialist Training and Behaviour Advisor Wing gives many dogs an extrachance of finding a new home and a large Training Barn will enable staff tocontinue to train dogs, whatever the weather, as well as being an essentialvenue for local dog training and socialisation classes. Dogs Trust Chief Executive, Clarissa Baldwin OBE, commented: “We areimmensely proud of everything that Dogs Trust Shrewsbury has achievedover the last 41 years and I would like to thank everyone who has showntheir support, whether by rehoming a dog from us, knitting blankets ordonating tins of food. “We know that with our new state-of-the-art facilities the staff will be able tohelp even more dogs to find loving homes within the community and withthe centre’s ‘green’ credentials we can now do this whilst also reducing our‘carbon pawprint’.”

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D LUX LED Downlights

Green Lighting’s route to market hasalways been through specificationby architects and property

developers. The company supplies self-builders to national house builders –including Crest Nicholson and Bloor Homes– and everybody in between. More than15% of all 2012 UK new build houses will befitted with a Green Lighting product. Anthony said: “The 2012 product range

incorporates the finest LED technologywithin our fire and acoustic-rated D-Luxdownlights. It is also used to combine lightand movement control to produce the mostcost effective space and security externallighting available in today’s market.”He added: “The D-Lux range of

downlights (formerly Snaplite Led ) havebeen engineered to the highest standardusing the latest LED array technology (chipon board) combined with an optical gradelens to produce the finest quality of LED lightavailable – all of the range is IP65 rated – ieone style can be fitted throughout the home. “Embracing this new chip on board

technology means no more changing lightbulbs… ever! The LED chip arrays used inD-Lux downlights lose on average only 30%of their light output over a test cycle of50,000 hours, that’s more than 10 years ofuse in a residential situation.”The D-Lux range of downlights recently

underwent a rigorous test programme atBRE in Watford, Exova Warrington Fire andthe Lighting Industry Association Laboratoryto give full compliance to BuildingRegulations Parts B,C,E,F and L. Meanwhile, Green Lighting’s award

winning P-Lux lanterns combine space andsecurity lighting in modern and traditionallantern styles, awarding the house builder

the maximum two points for external lightingtowards the Code for Sustainable Homes. Anthony explained: “P-Lux is photo cell

controlled so it will come on at night to fullbrightness (18w cfl) then dim to consumeonly six watts until activated by movement(PIR). The P-Lux costs less than 1p a day torun and is a perfect front door solution. Wehave developed an even more efficient LEDversion to be integrated into all stylesthroughout 2012-13.”This year Green Lighting have also

launched a new back door and securitylighting range which consists of a 6w LEDeyelid bulkhead with inbuilt photo cell. Thefitting is made from robust impact resistantpolycarbonate with a transparent rear, whichproduces a subtle halo of light. The LEDsecurity floodlights are available in 6 and 12watt and generate 90 lumens per circuitwatt, delivering exceptional brightness withminimal power consumption. The powersupply is housed separately in the PIR case

away from the heat source for longevity. As well as its innovative products, Green

Lighting can also offer a level of service thatis unrivalled, continued Anthony. “Manyarchitects and builders have struggled withPart L 2010 compliance and have left thelighting unspecified, resulting in very energyefficient, dull showrooms. We aim to helpclients manage a smooth transition fromhalogen lighting to LED. This is achievedprimarily through regular dialogue andproduct educational meetings. Our hugelysuccessful CPD that covers all areas of PartL1a 2010 gives you the opportunity to gethands on with all the latest LED products.”

“We have reviewed all our clients’ lightingschemes to deliver the required light levelsbecause most lighting schemes were basedaround low voltage halogen downlights. Lowvoltage delivered a crisp, warm light withgreat light levels, but since then there hasbeen a move to the poorer quality 11 wattGU10 fluorescent downlight which produceslight levels barely half of its predecessor. It isimportant therefore when considering LEDthat the light levels achieved are the sameas those as halogen. The fundamentals ofthe low energy lighting are to reducewattage whilst maintaining light levels.”Specifying lighting can be complicated

but help is always at hand, said Anthony: “Ifyou are confused with photons, and gettingyour lumens and LUX levels in a twist don’thesitate, one of our lighting specialists willbe more than happy help.”For further information about sales,

products or the CPD available from GreenLighting, visit www.greenlighting.co.uk.


Specialist Services

Seeing is believingGreen Lighting has manufactured low energy lighting for the housing market for more thana decade, focusing on producing lights that are Building Regulations compliant, desirableand value for money. Green Lighting’s Managing Director Anthony Ottway spoke to BC&DSabout the company’s new range of products and why it continues to enjoy unrivalledsuccess in a very competitive market

Morethan15% ofall 2012UK newbuildhouseswill befittedwith aGreenLightingproduct

Public buildings have implicationsunder equality legislation and,clearly, the progress of a building

project from concept to completion is notalways seamless. Ideally, clients would getin touch at the pre-planning stage for afree Building Regulations consultation.However, in practice, most project’sdesigners often favour an ‘all white’minimalist approach and will have alreadybeen through the planning stage, which isunderstandable as Building Control isvirtually the last statutory hurdle beforeoccupation.A Design and Access Statement will

have been submitted already, and to the client this would appear to give a degreeof certainty of further approval.

THREE DISTINCT PROBLEMS However, three problems can occur:

� Planning does not deal with the interiordetails of a building. Therefore if, forexample, we ask an accessible showerat 2m x 2.2m to be added, eithersomething else internally will have to beremoved, or the footprint of the buildingincreases, meaning that the applicationhas to return to planning. This can bevery unpopular

� Planning can contradict Part M when

dealing with external access routes fromthe edge of a site. Planning approvalcan be given for a design that might notcomply with AD M, resulting inconfusion and understandableannoyance if the design has to bereworked

� External public areas of large projectssuch as town centre developments maybe outside the scope of BuildingControl, and may not have had anyprofessional access input. For example,anecdotal evidence suggests thatlandscape architects may not always beasked for handrails or nosings toexternal stepsThese problems reinforce both the need

for early consultation with Building Controlbodies and the need for better training forplanners.Our involvement usually begins when a

client sends drawings to a projectmanager. While most drawings are nowsent as electronic files, we still oftenreceive rudimentary sketches, particularlyfor small mezzanine floor projects. The project manager evaluates the

drawings to assess compliance: whilemany Parts of the Building Regulationsrequire further technical information orcertification, for Part M the drawingsshould provide most necessaryinformation. However, certain elements are

commonly missing, such as information onvisual contrast, ironmongery design anddoor schedules, so the project managersneed to know when to request furtherdetails. It is often expected that architectsand designers should by now be familiarwith all aspects of AD M, but it should beappreciated that their designs have tosatisfy other regulations.Taking a proactive, helpful approach

certainly helps to reduce the likelihood ofmaking a site visit and having to requestextensive changes at a later date.However, Building Control processes canonly request reasonable compliance withthe requirements of Part M, not bestpractice. For example, a shiny marble floorin a hotel reception might be confusing forvisually impaired people, but it would behard for a Building Control professional toreject it if the decision could not bejustified using the guidance in AD M.Following examination of the drawings,

Building Control will inspect the site atvarious stages up to completion. It mayseem surprising that many decisions aremade on site, but of course designs canchange; sometimes the drawings wereceive have an indicative WC layout, onlyfor a site visit to reveal that grabrails havebeen installed at a crazy height. WhenBuilding Control is satisfied, a FinalCertificate can be issued.


Making access complyThe debate over whether Part M is globally enforced began long before Communities andLocal Government requested feedback on the Building Regulations in August. Indeed, hasthe need to update the Approved Document M, ensuring the guidance within the currentDocument is met, ever been more pressing? Here, courtesy of the Centre for AccessibleEnvironments, Terry Warren of the National Register of Access Consultants explains his role

Part M/Access

Many decisions are made on site, partly due to changes in design�

We provide thefollowing services:Access AuditsPlan Appraisals

Access StatementsTraining

&Advice - Strategic

or Specific

We offer nationwidehelp and support fromthe initial concept to

the design andconstruction phase and

finally when inoccupation

We have worked in the following sectors:

� Local Authority Portfolios � Healthcare � Government� Education � Heritage � Transport

Take a look at our on-line training, it provides information on key buildingfeatures to improve accessibility and save money.

This can also be delivered in-house, contact us for details.

Try our FREE module on Parking. Go to www.aboutaccess.co.uk

About Access Ltd Tel: 01482 651101 Fax: 01482 653413Email: [email protected]

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About Access...for an inclusive world

THE PROFESSIONAL’S ROLE New-build projects are generally the

easiest to get right; problems occur moreoften with extensions, alterations and fit-outs where existing structures, siteconstraints and financial implications canall affect the outcome. This requires theBuilding Control professional’s experienceand judgment: compromises need to benegotiated, Access Statements areconsidered and the potential implicationsunder equality legislation need to beexplained to the client. We have heard many different arguments

for not meeting the guidance in AD M, suchas ‘we don’t have disabled customers’ or,even, bafflingly, ‘we’re a design-ledpractice’! We therefore try to work out solutions

that maximise accessibility while workingwith the client’s aspirations. In myexperience, where projects go wrong inrelation to Part M this is most likely to bedue to ignorance on the part of the BuildingControl professional. Exactly like both architects and

designers do, they have to retain a hugeamount of technical knowledge; it thereforemakes sense to have experts specialisingin inclusive design, fire and sustainability tointerpret the Building Regulations. It is alsovital that staff are kept up to date withaccess issues as much as possible.Some professionals believe that Building

Control itself is too unregulated; personally,I would be in favour of monitoring, such as

audits of files held by AIs and LABCs bysuitably qualified professionals. While this isunlikely to happen, there is always scope totighten up access regulation; in theRepublic of Ireland Disability AccessCertificates are now mandatory and,although an extra financial burden to aproject, they may be more effective thanthe rather woolly Access Statementsoperational in England.

OBLIGATIONSLike many people in the construction

industry, I believe that the October 2004phase of the Disability Discrimination Act(DDA), which introduced obligations forservice providers to assess physicalfeatures, has failed to have the effect on ourhigh streets that many people had hopedfor. Nevertheless, with the hundreds ofthousands of construction projects that gothrough Building Control each year in theUK, I do believe that, more than any otherprofessional group, Local Authority andApproved Inspector Building ControlOfficers have done the most to deliverinclusive and accessible buildings for us allto use and to fulfil some of the aspirations ofthe DDA. The CAE would love to hear your views

on Building Regulations. Email [email protected], or write to Centre for AccessibleEnvironments, 70 South LambethRoad,London SW8 1RL

www.cae. org.uk


Part M/Access

New-build projects are usually the easiest to get right with regard to Part M

�


Still in the frameIn the second and concluding part of our series on the steelframework to which most buildings are attached, Niall Rowan,Technical Officer of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection(pictured), addresses the use of cellular beams

Fire Prevention

The driver for cellular beam use is: bypassing essential building servicesthrough the beams instead of below

them, storey height can be reduced. Thiscan result in one extra storey for every ten,with the associated extra value that willprovide to the owner of the building.The individual design of each member

will dictate at what position and at whattemperature structural failure is likely. It istherefore essential that, in order to providean adequate level of fire protection, moreinformation has to be provided about therequirements; it is not sufficient to justspecify the fire resistance period required. Itis absolutely essential that an associatedcritical temperature resulting from thedesign is also determined. In order to determine the limiting

temperatures, products are subjected to aspecial test protocol given in the ASFPYellow Book. The test protocol providesweb post modification factors dependingon the web post width and other variables.This test data is then inputted into astructural model which generates tables oflimiting temperatures dependant on thespecific beam geometry. In the samemanner described above, the required fireprotection thickness is then determinedfrom product specific thickness tables.In addition to the use of new codes in the

traditional design of structural frames, thereis an increasing trend to use complexcomputer software to model the behaviourof structural frames in real fires. There areseveral commercially available applicationsthat allow experienced fire engineers toanalyse the way that the entire frame wouldbehave in a fire. This allows more flexibilityin the design approaches, and can lead toincreased economy of design. Put simply,these applications demonstrate that muchof the fire protection required by traditional

codes will not be necessary to prevent thebuilding from collapse. This is due to thesharing and transference of loads throughthe structural frame, which previously wasnot taken into account. The reduced levelor lack of fire protection to some elementswill still result in greatly increased distortionmeaning that it is likely that the building willneed to be demolished and rebuilt.From the above it is clear that ‘fire

protection’ to a structural frame nowcomprises finely engineered products andsystems, with little room for error. Also, theincreased use of fire engineered structuralframes means that the fire protection thathas still to be applied will be relied on likenever before. Yet, when we look at Passive

Fire Protection in buildings, we find issues,as we are not taking into account theproblems of existing buildings and howthose problems, if transferred – as they willbe – to new buildings, may lead tounacceptable risk. Existing buildings maybe over-engineered, but the pitfalls andproblems that compensate for this include:� Badly specified fire protection (wrongtype and/or number of products, use ofproducts where performance has notbeen adequately verified by test,assessment or preferably third-partyproduct certification)

� Improperly installed fire protection(missing or wrongly installed productsand systems, use of unskilled labour,installations not checked by BuildingControl, etc)So some structural frames might well be

over-engineered, but the robustness of theregulations copes, or counteracts, manyproblems. What we are doing now isremoving the over-engineering/robustnessand not replacing it with anything. So thefire-engineered structural frame may wellprove to be a problem if much of the

reduced fire protection specified does notfunction, or is not installed properly. So,what needs to be done?

ADEQUATE SPECIFICATION OFFIRE PROTECTION TO STEELMEMBERSTo ensure the highest standard of fire

protection of steel members is assured,structural design drawings and associatedschedules of the various members shouldideally specify:� Required period of fire protection, eg 30,60, 120 mins for each structural member

� The temperature for design (if known)which shall not be exceeded by thecritical part of the member within thespecified fire protection time. Otherwisethe guidance given in the ASFP YellowBook and BS 5950: Part 8 should beused and, in the case of cellular beams,the limiting temperatures from product-specific tables of limiting temperatures.

RELIABILITY OF THE FIREPROTECTIONAs mentioned above, most modern fire

protection products are subject to morecomplex and comprehensive testing andassessment than previously, providing themanufacturers of these products with theability to answer to properly specifiedrequirements for fire protection. To provethe performance and reliability, specifiersshould ensure that the fire protectionmanufacturers hold third party productconformity certification for the products asprovided by CERTIFIRE, LPCB, IFC andothers, as recommended in ApprovedDocument B to The Building Regulations.However, the fire performance of the

product is not assured unless appliedcorrectly in accordance withmanufacturer’s specification. Followingadditional recommendations contained inApproved Document B, specifiers shouldensure application of fire protection tostructural steelwork is only undertaken bythird party certificated contractors. It is acondition of ASFP membership that allcontracting members hold suchcertification. Changing approaches to firesafety design should not mean loweringfire safety itself.

www.asfp.org.uk/index.php

Software can model the behaviour ofstructural frames in real fires

Cellular beams can add value


Specialist Services


Renewable energy ineducationWhen it comes to the challenge of sustainable design and renewable energyconsiderations, each individual school has a particular set of requirements. Each proposalneeds to be economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally sound, explainsPaul Wilkins of Butler & Young

Part L

Energy consultants, architects anddesigners should look foropportunities to capture, re-use and

recycle the energy, water, materials andwaste resources available on-site tominimise energy consumption andresources. The integration of buildings,with their natural environment and the useof the local bio-climate for environmentalbenefits, is fundamental to the design. Thebuilding should also have the ability toincorporate further renewable and lowcarbon solutions as more efficient energyproducts become available. Many schoolsnow tackle environmental aspects ofsustainability. This includes variousfeatures, which allow schools to beconstructed and operated in ways that donot damage the environment by:� Reducing dependency on fossil fuels forheating and lighting

� Encouraging methods of transport to andfrom school other than travelling by car

� Improving school grounds in ways thatencourage biodiversity

� Reducing water demand and identifyingsustainable drainage systems whichreduce flood risk such as rain waterharvesting

� Responsibly sourcing materials, andrecycling and re-using materialswherever possible. Involving students inwaste management and protecting thebiodiversity by planting new trees andbeing engaged in nature conservation

Within these broad categories, there area number of renewable energy themescommon to all schools and these aresummarised under a range of headingsbelow. Many schools also now undertakepost occupancy evaluation – a formaloccupants’ assessment of the building’sperformance – so that lessons learned canbe fed into future projects. The mostimportant perspective on sustainabilitysurrounds costs – measures that are noteconomic are also unsustainable. It is alsoclear that careful consideration of whole-life costs should identify the mosteconomically sustainable design option,but methods for whole-life costing arecurrently poorly understood.

Before reviewing renewable energyoptions schools also need to ensure thatbuildings are well insulated by draughtproofing old windows and doors, keepwindows closed in winter and insulatingcavity walls and roofs. Other energysaving actions include ensuring thatthermostats are set correctly, checkingthat programmes/timers are accurate,closing curtains and blinds at night andmaintaining and testing boiler systemsregularly. Here follow five renewableenergy options:

SOLAR THERMAL Criteria to assess value:

� Flat or sloping roof facing south east orsouth west for maximum output

� Roof should be free from shading� Provide heating for domestic hot water,not central heating

� Requires a hot water store egcentralised hot water system, swimmingpool, domestic tank, can be used topreheat water for boiler

� Payback period

SOLAR VOLTAICCriteria to assess value:

� Flat or sloping roof facing south east orsouth west for maximum output

� Roof should be free from shading� Planning permission is required� Payback period (On February 9, 2012

the Government published a responseto their consultation of October 31,2011 and there are two newconsultation documents on the Feed-inTariff, details will follow at the end of thispiece).

GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPCriteria to assess value:

� Is there a constant demand for lowgrade heating?

� Is there sufficient ground area –approximately twice that of the area tobe heated?

� Are any projects planned that willinvolve breaking this ground? Egresurfacing playground, car park, fieldor drainage

WINDCriteria to assess value:

� Are there any trees/buildings that wouldprovide shelter/turbulence?

� Install an anemometer to record windspeeds to assist with turbine selection

� Is the wind speed greater than 6.5m/s? � Some wind turbines will operate atlower wind speeds around 3.5m/s

� Source of revenue from wind sales

BIOMASSCriteria to assess value:

� Can replace existing gas or oil boiler ona like for like basis

Schools can be constructed in ways that do not damage the environment

�


Part L

� Keep existing boiler as a back-up ifrequired

� Need space for woodchip storage� The materials (fuel) to be sourced locallyand low in embodied energy

� Need road access for delivery ofwoodchip

Sustainability should also be a visiblepart of the renewable energy educationalenvironment. This can be achievedthrough the integration of living roofs,planting within the building, low-embodiedenergy and sustainable timberconstruction, and the use of renewableenergy technologies. Occupancy sensorsin classrooms also reduce energy bills.

THE FUTUREThe interface between design and

operation is also increasingly a criticalsuccess factor – design should enhance,rather than restrict, opportunities to beenergy efficient. Energy generated by theirrenewable technologies can be madeavailable to the electricity grid andsurrounding buildings when the schooldoes not require it. This could be achieved through linking

the schools to surrounding buildings tobalance energy loads. Schools generallyoperate during the day when domesticproperties require less energy. Conversely,in the early mornings, evenings and

weekends when domestic propertiesrequire more energy, schools require less.Any district heating systems and CHPsystems at the school site could be linkedwith other uses in order to balance energyloads, increase economic viability andprovide for carbon reductions. Other renewables such as photovoltaics

and wind power could export electricity tothe grid in the evenings, weekends andschool holidays when power is notrequired for the school. The imperative todeliver low and zero carbon lifestyles aswell as low and zero carbon buildings willforge a more integrated relationshipbetween design and operation for schooland community benefit.

NOTE ON FEED-IN TARIFF� The UK Government response to theconsultation on FITs for solar PV will

mean outlining a new energyefficiency requirement for FITs. FromApril 1 householders wishing toreceive FITs will need to show thattheir property has an EPC band D orhigher.

� A consultation on solar PV costcontrols sets out the UKGovernment's proposals for sixmonthly degressions for solar PVtariffs, to ensure the UK Government’s“commitment to a stable, predictablefuture for solar PV and for the wholeFITs scheme”. The consultation closedNovember 20 and at least one keyconsequence is that, from July 1,2012, the FIT tariffs for solarphotovoltaics are extremely likely todrop again.

www.butlerandyoung.co.uk

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�

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SUDS in actionSenior civil engineer Ryan Lundy gives readers his insight into the operation of a new SUDS scheme in Elvetham Heath, at Fleet in Hampshire

Drainage

Apioneering drainage scheme on aHampshire housing development,acclaimed as a national example of

good practice, was only made possible by18 of the country’s best-kept SUDSsecrets. The 1900-home Elvetham Heathdevelopment at Fleet is hailed as a shiningexample of Sustainable Drainage Systems(SUDS) using linked swales and ponds. Itis featured in the Government’s seminalResponse to the Pitt Review, theforerunner of the Flood and WaterManagement Act.But the report does not point out that it

is the performance of 18 Hydro-BrakeFlow Control devices that enables theSUDS scheme to operate successfully.Ryan Lundy, senior civil engineer for

Bradbrook Consulting, worked on thedesign: “People see the numerous swalesand large ponds when walking or drivingaround Elvetham Heath but probably don’tappreciate that many of them areinterconnected. The strategically placedHydro-Brake Flow Controls providebalancing and buffering of the surfacewater run-off. Across the whole site therun-off is regulated by gravity and thestorm water drainage strategy is achievedwithout the use of pump stations.“The drainage system is performing well

and we have not been aware of anyflooding incidents, despite severestormwater conditions in the south ofEngland including in 2007,” he added.Built during the late 1990s by

Persimmon Homes, the Elvetham Heathsite was developed over sandy soil, whichoffered some infiltration throughsoakaways at the top of the site, but noneat the lower end. To protect against surface water

flooding, the Environment Agency requiredrun-off rates from the impermeablesurfaces of 2.72 litres per second perhectare, representing a 1 in 50 year event– a standard requirement at that time.

In addition, the drainage solutionneeded to protect an area of the sitedesignated as a nature reserve bothduring the construction phases andbeyond. The eco system of the nature

reserve was required to be protectedbecause of rare fauna growing in thislocation. The nature reserve was identifiedas being sensitive to nutrient overload,flooding and sediment, so a way ofregulating the surface water run-off intothis area was crucial.

SURFACE WATER FLOWThe Elvetham Heath development is

built to a housing density of between 30and 50 dwellings per hectare. Togetherwith its network of access roads andpathways the site placed significantconstraints on the amount of spaceavailable for larger drainage features.Setting aside more land for large pond

containment was not feasible. So smallerSUDS features protected withstrategically-located Hydro-Brake FlowControls were designed to attenuate theflow of surface water. In this way, thelower levels of the site and the dischargeinto the water course were not overloaded.The need to control sediment and

maintain water quality was met by plantingreed mace in the swales. But, ifconventional control devices such asorifice plates had been used, they couldquickly become blocked by vegetation –leading to frequent maintenancerequirements.“The Hydro-Brake Flow Control has a

large outlet diameter compared to anorifice plate, which means it will notbecome blocked by vegetation. Constantmaintenance is, therefore, not an issue. Inaddition, its hydraulic efficiency ensuresthe space required upstream to providerequired storage volume is reduced.”Alex Stephenson, Stormwater Director

for Hydro International said: “The naturalfeatures of the drainage solution were onlymade possible through this enablingtechnology. The development provides atrue example of how an appropriate mix oftechniques and technologies can beapplied to engineer in nature’s way.”

Elvetham Heath (above and top right) was developed over sandy soil


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‘Dodgy’ certificates only invite heavy fines!Readers will be familiar with the mandatory requirement for pre-completion sound testing onnew and converted properties, according to Approved Document E, and the requirement, statedin the Approved Document, to only accept test reports from ‘Third Party Accredited’ testers. Thisarticle highlights some of the benefits of using testers who are accredited (Registered) throughthe Association of Noise Consultants; takes a look ‘behind the scenes’ at the scheme and how itmaintains a rigorous quality of service by its members, including measures taken to prevent‘fraud’, by non-ANC members, in the form of forged test reports and certificates

Acoustics

To ensure adequate numbers ofappropriately qualified testers and aconsistent approach to testing, the

Association of Noise Consultants Pre-Completion Testing Registration Schemewas launched in 2004. There are now over300 individual testers registered with 80different companies covering most parts ofEngland and Wales. Nearly 250,000 soundinsulation tests have been registered underthe scheme since then. Although themonthly figures have reduced from the peakwhen over 4,500 tests were being recorded,the average figures for the first half of 2011still show 2,200 tests per month. All these tests have taken place under

Approved Document E but with theintroduction of compulsory testing inScotland under Section 5 of ScottishBuilding Standards now taking effect, theANC scheme is one of the recognisedroutes for showing compliance with thesetesting requirements. One of the measures of success of the

scheme has been its identifying andpublicising the efforts some rogue operators

have taken to obtain the ‘right result’. Themost blatant of these was the forgery ofcertificates which ANC originally issued foreach test. A set of results for a developmentin High Wycombe contain some passes andsome failures which were all clearly recordedon the test certificates. The failures werecarefully doctored by the developer so thatall the units appeared to have passed andon that basis the site achieved the EcoHomes and Code for Sustainable Homespoints required. Fortunately the forgedcertificates were spotted and this resulted ina successful prosecution byBuckinghamshire Trading Standards and afine of nearly £3,000 for false representation.This incident contributed to the move to anentirely on line verification system, known asADvANCE (a combination of theabbreviations for Approved Document E andthe Association of Noise Consultants). Since the start of 2010 all tests registered

with ANC have a unique password allocatedto them which is included in the reportprovided to the client and the BuildingControl Officer. By entering this password

along with the individual task number,Building Control can easily check that theresults advised to them are genuine and ifrequired print a copy of this information fortheir records. The online verification isavailable at http://www.association-of-noise-consultants.co.uk Forged certificates aren’t the only way in

which unscrupulous individuals have tried tobypass the need for correct sound insulationtesting. Within the last year, two of ourmember companies have been alerted totwo separate instances whereby a testreport prepared for one site was altered,without the authorisation of the tester, andre-issued for another site where the testerhad no involvement and where no tests hadbeen carried out. For the site which hadn’t been tested, it is

impossible to know if these properties wouldhave passed or not but the results claimedin the false reports do of course show afavourable outcome. In one case the forgedreport included test certificates even thosethese were in the name of a differentconsultant and were supposedly issued in2010 some months after ANC haddispensed with this system. An eagle eyedBuilding Control Officer was alerted to thepotential forgery when he noticed the use ofdifferent fonts on the certificate and thediscrepancy in consultants’ names. Thesecases have both been reported to therelevant trading standards departments andfurther prosecutions are expected. The final example of the lengths some

people will go to in their efforts to undertaketesting without the appropriate processes inplace was the claim, by one testorganisation, to be accredited by a non-existent body. Since pre completion testing was

introduced there have been only two routesrecognised by CLG and its predecessorODPM as meeting the requirements ofApproved Document E. Testingorganisations should either haveaccreditation from UKAS or be part of theThe ANC scheme is one of the recognised routes for showing Part E compliance �


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Acoustics

ANC Registration Scheme. The ANCScheme follows the principles of ISO17024,the international standard for conformityassessment of bodies operating schemesfor certification of individuals. As such eachorganisation joining the scheme registers anumber of individual testers who followagreed procedures for testing, reporting andverifying the results they obtain. Once a year each organisation is subject

to an audit of a randomly selected report,which includes checking the data thatrelates to it, the way results are reported andthe existence of up to date calibrationcertificates for the equipment used.Individuals are subject to periodic selectionfor witnessed testing where an examineraccompanies them on site to observe theirtesting procedures and practices. Auditsand witnessed tests are all carefully loggedagainst a standard checklist and any non-compliance is brought to the attention of thetesting organisation who must respondwithin an agreed timescale with details ofhow they will address or correct these items. Whilst the instances of non-compliance

are reassuringly few in quantity and usuallyminor in detail, the scheme examiners (allexperienced acousticians) also offer goodpractice advice as part of the review processand consequently the majority of soundinsulation testing, or at least that undertakenby ANC members, benefits not only from astandard approach but also from thecollective sharing of experience gathered bythe whole body of 300+ testers nowconducting some 26,000 tests per year. As mentioned earlier, one individual who

could not gain entrance to the ANC due tohis lack of the required professionalqualifications, and who could not wait toobtain UKAS accreditation, claimed hiscompany was registered with the bogusAssociation of Accredited Companies whichwere also alleged to be recognisedalongside ANC and UKAS for Part E testing.Although the Association of AccreditedCompanies had a very presentable andplausible website, it was only possible tofind one company who were ‘accredited’ byit. That company, A Sound Solution, and itsowner pleaded guilty to four charges under

the Fraud Act: One, of dishonestly making afalse statement, in an accreditationcertificate submitted to the London Boroughof Lewisham Building Control, that it wasaccredited by an independent third party tocarry out sound insulation testing on newand converted buildings. Two, of dishonestlymaking the same false statement on twotesting certificates and a fourth of having inits possession an article, in this case theAssociation of Accredited Companies’

website, for use in connection with a fraud.A Sound Solution Ltd and its owner werefined £1,000 each and agreed to pay £7,000towards the prosecution costs. The onlydisappointing note about this case is thatthe individual concerned is still testing as heset up another company which obtainedUKAS accreditation and has retained thiseven though he was prosecuted andexpelled from his professional body. The ANC scheme is more than just a set

of procedures for testing compliance. All thetesters are professionally qualifiedacousticians who understand the resultsthey obtain and can, if required, provideadvice on remedial work required to bringthe building up to the required standard.ANC monitors the number of tests recordedby post code areas and these show somevariations in number of tests in parts of thecountry that cannot be explained simply by

numbers of residential units that are likely tohave been built. Although some of this is explained by a

predominance of UKAS testers in certainareas (who do not have to provide test datato any central database so no analysis ispossible), it is also apparent that in one ortwo areas there is still an acceptance oftests submitted by those who judgethemselves competent to test and havenever undertaken any form of accreditation.ANC urges Building Control Officers tocheck that the tests are always conductedby either an ANC Registered or a UKASaccredited tester as anything else couldundermine the purpose of the BuildingRegulations and the desire to improvesound insulation standards in new build andconversions. Incidents of forged certificates and

reports let alone false accreditation arethankfully rare but there is another methodof evading the regulations where checkingthe results provided using the ADvANCE online verification will provide Building Controlwith a simple and fast confirmation of theinformation provided. Sound testers aresometimes subject to pressure by theirclient, typically a developer, to not report‘failed’ tests, even when they havesubsequently been retested after remedialwork and then passed. It is worth noting that for the last few

years the tests recorded through the ANC’sdatabase has shown about 3% failed tests.That is a very good statistic but it meansthat currently there are about 900 failed testsreported annually to Building Control Bodiesaround the country. It is important forbuilders and developers to realise that thereis no stigma attached to having a test fail, aslong as it is properly documented and theappropriate action taken. It is frequentlynormal practice to include a successfulretest in a report with includes a failed test,wherever possible, which enables BuildingControl to be satisfied that suitable remedialaction has already been taken and that nofurther action is required. In some cases aBuilding Control Officer might want to dig alittle further to find more possible failedconstructions untested. A recommendedapproach is known as ‘2 for 1’, where afurther two tests are conducted for each onewhich fails, until there are no more fails. The ANC scheme has long been

recognised as equivalent to UKASaccreditation but offers additional benefitsas it follows processes and proceduralmechanisms broadly equivalent to a qualityassurance system such as ISO9001, andalso ensures that tests are carried out bythose with a professional qualification inacoustics. To support its members, the ANCproduces a Good Practice Guide for SoundInsulation Testing which is based on theexperience of nearly a quarter of a milliontests over the last seven years.

www.association-of-noise-consultants.co.ukFor details of companies registered under the ANC scheme see the website

�


To comply... or notJane White (pictured), Research and Information Services Manager atthe Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), stresses theimportance of risk identification at the earliest possible stage in theconstruction process

CDM Regulations

Construction still remains one of themost hazardous, high-risk industriesin the UK. According to the Health

and Safety Executive (HSE), theconstruction industry accounts for 29% ofall fatal injuries to employees.The CDM 2007 Regulations are about

focusing attention on effective planning andmanagement of construction projects, fromdesign concept onwards. They ensure thatthe right people are doing the right job at theright time to manage risks on constructionsites.David Ackerley, chair of the Institution of

Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH)Construction Group, said: “The main aim ofany construction boss when using CDMshould be to embed a health and safetyconsciousness into a whole project. “CDM done well, through the use of the

improved planning, better co-ordination ofall involved, earlier identification of risks,targeting of effort in main concern areas andelimination of unnecessary bureaucracy, willcertainly improve health and safety.”CDM Regulations are based on

organisational management requirementsand places legal duties on virtually everyoneinvolved in construction work. They definethe roles of client, designer, contractor,principal contractor and CDM co-ordinatorand set out their respective managementand design responsibilities. Every single construction project, big or

small, which has someone working on site

must comply with CDM Regulations. Davidadded: “Part of the main aim of CDM is forhealth and safety to be treated as part of aproject’s normal development and not as anadded extra. Those who choose to ignoreCDM Regulations must face the

consequences – if things go wrong theymay be prosecuted by the HSE or, evenworse, dangerous, even fatal accidentsmay occur. Take my advice, compliancereally is a must for any new developmentor project.”There are two main elements which

should be considered essential tomaintaining a standard which means those

on site aren’t placed at unnecessary risk.Firstly, engineers, architects and other

designers should think about how theycan make a project safer from its veryconception and during the design stage.For example, working at height is a majorcause of accidents in the industry, bydesigning a building where things can beput together at ground level before beingerected could help. By minimising theamount of time the worker is exposed toheight, risk can be substantially reduced.And secondly, after completion the

operation and maintenance of the buildingbegins. Anyone whose job will involvemaintenance ie cleaners and painters anddecorators, shouldn’t be exposed to anyrisks while doing their job. For example, anatrium with high-ceilings could poseaccess difficulties for upkeep andhousekeeping. Where a situation like thisarises, design should include some formof easier access so any risk is overwritten.The London 2012 construction project

was a prime example of good practiceCDM. The Olympic Delivery Authority(ODA) published the ‘big build’ timetable in2006 and in 2011 the project wasdelivered on time and on budget.

NUMBER ONE PRIORITYAccording to the ODA “Preventing

accidents and protecting the health of theworkforce” was their “number one”priority. The Authority sees this tactic asan essential part of the project’s success,having put in place a robust policy andensuring health and safety considerationsare weaved into every activity involved inthe construction project – from planning,design and procurement, to on-sitemanagement and clear leadership. The following of CDM Regulations is a

must for construction success – not onlyfor the saving of lives, but for financialbenefits, too. A safer, healthier workingenvironment will not stifle creativeness,but improve the effectiveness andefficiency of any construction project. TheIOSH Construction Group offersinformation and advice on CDM throughtheir website. This year the Group will beworking alongside the London 2012Learning Legacy to deliver five roadshowevents across the UK.

www.iosh.co.uk/groups/construction_group.aspx Following CDM regulations means saving lives


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Householdersbehaving badly?If householders (wrongly) believe that they need invest no more on energy measures thennew initiatives such as the Green Deal may not have the desired effect, argues Erik Bichard,Professor of Regeneration and Sustainable Development at Salford University’s School ofthe Built Environment

Green Deal/Retrofit

If you were a built environment policy-maker, you would be dismayed to readthe following statistics; an authority in

Greater Manchester has just completed ahousing stock survey that revealed thatless than 28% of loft spaces have morethan 100m of insulation, yet doorstepsurveys in the same area showed that48% said they thought that they alreadyhad adequate loft insulation. Worse still,among owner-occupiers in England andWales, 75% think their homes are wellenough insulated but the Department ofEnergy and Climate change (DECC)estimate that only 50% have insulationthat is thicker than 125mm. Therecommended thickness is 270mm. Andit’s not just energy that policy-makers haveto worry about. Over three quarters ofpeople living in a high risk flood zone areaware of this fact, yet the great majority donot think it’s likely that their home will beaffected by flooding. But there is another avenue of influence

open to low carbon strategists: day-to-dayoperational use or habitual behaviour. Thatis why a research team from SalfordUniversity is looking into ways that peoplecan be encouraged to overcome theirnatural reticence to respond to the threatof climate change by combining threecomponents. These are: attractiveincentives to produce positiveassociations with good behaviour,evidence that others are already active intheir area (the norm-based influences)through the increased activities of greencommunity groups, and convincinginformation and help delivered at just theright point in the decision-making process.

IMPEDIMENT TO CONSERVATIONScepticism or disinterest in the amount

a householder pays for the way theychoose to consume energy is a majorimpediment to energy conservation.Research suggests that behaviour canaffect between 25% and 50% of overallenergy use in the home. Indeed, variationsin human behaviour have been found toaccount for more than 300% of totalenergy consumption. The role

householders play in energy consumptionis important as domestic buildingsaccount for over one quarter of the UKcarbon emissions. However, more workneeds to be done to produce convincingdefinitive evidence on precisely howdifferent behaviour sets affectconsumption and this is what the SalfordUniversity team has been looking at withthe help of a ground-breaking new facility;the Energy House (see panel, page 38).The initial set of experiments planned to

take place shortly is to measure therelative effect of three different behavioursets. The three scenarios will be playedout in series over repeated three-day

sessions under identical externalenvironmental conditions to ensure thatthe results are solely attributed to thebehaviours under examination. To do this,three days of weather data were obtainedfrom the UK Met Office selected torepresent typical cool conditions withsome precipitation. Severe conditionswere avoided as these could result inunusual behaviour. The temperatures forthis period (the end of the winter period)ranged between 10.2C and 3.8C over thethree day test period presentingconditions when the heating system mightbe expected to be used by any occupanton a regular basis. Each three-day period

The testing chamber features a unique climate system

�


Green Deal/Retrofit

represents a Friday, Saturday and Sundayin the lives of different couples who‘occupy’ the house. The three behaviour sets were based on

the following briefs:� People who are unaware or don’t careabout saving energy

� People who are aware of how to saveenergy, but don’t always act on thisawareness when more pressing mattersintervene or they simply forget

� People who very aware of how to saveenergy and have this at forefront of theirminds at all timesAt the end of each three-day scenario

the total gas and electricity consumptionwill be assessed and a comparativeanalysis will be carried out on the energyimplications of each behaviour set. TheEnergy House is also capable of showingroom-by room temperature readings which

may reveal how temperature gradients areaffected by behaviour such as leavingdoors and windows open for short periodsof time. It can also record how and whenindividual sockets draw power. In time the Energy House experiments

will evolve to test a range of behavioursets and individual behaviours associatedwith the operation of technology andhuman reactions to different internalconditions such as (for example) improvedair tightness, ventilation systems and theimplications for air quality, or humanresponse to different types of air andwater heating methods. Over the next two years the behaviour

experiments will reveal some of the mostdefinitive results that link behaviour andhome energy consumption. Socialpsychology theory and a small numberof behavioural experiments to datesuggest that policy-makers should investmore time and research on this area,rather than the predominant emphasison general awareness, technology andeconomic instruments. Better evidence-based information about energy use inthe home from facilities like the EnergyHouse, delivered in a timely manner atkey points in the decision-makingprocess could help householders toacquire energy saving habits at the ratesthat are needed to reduce carbonemission from older domestic housingstock.

Erik Bichard’s book PositivelyResponsible (Butterworth Heinemann),written with the psychologist Prof CaryCooper, deals more expansively with thereasons why policy-makers shouldconsider positive influences to motivatesustainable behaviour.

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The house was built using traditionalmethods inside the University

A HOMEFOR ALLSEASONSThe Energy House at SalfordUniversity is a unique asset whichallows accurate measurements incontrolled conditions. The facility consists of a terracedproperty, built largely of reclaimedmaterials and constructed to anexact specification of homes builtin the UK between 1910 and 1920. There are plenty of these around,but none of them are built inside agiant environment chamber. This allows those experimentingwith the fabric of house, or itsoperation to obtain results in thecontext of known or constantweather conditions.

The Community Green Deal reportexamined costs, financing, fundingand supply chain opportunities and

developed a framework approach toplanning for Green Deal delivery. The Feedin Tariff review and the volteface on therole Government signalled for socialhousing providers is causing concernabout the potential for achieving area-wideGreen Deal uptake, but we are convincedthat the approach to process and supplychain detailed in the Community GreenDeal report remain valid. The report argues that communities and

local economies could benefit from GreenDeal investment but Green Deal energyefficiency measures for homes andbusinesses need to be carried out at scaleacross nieghbourhoods to achieve thecost savings necessary for programmes tobe affordable and effective. The reportdetails a process of five building blocksthat are designed to build trust, createpartnerships and identify the mostappropriate financial vehicle. Smaller projects of energy efficiency

works to 750 to 3,000 houses need to beaggregated into programmes of 30,000 toattract investor attention and financing.

KEY ENABLING ACTIVITIESThe report also identifies seven key

enabling activities required to support thebuilding block activities:

� Legal agreements and financialproducts

� Project management � Procurement protocols � Customer Care Charter � Evolving specifications and componentsfor building archtetypes

� Standardising Building Regulations andPlanning

� Ongoing maintenance and aftercare

These core issues are currently thesubject of a large amount of Green Dealpreparatory activity. Local authorities will have an important

leadership role in the Green Deal process

as advocate, partner or delivery agent.However, local authorities also have keyroles through their Planning and BuildingControl functions, including planningpolicy around the treatment of historicbuildings, solid wall insulation andstrategic approaches to energyinfrastructure such as District Heating. The relationship between Planning andBuilding Control will also be increasinglycrucial. Research is showing that adoptionof technologies tested abroad mustinclude all regulatory guidance. Forexample, ground source heat systems candraw warmth from the soil around waterpipes laid near and across them leading tothe possibility of freezing pipes in verycold weather if adequate separation is notprovided; super-insulated homes can besubject to damp and condensation if notproperly ventilated. Building control mustkeep up to date across an ever-increasingrange of products and technologies. The Community Green Deal report

details the supply chain opportunities thatcould stimulate the development of the

low carbon economy. It is important toremember that associated skills rangeacross assessment, design, specification,planning and technical approval,installation, building control, operation andmaintenance. Local authorities come outtop in polls of those organisations mosttrusted by local communities; they willhave a key role in building and maintainingthe confidence of those being invited totake responsibility for the energy efficiencyof their homes by adopting a Green Dealpackage. Success with area-wide take upof Green Deal along the Community GreenDeal model will bring local authoritiescloser to meeting targets for carbondioxide emissions reduction andalleviation of fuel poverty. Just asimportantly, large scale adoption acrossneighbourhoods will also help delivereconomic benefits for residents andbusinesses through development of astrong, local, low carbon economy.The Community Green Deal report is at

http://www.shap.uk.com/projects/shap10/Report


Green Deal/Retrofit

Seven steps to Green Deal successAs the Government reviews the Green Deal/ECO consultation responses and secondarylegislation is awaited, Alan Yates (pictured) Chair of the Sustainable Housing ActionPartnership (SHAP) reflects on the 2010 Community Green Deal report and argues that it stillprovides a relevant and robust framework for planning Green Deal programmes that maximiseopportunities for local communities to benefit from energy efficiency works to housing

Super-insulated homes can be subject to condensation if not properly ventilated


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Plugging yourselfinto safetyThere are almost 13 million homes in the UK without adequate residual current device(RCD) protection in their consumer units. Here Phil Buckle (pictured), Director General ofthe Electrical Safety Council (ESC), explains the implications for electrical safety and whatthe charity is doing to address the problem

Electrical Safety

Prevention is the best way to ensurepersonal protection and fire safetyin residential properties. However

one electrical safety device, longestablished but only recently gainingrecognition from the general public, is theRCD. A potential life-saver, the RCD isdesigned to prevent a fatal electric shockif you touch something live, such as a barewire. It provides a level of personalprotection ordinary fuses or circuit-breakers can not. ESC research indicates that more than

half the homes in the UK – that’s 13 million(derived from BRE data, 1997) – don’thave adequate RCD protection installed.Government studies also suggest thatapproximately 4,000 domestic fires (ie20% of fires having an electrical origin)might have been prevented if RCDprotection had been fitted and functioningin the consumer unit or fusebox. Since2008, all new and re-wired homes areeffectively required to have RCD

protection for virtually all circuits but manyolder properties do not have any suchprotection.The requirements in the UK standard for

the safety of electrical installations (BS7671) have increased significantly over thepast few decades, as the safety benefitsbecame more evident. The UK’s requirement to RCD-protect all

concealed circuits exceeds the minimumrequired by the equivalent Internationaland European standards on which BS7671 is based. This is because the jointBSI/IET committee responsible for thetechnical content of BS 7671 wanted toaddress the potential dangers that canarise when concealed cables in walls arepenetrated by nails or screws etc. Suchaccidents had caused severalelectrocutions in homes in the yearspreceding the new requirements and theESC is aware of a number of cases wherean RCD has saved a life.

A RCD COULD SAVE YOUR LIFEIn May 2010, we launched our RCD-

focused Plug into Safety campaign.Running over five years, it aims to increaseconsumer awareness and use of RCDs, inmuch the same way that smoke alarmshave been ‘mainstreamed’ by Governmentthrough its long-running Fire Killscampaign. This type of campaign, whichaims to effect behavioural change, takestime and demands a multi-channelapproach, incorporating legislativereinforcement, stakeholder and mediaengagement and industry partnership.

While the fundamental message of Pluginto Safety is simple – “A RCD could saveyour life” – achieving our objective is not.We are aiming for a significant increase inRCD protection in UK homes over andabove that which would ‘naturally’ occur(via new requirements in BS 7671: 2008).Persuading people to upgrade consumerunits in older properties is a majorchallenge and we are working closely witha range of partners to achieve it. To date, our collaborative working has

brought together manufacturers,contractors and electrical industry bodies,as well as the fire service, housingproviders, consumer organisations andgovernment.We know we can’t succeed alone and

partnership working is key to our success.So spread the word and check out thededicated RCD section of our website(under news and campaigns).

www.esc.org.uk

Massive damage can be avoidedwith the use of a RCD (right)

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Heat soaked thermally toughenedsafety glass has a safer breakagebehaviour when compared with

annealed glass. It also has a known level ofresidual risk of spontaneous breakagearising from the possible presence ofcritical nickel sulphide (NiS) inclusions inthe thermally toughened glass.

PERFORMANCE UNDERACCIDENTAL HUMAN IMPACTThe heat soaked thermally toughened

safety glass has to be classified accordingto EN 12600; for its pendulum impactperformance. This product can be used incritical locations. Laminated glass is an assembly

consisting of one sheet of glass with oneor more sheets of glass and/or plasticsglazing sheet material joined together withone or more interlayers. The interlayer actsas adhesive and separator between theplies of glass or plastics glazing sheetmaterial. A laminated glass must complywith EN ISO 12543.Laminated safety glass is laminated

glass where, in the case of breakage theinterlayer serves to retain the glassfragments, limits the size of opening, offersresidual resistance and reduces the risk ofcutting or piercing injuries. It must complywith EN ISO 12543-2 and be classifiedaccording to EN 12600. Adhesive backed

polymeric window film is a high claritypolyester film designed for application toglass to improve performance.

PART N2Manifestation of glazing is only

necessary in critical locations in whichpeople are moving about a building or theymight not be aware of the presence of theglazing and may collide with it. Thesecritical locations include largeuninterrupted areas of transparent glazing,which form, or are part of, the internal orexternal walls and doors of shops,showrooms, offices, factories, public orother non domestic buildings.Permanent manifestation is only

necessary when other means eg use ofmullions, transoms, door framing or largepull/push handles do not apply.

PART N3Relating to safe opening and closing of

windows, skylights and ventilators, thissection looks at safe operation of doorsand windows, focusing on two issues:� Safe operation – not having to overreach for controls

� Prevention of falls from upper storeybuildings – this may require restrictors orbarriers to prevent such falls.

PART N4Relating to safe access for cleaning

windows etc this section looks at themethod of cleaning and maintainingwindows. This either needs to beundertaken from the ground level or safelyworking from heights.

www.ggf.org.uk


Variations in impactGiles Willson (pictured) of the Glass and Glazing Federationcontinues to focus on safety in relation to opening impact openingand cleaning in the second and concluding his series of articles onPart N of the Building Regulation. Firstly: Heat soaked, thermallytoughened safety glass

Part N/Glazing

Manifestation of glazing is only critical where people are moving about

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Creative to its very coreSouth East

The aim was to create a vibrantmixed-use quarter, at the physicaland creative heart of which lies the

campus. Central Saint Martins College ofArts and Design is well known forillustrious graduates from Jarvis Cocker toPolly Harvey and Sir Terence Conran andStanton Williams’ design for the newcampus unites the college’s activitiesunder one roof for the first time.It provides a substantial new building,

connected at its southern end to theGranary Building, a rugged survivor of thearea’s industrial past. The result is a state-of-the-art facility that not only functions asa practical solution to the college’s needsbut also aims to stimulate creativity,dialogue and student collaboration.The design maximises connections

between departments within the building,with student and material movement beingconsidered three-dimensionally, as a flowdiagram North to South, East to West, andup and down – similar in many ways tohow the grain was once distributed aroundthe site using wagons and turntables.King’s Cross offered a unique

opportunity: a large site within whatpromises to be a creative and cultural hub,connected – via King’s Cross Station andthe restored St Pancras International – notonly to the rest of Britain but also tomainland Europe.The Granary Building itself has been

restored as the main ‘front’ of the college,facing a new public square that stepsdown to the Regent’s Canal. The buildingwas designed in 1851 to receive grainfrom the wheat fields of Lincolnshire,unloaded from railway wagons onto canalboats for onward transport.It comprises a solid, six-storey cubic

mass, with an unadorned, 50m wide brickelevation, extended to 100m by officeadditions flanking the building. To thenorth, located one to each side of theGranary Building, are two parallel 180m-long Transit Sheds. The design strategyretains the Granary Building, adapted toinclude functions such as the college’slibrary, while the Eastern Transit Shedbehind is converted to create spectacularworkshops for the college.Within the street-level openings of the

Western Transit Shed, new shops and barsadd further life to the area. The historichorse stables below the Eastern TransitSheds have been transformed to new

cycle stores for students and staff.The bulk of the college’s

accommodation, however, is located in amajor addition to the site, two substantialnew studio buildings that occupy thespace between the two transit sheds andwhich, at the north end of the site, presenta contemporary elevation to thesurrounding area. The scale of the newaddition responds closely to that of theGranary Building, essentially continuing itsmassing along the length of the site. Itrises above the level of the transit sheds,using contemporary materials so that it willstand, beacon-like, as a symbol of thecollege’s presence within this rapidly-evolving part of London.

TRANSLUCENT ETFE ROOFThe two new four storey studio

buildings are arranged at either side of acovered central ‘street’, some 110m long,12m wide and 20m high, covered by a

translucent ETFE roof and punctuated bya regular rhythm of service cores thataccommodate lifts, stairs and toilets. Atthe northern end a new centre for thePerforming Arts houses a fully equippedtheatre with fly-tower as well as rehearsaland teaching space.The internal ‘street’ has been conceived

as a dynamic area, akin to the stair at thecentre of the college’s previous mainbuilding. Bridges linking the various coresand workspaces cross it, offering break-out areas for meeting, relaxing andpeople-watching and exchanging ideas.The street will be used for exhibitions,fashion shows and performances, thespaces being large enough to buildtemporary pavilions for example. Viewingpoints allow students to watch othersworking or performing, and the work ofother disciplines can be seen andexhibited.At the southern end of the new block

and running parallel with the north end of

To the north of King’s Cross and St Pancras International railway stations, the transformationof 67 acres of derelict land has necessitated a brand new postcode for one of Europe’slargest urban regeneration projects, valued at £200m – central to which is the new Universityof the Arts London campus, home of Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design

Secure entry provision at the new Central St Martins ©Hufton + Crow

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North elevation, University of the Arts London campus, home of Central Saint Martins College of Arts and DesignImage ©John Sturrock


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the Granary Building is a second covered‘street’, offering public access through thispart of the building interior. Lifts risingthrough this space recall the verticalmovement of grain, which gave thecomplex its original purpose.

HOISTS RETAINEDFlooring details either retain existing

turntables or hint at their historic location,while within the Granary Building itself, thehoists have been retained, crowning anewly inserted lightwell.Simple glazing maintains the integrity of

the unbroken openings, rhythmicallypunctuating the Granary Building’s mainfaçade.The new University of the Arts London

campus was one of the first parts of thewider King’s Cross development to becompleted. As such, it not only providesCentral Saint Martins with the flexible anddynamic spaces needed to educate anddevelop the artists and designers of thefuture, but it also makes a firm statementof the role of the arts in the quarter, towhich it is intended to add both criticalmass and energy.The campus is also home to a 350 seat

public theatre with its own entrance. Itoccupies the Grade II listed GranaryBuilding, built in 1851, which managed thestorage and distribution of grain at theheight of the Victorian industrial boom. Itfaces onto Granary Square which, whencompleted in June 2012, will be one ofLondon’s largest public squares.Designed by architects Stanton

Williams, the campus forms part of King’sCross, a 67 acre development in centralLondon – a new piece of the city with abrand new postcode, London N1C.Under Camden Council jurisdiction,

King’s Cross is being developed by theKing’s Cross Central Limited Partnership,which brings together Argent Group,London & Continental Railways and DHLSupply Chain.Home to almost 20,000 students from

109 countries, the University of ArtsLondon possesses six sites in all and isone of the world’s largest providers ofeducation in arts, design, fashion,communication and the performing arts.The quality of its teaching attracts

almost 5,400 international students, 2,700from EU countries and over 11,000 fromthe UK.

OSCAR WINNERSA selection of its many renowned

graduates include:� 12 Turner Prize winners and more thanhalf of all Turner Prize nominees

� Ten out of the 17 designers namedBritish Designer of the Year since 1986

� Over half of the designers showcasedat London Fashion Week 2011


South East

Eagle’s LandConstruction Ltd

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� 12 out of 30 winners of the JerwoodPhotography Award

� Oscar and Bafta winners include SarahGreenwood (Oscar for productiondesign on Atonement); Michael Please(2011 Bafta, Best Short Animated Film);Anthony Dod Mantle (Oscar forcinematography in SlumdogMillionaire); Sandy Powell (three Oscarsand BAFTA twice for costume designon films including Shakespeare In Loveand The Young Victoria)

The University has also won threeprestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for:� Paper conservation teaching andtechnology (Camberwell, 1996)

� Creativity and innovation in fashioneducation (CSM, 1998)

� Educating the world’s creative shoeand accessory designers (LCF, 2007)

Central Saint Martins College of Artsand Design is itself an internationallyrenowned centre for teaching andresearch in arts and design, and wasformed in 1989 from the merger of theCentral School of Arts and Crafts (foundedin 1896) and St Martin’s School of Art(founded in 1854).Its portfolio was further broadened in

1999 following a merger with DramaCentre London, and again in 2003 whenByam Shaw School of Art joined CSM.The College is home to multidisciplinaryresearch centres including Design AgainstCrime and the Textiles Futures ResearchCentre. It works closely with industrypartners to apply its findings andexpertise.


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Central St Martins, interior stairway All images on this page ©Hufton + Crow

A ‘street’ runs parallel to the Granary Offices flank the main building

�

Two new studios provide contemporary elevation



A true consensus ofdesire and effortSwan Housing Association’s regeneration of the 24-storey Priestman Point tower at Bow ineast London is part of a 10-year regeneration of the Crossways Estate which will provide385 new homes and 295 refurbished homes by 2014 – but it also represents a large step inthe right direction when it comes to the zero carbon agenda

South East

Priestman Point is one of a trio oftower blocks, with the work on thefirst of the other two, Hackworth

Point, now under way.Housing is the single biggest contributor

to the nation’s CO2 emissions andPriestman Point provides a practical casestudy on sustainable tower blockrefurbishment to help the industry achievethe Government’s 80% CO2 emissionsreduction goal for 2050.The extensive refurbishment of the

1970s Priestman Point tower blockachieved a ‘Very Good’ EcoHomes rating.

A PHYSICAL RENAISSANCEPriestman Point, one of the three

skyscraping tower blocks, is nothing if notprominent on the skyline of Bow. Therefurbished tower block includes acomplete over clad, improved ventilation,lift services and security while the 92 flatshave been completely refurbished

internally, with space standards greaterthan current standards.

REDUCED COLD BRIDGINGStructurally, Priestman Point’s in situ

concrete construction was sound but thethermal performance fell far belowBuilding Regulations. The new overcladding, however, effectively sealed thebuilding with the insulation enveloping thebalcony structure to reduce cold bridging.The windows have been replaced with

high performance composite versions. Theinternal frame is replaced with timber andpowder coated aluminium on the exteriorsto compliment the cladding aesthetics.The need for maintenance has beenreduced through the use of a siliconebased render, which offers a higher degreeof self-cleaning.The ventilation system has been

renewed and installed within the newkitchens and bathrooms, while a district

heating plant serves all three tower blocks.Each flat has its own heat interchange unitthat reinstates local control from thepreviously problematic central controlplant. Each flat now has its own heatmeter which operates on wirelessBluetooth technology, ensuring that theresidents are only charged for the heatthey use, therefore encouraging them toreduce energy consumption.The refurbished tower block also has

an optimised fire strategy along with amechanically activated smoke ventilationsystem and Intelligent materialspecification has reduced maintenancecost of the tower block.The project comprises the new-build or

refurbishment of some 679 properties –and the total redesign of some parts of thePriestman Point tower – so someproblems were bound to arise. That theywere all dealt with professionally andefficiently led one Building Control officerto describe the project as showing themost “consensus of desire and effort” ofany he had ever worked on.For tenants, this has been improved by

the provision of automatic main electricdoors to the building, replacing both liftsand making them both accessible at allresidential floors (previously only alternatefloors) therefore improving the access andnegating inconvenience caused by liftbreakdown. Flat interiors were brought upto Part M standard where feasible. Thenew community facilities, nursery andoffice all meet current Part M standards orbetter.

COMPLEX PROCESSTo enable new lift openings at each floor

level in wind bracing central core walls, aFinite Element Analysis of the structurewas carried out. The lift system within thetower has been radically changed, fullstop. Previously two lifts served alternativefloors but each now serves all levels. Thiswas a complex construction processinvolving ‘diamond cutting’ to create newopenings on every floor. Furthermore,security is enhanced with a concierge atground level and each flat now has a

Priestman Point, one of three skyscraping tower blocks, stands prominent onthe skyline of Bow, east London �


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phone entry system.In recognition of the substantial

improvements to the external envelopeand the enhanced thermal performance,delivered through the refurbishmentcontract, Priestman Point was eligible forCarbon Emissions Reduction Target(CERT) Funding, securing £39,000 fromcentral government in 2010.Residents have been eagerly moving

back in, encouraged by high qualityfinishes in kitchens and bathrooms,attractive balconies – many with greatviews of the nearby Olympic Park as wellas uninterrupted views of the City andCanary Wharf and beyond.

SAFE AND SOUND LIVINGThe success of the newly refurbished

flats challenges the theory that familiesshould live on lower or ground floor levels.100% of residents in a recent survey

commented that they were satisfied withthe improved Neighbourhood. WhenPriestman Point was completed TowerHamlets Staff received unsolicitedcomments from residents as to howpleased they were with the results.Priestman Point currently stands out like a

The improved new secure entrance with dramatic canopy – beyond lies a 24-hour concierge reception serving each and every resident

Priestman Point and neighbouring blocks pictured prior to the programme ofrefurbishment

“Cinderella in a ball gown alongside itstwo ugly sisters”.The success of the scheme to date can

be measured by a sharp increase in tenantapplications – up to 800 from 450 beforethe estate was transferred.A resident feedback survey carried out

in 2009 indicated that residents were 90%satisfied with their new homes, and 100%satisfied with the improvedneighbourhood.The change in the area prompted by the

transformation of this landmark EastLondon tower block has been nothing lessthan dramatic, giving a tangible positiveatmosphere.Previously the area was prone to

vandalism, arson and other crime,resulting in no-go areas. By the timePriestman Point was completed, however,Swan and staff from the London Boroughof Tower Hamlets received many positiveunsolicited comments from residents.

�


South East

Patrick Oliver BSc (Hons) MRICS

Area Surveyor

Passion for Professionalism

Phone: 0208 7715 035Mobile: 07908 697 263

E-mail: [email protected]: www.acjacsurv.co.uk

69 Lancaster Road, Upper Norwood, London SE25 4BL

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ACEANDERSONELECTRICALCONTRACTORS LIMITED

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We are a north London based company with apristine reputation in the building trade.

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Aqua-Air Hygiene Limited offer an extensive range of specialist services for water and airsystems which include:

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Water: sampling, testing, treatmentchemicals, pre-commission& renovation cleaning.

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We are a family run roofing business, father and son,with over 40 years roofing experience.We provide acomprehensive range of roofing services from roofrepair to a complete new roof. The company is ownedand managed by Ben Large, a professional roofer, whohas over 15 years of experience in the Trade.

In that time we have built up a successful reputationbased on the quality of our work and the reliabilityof our service. The company is based in Bedfordshire,

however we cover the Buckinghamshire,Hertfordshire and Greater London areas.

We pride ourselves in the excellence of theworkmanship provided, attention to detail andcompleting the job in a specified time.

As a valued customer we offer you free roofingadvice and a free quotation so there is no obligationto buy, so why not give our service a try, we are onlya phone call away!

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PLANNING & PARTY WALLSPECIALISTS LIMITED

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The Party Wall etc Act arises out ofthe first coordinated basis oflegislation intended to control

building design, particularly in relation tothe integrity of structures on boundariesand prevention of fire spread. It is unusualin being a statutory process administeredby construction professionals, not thelegal profession, too.It identifies key items of work, works to

party structures, new walls on boundariesand excavations close to adjoiningstructures, for which notice must beserved on neighbouring owners beforework can take place. Neighbouring ownershave the right to dissent to a Noticeserved and appoint a surveyor torepresent them.There has been some interest in

whether the Party Wall Act can be used toallay concerns of neighbouring owners inparts of London where excavation atbasements beneath existing buildings iscommon. In reality, the act cannot assistwith this as party wall surveyors have a

duty to allow works permitted under theact, such as excavating close to anadjoining building or underpinning anexisting party wall. The role of the surveyoris simply to ensure the design andexecution of those works is lawful and of asound method; the adjoining owner’ssurveyor may often engage a structuralengineer to advise them.There is an interesting crossover with

Building Control functions, however. Aparty wall surveyor will seek to ensure thatthe design and execution of work is soundbut will be aware such works will also beunder the supervision of either a BCOfficer or an Approved Inspector.Therefore to some extent, they can rely

on that inspection ensuring thatfoundations or underpins are appropriatefor the actual soil conditions. Indeed, therecould be an argument that where a designhas full plans approval, the method ofworking has been sufficiently approvedthat it would be inappropriate, and anunnecessary expense to the owner for that

to be checked further. Problems can arisewhen a builder does not follow the designand method statements set out. BuildingControl have enforcement powers in suchsituations and surveyors can adviseowners to seek injunctions to preventinappropriate or unsafe work. In such acase, it is vital to ensure that any unsafeexcavations or partly demolished buildingsare made immediately secure.The Party Wall Act can also ensure that

there is no misunderstanding over keyrights granted such as a right of access toan adjoining owner’s land, which will itselfoften be a cause for worry. A balancebetween a proper and thorough surveyingassessment and an inappropriateimposition of fees on a building owner thatis out of proportion to the work intendedmust be maintained as, after all, thepurpose of the act is to benefit bothowners and adjoining owners rather thanthe surveyors who administer it.


Acting on integrityAlistair Redler looks at issues surrounding building design and thePartyWall etc Act, 1996

South East

Excavation beneath existing London buildings is common

TATE WOODBURNChartered Surveyors & Estate Agents

144 Wandsworth High Street, Wandsworth,London SW18 4JJ

Tel: 0208 870 1010 Fax: 0208 871 1666Email: [email protected]: www.tatewoodburn.com

• Party Wall matters• Leasehold Reform Valuations

(lease extensions & freehold purchases)• Renewable Energy advice • EPCs

• Property Maintenance• Rent Review & Lease Renewals

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South East


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incorp: STAPLETON & SON

Slate Mine OwnerStonemasonry and Building

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Slate Drift Industrial EstateCollyweston, Stamford, Lincs PE9 3PG

Telephone: 01780 444627Fax: 01780 444335

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Specialist CollywestonStone Slating

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BHL Builders (Oxford) LtdUnit 5, Station Field Industrial EstateKidlington, Oxford OX5 1JD

Tel: 01865 378049Fax: 01865 378050Email: [email protected]: www.bhlbuilders.co.uk

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BHL BuildersO X F O R D

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Phase 1 Environmental

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Assessments

Call me,Peter George,now for advice

020 8291 [email protected]

4 De Frene Road, SE26 4ABwww.gosolve.co.uk


Where sustainabilitycomes as standardSustainability is at the heart of the design, construction and operating principles of the newBristol & Bath Science Park

SouthWest

The first phase of Bristol & BathScience Park, which opened inSeptember 2011, comprises three

new buildings – the Forum, InnovationCentre and Grow On Centre. The Forum,with its striking 11,000 sq ft glass atrium, isopen to the public and provides a socialheart for the Park, with space to meet, eat,collaborate and network.The 25,000 sq ft Innovation Centre

provides early-stage companies with thespace they need to grow on flexible terms,accommodating their swiftly changingneeds. The Grow On Centre providesanother 25,000 sq ft of space for moremature businesses. It is ideal forcompanies that need flexible terms as wellas the support of a lively businesscommunity.Accommodation across both facilities

includes small and large offices – servicedand non-serviced – semi-industrialworkspace, laboratories and conferencefacilities as well as high bandwidth andexcellent communications.

The Science Park is already home to theNational Composites Centre. This world-class research facility brings togethercompanies and academics to develop newmethods for the rapid manufacture of highvalue composite products, which is amajor growth opportunity for the UK.

SUSTAINABILITYSustainability is the driving force behind

the design, construction and operatingprinciples of the Science Park. The Parkbuildings and National Composites Centreare rated BREEAM Excellent and the sitehas been recognised as CEEQUALExcellent.The first two buildings have 200m2 (154

panels) of photovoltaic roofing, sharedacross the Innovation and Grow OnCentres, providing 10% of their energy andcutting more than 13 tonnes of carbondioxide emissions per year.Renewable energy for the site will be

provided through distributed energycentres. The first energy centre has solar

thermal panels to heat the water and isalso powered by a biomass boiler, usinglocally sourced wood chip. Future energycentres will incorporate new renewabletechnologies to encourage occupiers toincrease the percentage of energy theyderive from sustainable sources.The Forum building opens out on to a

large, new green communal space,Blackwell Common. Additionally, morethan 15% of the site has been allocated togreen space and where the originaltopography of the entire area has beenpreserved including retaining existinghedgerows and stonewalls. Electric carsand bikes are available on site for use bytenants at the Park.The first three buildings include the

following sustainability features:

ENERGY� High efficiency turbo core chillers,Rigidboard insulation, exposed soffits,windows that open to regulatetemperature and minimise the need for

The Forum’s impressive 11,000 sq ft atrium

�


SouthWest

Voltaire ElectricalSolutions Ltd

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SouthWest

air conditioning and movementsensitive lighting systems to improvethe energy efficiency of the buildings

� An enhanced building managementsystem which will enable real timemonitoring of building performance anda ‘traffic light’ system which supportsoccupiers in maintaining a comfortablebuilding environment withoutcompromising the energy efficiencyfeatures

� 200m2 of photovoltaic panels providingrenewable energy to the buildings

� A solar thermal hot water system willpre-heat the water for the heatingsystem, reducing its energy demand

� A biomass boiler capable of using chipsor pellets will provide heat using locallysourced biomass.

WASTE� Building contractors achieved 92%recycling rates for construction wasteon the site

� All excavated material was retained andreused on site, substantially reducingthe number of lorry trips to and fromsite

� Excavated rock was used to providehardcore for new roadways

� Concrete reinforcement was derivedfrom recycled sources.

CARBON� 40% of all materials were sourced fromwithin a 35 mile radius of the site

� Journeys to the site by site workerswere monitored daily and reported on amonthly basis

� 43% of construction workers on the sitewere drawn from the local communityproviding local employment whilstminimising carbon emissions fromcommuting

� Nine electric car charging points arebeing installed at the site encouraging aswitch to more carbon efficienttransport once the site is in use. Cyclingracks are also provided in front of thebuildings

� Three electric cars are available foroccupiers to use for journeys intoBristol and Bath and for travel within theregion

� An ultra high speed dark fibre internetinfrastructure is supporting state of theart audio visual and video conferencingsystems in meeting rooms which isreducing the need for journeys tomeetings and encourages virtualmeetings and conferences

� The Science Park is one of the foundersof the North Bristol SustainableCommuting Partnership (North BristolSus Com) which is a group of the ten

largest employers in a five-mile radiusof the Park. One of the principlepurposes of the group is to positivelyinfluence 50,000 staff and students totravel into the region by moresustainable and low carbon means.

BIO-DIVERSITY� More than 15% of the site has beenallocated green space

� All significant trees have been retainedand in one instance incorporated into abus stop creating a striking feature

� An ecological corridor has beendesigned into the scheme linking theeastern and western sides of the site

� The courtyard area between the Forum,Innovation Centre and Expansion Spaceis landscaped, providing a communalgarden area for users of the site.

WATER� The site has been raised, using materialexcavated during the constructionphase, to ensure it is not in the floodplain of the local river

� The café is being provided with chilled

still and sparkling water from the mainsto reduce the use of bottled water onsite.

CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMMEThe construction contractors, Wilmott

Dixon, have a strong sustainability ethosand strategy of their own. This was animportant factor in their selection for theproject and has been significant insupporting the delivery of sustainabilityambitions for the scheme. Theircommitment was put into practice on siteinitially with a workshop, which enabledthe whole team of consultants, contractorsand the client to work together to developand deliver the sustainability strategy forthe site. This approach encouragedinnovative ideas ranging from finding costsavings on materials that can then bedirected elsewhere, to making sure themilk for the site is purchased from the localmilkman. A whole range of sustainableconstruction good practice features wereapplied, such as:� No timber was allowed on the site thatis not FSC certified

� All waste was segregated with a view toachieving zero waste to landfill.

�

The Forum building provides a social heart for the Park


SouthWest

Alongside a health and safety briefing,all visitors to the site were briefed on theimportance of sustainability to the schemeand were given advice specifically inrelation to any waste they may bring on tothe site.� All journeys to site were logged –suppliers, contractors and visitors – togauge distance travelled and mode oftransport

� Energy and water usage was monitoredregularly with visible displays soperformance could be checked

� The supply chain for all products usedon site was monitored.

TRAVELTravel and transport is a major issue in

this part of Bristol. Recognising this, theScience Park continues to be an activeparticipant in North Bristol Sus Com, nowbased on site.An area wide Travel Plan has been

developed by the group incorporatingbaseline data collected through a numberof local projects including the SouthGloucestershire commuter survey and twoHighways Agency commissioned surveysat University of West of England andHewlett Packard.A map of local sustainable transport

‘barriers’ was produced showing problemsthat had been raised and suggestedsolutions. The granularity of this data isunusual and demonstrates a high level ofcommunity engagement. Problemsidentified included where roundaboutsgenerate conflicts between cyclists,pedestrians and motorists, where bridgesor pathways are too narrow, where cyclepaths are not clear or are poorlymaintained and pathways not sufficientlywell lit. Potential solutions were alsoidentified and suggested to the localauthority as part of the travel plan.

COMMUNITYThe Park is more than a collection of

buildings for the tenants. It will also be aplace for the local community to visit andenjoy. A four-metre wide path for walking,cycling and horseriding has beenincorporated across the site linking in tolocal transport networks. An extensiveCreative Common has been seeded withgrass designed to withstand ball games –no discouraging signs here!The Forum is ideal for use as a

community space, whether that’s for playsor other local events. By enjoying theamenity space and landscape thedevelopment provides, local people willhave a sense of ownership, ensuring it isused and protected and becomes avalued local resource. This is part of whatwe believe will drive value in the schemeproviding environmental, social andeconomic returns for years to come.

�

Movement sensitive lighting systemsensure improved energy efficiency

More than 15% of the site has beenallocated green space

The Bristol & Bath Science Park will become the UK’s leading hub forscience and technology businesses, with particular focus on the SouthWest’s strongest sectors such as aerospace, defence, microelectronics,green technologies and design.The Science Park is building on these strengths by connectingentrepreneurs, fledgling businesses and established brands with vitalinvestors, academia and design. The professional and supportiveenvironment is designed to encourage collaboration between universitiesand businesses and to accelerate the commercialisation of new and appliedtechnologies. The Universities of Bath, Bristol and West of England are keystakeholders in the Science Park.The concept for the site is the creation of a space and place for occupiersthat reflects their professional and personal ambitions. The site has beendesigned for high quality buildings located in close proximity but surroundedby large, open and attractive shared green areas. This aims to avoid theisolation and exclusivity between companies that can be experienced onsome business parks and to provide a simple means for occupiers to meetother professionals in a productive environment. There is also a desire toencourage the local community to make use of the common areas so thatthe Park is lived in through the week. The space will include flexible offices,research space and laboratories.The 59 acre (24 hectare) site in Emerson's Green, north Bristol, is easilyaccessible by rail, air and the M4 and M5 motorways.

Bristol and Bath form one of the six Science City regions in England,recognising its many achievements in world class scientific research,innovation and development – most notably in the fields of advancedengineering, ICT and creative industries.To date, it has been the only region in the country not to have a sciencepark. Creating the Bristol & Bath Science Park is the culmination of decadesof collaboration and a major step forward in promoting the region'sconcentration of highly-skilled people as well as creating a hotbed for futureinnovation.The Science Park project has been designed, developed and managed byQuantum Property Partnership – a joint venture between Quintain Estatesand Development plc and Aviva Investors. The South West RegionalDevelopment Agency invested £40m which was instrumental in unlockingthe project. The freehold is now held and managed by the Homes andCommunities Agency. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills isproviding strategic oversight of the Science Park as one of three nationalassets for which it provides such oversight.

A NATIONAL ASSET

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We also have experience in thefollowing area's:Taping & jointingPlasteringTiling

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T: (01522) 688331M: 07881924084 [email protected]

After a tough couple of years many peoplewill try to tell you that the UK has clamberedout of recession. However, not everyone hasfelt a full recovery and austerity measuresapply in many areas of the economy. TheOffice for Budget Responsibility does notexpect the UK to return to its previous highuntil the first quarter of 2014, so the reality forthose wanting to get up and running at thestart of 2014 without costly time delays isthat, in terms of ecology, it’s not too far away.The majority of ecological surveys need to

be undertaken between mid-March andSeptember, giving a six-month window toobtain all the ecological survey informationrequired in order to get planning applicationsaccepted, planning conditions removed and

licences accepted for species such as GreatCrested Newt and bats. It’s hard not to seecommissioning ecologists now for plans of ayear away as being early but this is certainlythe path to a smoother development.A Phase 1 survey and assessment will

determine if there is a need for furtherecological surveys and the earlier this iscompleted during a proposed project thebetter. One protected species where earlyassessment is essential is Great CrestedNewts. If they could be present within 500mof a development it is unlikely planningpermission will be granted until surveys arecomplete. Presence/absence surveys canonly be completed between March and mid-June with at least half visits done between

mid-April and mid-May. Missing this surveyperiod may mean a delay of up to one year.The results of early surveys for protected

species may also require/allow significantchanges in the designs of any developmentsuch as altering the use of roof spaces forbats, avoiding/creating/enhancing ponds fornewts and allowing work-free buffers aroundBadger setts. The best time to get thesefeatures into plans is at the start of design tominimise impact on development space.Graphic: Optimal Survey and Mitigation

timings for Protected Species.To discuss surveys/planning and timing

issues do not hesitate to contact TurnstoneEcology ([email protected]) orsee www.turnstone-ecology.co.uk.

Ecology: Planning earlyMidlands


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Midlands

Hearty, healthysuburban serviceThis tapas restaurant, charcuterie,wine and coffee bar wasnamed after a dish which translates as ‘drunken fish’ androse from an existing building in a poor state of repair to afamily business that exudes charm and warmth. ArchitectToby Orsborn spoke to BC&DS

So how was it, being asked to comeup with the perfect location for achange of tack for this prominent

Nottinghamshire concern? “It was a toughask, given this was the third restaurantopened by the Perkins family and not onegoing for the modern English theme of theother two,” admits the project architectand director at Verb Architects.“The building had suffered through time

with a series of alterations and extensionswhich did little to unify the entire building.“The ambition was to introduce a charm

and warmth often absent from commercialstreet frontages. The interior designattempts to draw a clear line between thepermanent structural elements and thefurniture and fittings, which evolve andage through time.“In reality the ambition translated into

stripping back the place to a readable andexposed structure, while keeping thesense of an extension to the family’soriginal site, which had involved a

converted carriage hall and railway stationnow operating as two separaterestaurants.“So it was close enough to feel like an

extension without actually overlapping theother businesses, with their more rural,village location. The whole thing felt like anorganic step forward for the familybusiness.“They really know what they are doing

so we were able to find just the right placein terms of catchment, having looked at avariety of other opportunities.”

UNDER BUDGETThe programme and the budget, despite

their representing major challenges to thescheme from the very start, were tackledinventively and met with undeniable flyingcolours, thanks to a little give and take: “Inthe end it actually came in under budgetalthough the soft launch was delayed byone week – it had become an either/or

situation,” recalls Orsborn.Externally, a striking green wall covers

the first floor, while inside, the buildingwas stripped back to the exposedstructure and a single space created forthe bar and restaurant.“When it came to health and safety we

were very proud of our 100% accidentrecord as contractors can overlap on atight site such as this, and from asustainable point of view, while on theinside we did find we were a little limited,

Street elevation showing the restaurant’s West Bridgford location

Escabeche’s green living wall conceptreferences a Marks & Spencer in Norwich

A view of the gallery


Midlands

Relocated stairs and ground floor service area The gallery from below

Open spaces to the bar and kitchen were retained so as to helpreduce heating and cooling demands – note re-used timber on the bar

Gallery dining space on the first floor of thecompleted restaurant

we were still able to keep open spaces tothe kitchen and bar so as to help reduceheating and cooling demands.

MAXIMISED SUSTAINABILITY“That worked out very well, having

eaten there myself since! But the mainthing was we were able to re-use as muchof the old material as we could as wepulled the building apart.”

The contractors took to the task ofmaximised sustainability with enthusiasm.Re-used timbers created the bar front anddismantled chimney breasts were re-builtas exposed brickwork.All the surviving doors were re-used,

while all the old floor joists ended up beingused as vanity shelving in the women’sbathroom.“The only real thermal upgrading we

could do was to replace the existing single

glazing with double-glazed folding doorsand the fixtures and fittings came last, asyou’d expect.”Orsborn could hardly hide the pride he

took in both working on and delivering theEscabeche restaurant if he tried, and hewas especially glad that his persuasiveskills were called upon when a decisionhad to be made regarding the whole lookof the first floor, which includes a gallerywithin. �


Midlands

ATMOSPHERIC LINKS“We introduced two rational extensions

which allowed the main staircase to movefrom its central location and created asingle space for the restaurant and bar.Carefully located openings in the rear walland the first floor enable visual andatmospheric links to the kitchen and thefirst floor gallery.“The foliage was an idea I’d seen

succeed when Verb worked on a Marks &Spencer in Norwich, and also on a hotel inLondon, which is yet to complete.“I think it’s also turned out well as the

front elevation uses a reclaimed hardwooddoor surround as a new entrance, with thegreen living wall referencing both the parkentrance and the churchyard at each endof the street.“As for Verb ourselves, we can handle a

bigger scale project than this one andhave done but this was a good project towork on. Building Control did have to beflexible – it’s just in the nature of thesekind of refurbs – but seeing as their officeis just round the corner from Escabechethe relationship was a very flexible and avery positive one.

SPECIAL PRAISE RESERVED FORBUILDING CONTROL“If I had to single anyone out who made

the whole job easier personally, in fact, itwould have to be Gareth Jones. We wouldring up first thing in the morning usually –but whenever it was they would just comeover and see us, as opposed toscheduling regular meetings.“Gareth was really enthusiastic from the

word go – we had found and he agreedthat the building’s previous reincarnationshad not been sympathetic to say the least.We stripped it right back to its originalstate and attempted to keep all its originalqualities, something he was whollysupportive of – he really was constantlyencouraging us.”

�

The view from the back of Escabeche’s gallery

Bar and kitchen servery window

Adjacent street frontages; note foliage on first floor of restaurant


William Knapton

Painter & Decorator

[email protected]

Tel: 0793 994 0236

Tel: 01280 700567 and 07715 299194Email: [email protected]: www.listed-buildings.com

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To celebrate our 75 years of trading, C. Gregory & Co. Ltd. inconjunction with Glo-worm have organised a prize draw, where thewinner of the draw will receive a fully installed and integrated SolarThermal System worth £4500, so you can enjoy hot water which is

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Midlands


Mrs Pabla-Thomas told BC&DS ofthe Victorian propertyy on whichshe and husband Neil spent

£400,000: “We wanted to preserve,enhance and extend it.”Originally built in 1886, the results of the

couple’s investment have beenspectacular to the point of stopping traffic.“We decided on a modernist extension tothe side of the house with similarproportions to what would have been thesize of a Victorian villa, and using similarmaterials wherever possible.“We had to move numerous times

because, having put our other house upfor sale – we then owned two on ChorltonGreen, in Manchester – we expected it totake a while given the state of the market,only for it to be sold within a week!“We were selling that one to finance this

but had thought we’d have more time,only for the buying family actually needingto move in within six weeks. So we endedup in flats nearby until partial completion,which was four days before Christmas.”

FORMAL STRUCTURETalking as the couple were just finishing

off the snagging, she said: “We had aformal structure given that I was both theclient and the architect, which included afull team of consultants and a structuralengineer but no quantity surveyor.

“Decisions were simpler that way – weput change procedures in place so thatthe contractor would go off after a meetingand come back with either a cost or asaving.”Willowbank was formerly known in the

neighbourhood as “the cannon house”due to its previous owner’s penchant foreccentric features such as a Buddha,vintage cars, Greek statues and, yes, areal cannon. Sonja continued: “What wefound was no insulation whatsoever, and

we also found there was a lot of buildingdifferential settlement, in fact you could fityour hand through some of the cracks. Itaffected the windows in particular, so theyall had to be taken out and put back in.“All the original features were restored

including internal beams which hadbecome detached, as well as the stainedglass windows. The rest of the glazing isArgon filled, with a Low-e coatingwherever there was a cavity.“We set out to insulate to two or three


Eco-Victorian odysseyChristenedWillowbank by its latest owners, one of whom, Sonia-Pabla-Thomas, happens tobe an architect, this unique house off Manchester Road in Chorlton Green was purchasedtwo years ago for £490,000 and is now valued at a nice, round million.Their ‘eco-retro-fit’took eight months to complete, during which they rented nearby

North

A thoroughly modern Victorian villa takes shape

Construction took contractors Boarshurst eight months to complete

�


North

�times the building regs, making it asairtight and as structurally sound aspossible. The ground floors aresuspended, insulated timber and we haverestored the wooden paneling – basically itmeant solid masonry construction for halfof the derelict building. There was a smallamount of underpinning, wrapped ininsulated render, and the timber panels allwent up in eight days.“We’ve a grass roof as well to add to

the ecothermal credentials such as a heatrecovery system, solar thermal energy andphotovoltaics. We also went for Flowcretepoured floors, with underfloor heating anda seamless white resin kitchen floor.”Have the awards for sustainability

started to clutter up the mantelpiece yetthen? “We will be greening up the siteduring the spring, and that’s when wemight enter Willowbank for a few things,”Sonia answers. As yet then, the sideboardis bare and no awards have been enteredfor, “but the house has been received verywell in blogs, both local and national…“It was also unusual to receive no

objection to our plans – we expected atleast some raised voices given that ourhouse is located within the WilbrahamRoad/Edge Lane conservation area, butmaybe because it had been derelict for solong there was a large amount of good willforthcoming from the local community.“It went down a lot better than coming

in and erecting 4-5 townhouses in thesame space, for example, which wouldhave been viable and in context with thearea. It would also certainly have beencheaper to demolish and then build a newone, but we were determined to save it.”

Timber panels went up in eight days The Willowbank kitchen boasts a seamless white resin floor

The ground floors are suspended, insulated timber

All the original features were restored, including beams



North

GM Builders

Builders

7, Dunlin CloseLiverpoolL27 6WD

Tel: 07933 669149Email: [email protected]

Contaminated Land ServicesSpecialists in:

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Additional capabilities in:• rapid site evaluation• second opinion reviews• garden cover soils

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For more information or to discuss your next brownfielddevelopment project, whatever the size, contact:

Dr Tony Smith or Katrina Hawkins onT: 01978 822367 E: [email protected]

or visit: www.smithgrant.co.ukSmith Grant LLP, Station House, Station Road,

Ruabon, Wrexham LL14 6DL

SPRINTELECTRICAL17 Longthwaite Road, Wigton,Cumbria CA7 9JR

Tel: 016973 42414Mob: 07850 281951

E-mail: [email protected]

We specialise in state-of-the-art electricalinstallations. We carry out your projectprofessionally, using the latest technology,provide all necessary certificates andcan also provide comprehensive,straightforward advice.

We can carry out Electrical InstallationCondition Reports (formerly PeriodicInspection Reports) on your existingelectrical installation, whether thatinstallation is industrial, commercial,domestic, agricultural or caravan park.

Services

Your building's technical installations arevital. Correct use of the right technologynot only saves you money but also ensurespeace of mind.

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Worth the waitIn this BC&DS Q&A Steve Logan, Senior Building Control Officer at Bury Council, was happyto shed light on the eventual completion of the Rock Triangle shopping centre in Bury, northof Manchester, in the face of significant, potentially terminal interruptions which reflected asign of the times for construction

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This £350m scheme includes thelargest outdoor retail developmentto have opened in the UK in 2010,

extending Bury High Street, creating anew town square and drawing a number ofmajor retailers to the town centre. Theretail element is 84% let – highlyimpressive in the current economicclimate. The development also includesresidential space and a 100,000 squarefeet of leisure quarter. The variety of usesand sheer scale inevitably led to a range ofcompliance issues, but Bury BuildingControl praised contractor Laing O’Rourkeand architect BDP’s transparent approachin dealing with these as quickly andefficiently as possible.The contractor went out of business

while assurances were given that therewould be no impact on this project.Whatkind of practical problems did thatpose? “The transition from Thornfield toHammerson was a relatively smoothprocess from a Building Controlperspective. We attended Rock TriangleMonthly Planning Meetings and werebriefed about the imminent change of theproject client.“Reassurances were given that the

mainstay of the project would continuewith the exception of Block A, which wasput on hold along with the residential

podium blocks. In terms of problems, itwas a case of the project managers atLOR looking into what financial savingscould be made. This gave me someadditional work – attending meetings atthe Laing O’Rourke (LOR) offices with thevarious block managers agreeingspecification changes.”

Were any other urban retail centres inparticular used as a model in any shapeor form? “BDP – London drew up thewhole scheme at the design stage with a‘city- street scape’ theme, I’m not surethey followed any particular model,although the design team combination ofBDP and LOR had worked collaborativelyon the L1 Shopping centre, Liverpool,which may have been an influence on thedesign concept.”

ANCHOR STORESWas there any need to deal

separately with anchor stores such asDebenhams, Marks & Spencer orPrimark? “The whole scheme wassubmitted to Building Control on a block-by-block basis and yes, these anchorswere dealt with separately, which didgreatly assist the plan-checking tasks,especially dealing with the general firesafety strategies. The scheme comprised:

� Block A – Mainly retail units on twolevels

� Block B – Retail units at ground andfirst floor with three separate apartmentpodiums above first floor roof level

� Block C – Marks & Spencer retail atground, first and second floor levelswith apartments podiums above theretail unit

� Block D – Debenhams

� Block E – A mixed usage block withlarge retail units along with the centremanagement suite and multi-storey carpark providing parking space for 1,250cars

� Block F – A mixed usage blockcomprising of a multi-screen cinema,24-lane bowling alley, restaurants andretail units.”

How complex was the challengecompared to your usual day-to-dayinspection work? “The project wasobviously a major scheme with a degree ofcomplexity, which warrants specialattention. From my own perspective, thescheme was massive in comparison to theusual town centre developments.“I had first-hand experience of shopping

centres, having worked on theredevelopment of the Exchange shoppingcentre and Wheatsheaf shopping centre inRochdale along with extensions to theMiddleton shopping centre.“It was difficult to estimate the scale of

the scheme, given that it was submitted inseparate blocks – two major anchor stores– M&S and Debenhams along withcombinations of multi-storey carparking/shop units/residential towerpodiums and shopping and a leisurecomplex with multi-screen cinema andbowling.“When the final buildings on the

designated site were demolished and thehoardings were erected the full scale ofthe operation became clear – covering inthe region of 1.6 million square feet…possibly the biggest single commercialdevelopment in Greater Manchester, withthe single exception of Media City inSalford.“Although the volume of work was quite

staggering, we embraced the challengeand, given the uncertain financial climateof 2008, when the first phase commenced,Bury MBC where more than happy thatthis development had been given the go-

With the Rock Triangle’s retail element at 84% let, there is also residential spaceand a leisure quarter �


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ahead. At times Building Control wasstretched to its very limits with threeseparate ground works contractors onsite.“Building Control worked in

collaboration with both the maincontractors and the consultant StructuralEngineers’ on-site compliance teams,along with specialised building systemsand quality control assurance systems,once the superstructure was on the way.”

ONLINE TOOLSWere online tools used between

architect and contractor to track andrecord approvals? “Yes, BDP utilised thebenefits of A-Site to manage alldrawings/specifications/documents – amassive task in itself.“Although Building Control did have

access to A-Site, which was really useful,the major design items with BuildingRegulation implications were dealt with ona daily basis in design team meetings heldat the Laing O’Rourke nerve centre – StJohn’s House adjacent to the site.”

Was there anyone deserving ofparticular praise you could single outfor us? “I would say without hesitationthat the Laing O’Rourke ProjectManagement Team should becongratulated for the overall co-ordinationof this massive project and their co-operative approach to dealing with allparties concerned.”

Which specific challenges arose fromthe original brief? “End user, retail clientlead, re-adjustments to unit sizes didcause quite a few 11th-hour problems,one particular unit had to be altered to

accommodate retail space either side of amass reinforced concrete shear wall, a3,000m wide opening through thestructure was required by the client. Notbefore a few phone calls to the consultantstructural engineer and associated re-design calculations had been provided, Ihasten to add!“Block F the leisure complex was

probably the most challenging from ourperspective, added complications aroseas a result of the multi-screen cinema – fitout dealing dealt with by an ApprovedInspector, issues relating to access fordisabled and the emergency escape gaveBuilding Control a few headaches, whichultimately were resolved to everyone’smutual agreement.”

How were all these overcome? “A fullstructural design appraisal was requestedprior to any alterations being made. Thiswas provided by Buro Happold, theoriginal design consultant StructuralEngineers.”

RESIDENTIAL FIT-OUTSWas anything abandoned from the

drawing board? “Yes, when Hammersonstook over the scheme from Thornfields,they took options not to proceed with theresidential fit-outs along with Block A.”

How about choices made on firesafety? “Individual Block Applicationswhere accompanied with aComprehensive Fire Engineering StrategyDocument provided by the Buro HappoldConsultancy – Leeds.“These generally followed a risk

assessment based upon end user profile,fire fighting shafts being integrated in

accordance with Approved Document B.“A revised hybrid fire engineering

strategy was subsequently submitted inrespect of selected blocks, this adoptedthe principals of the Vulcan analyses ofcritical fire zones based upon findingsfrom the Cardington Fire Tests.”

How did you work around people andbusy neighbouring businesses with aminimum of disruption? “The LaingO’Rourke project management put intoplace a programmed scheduled deliveryplan – which did appear to work very wellindeed, obviously there was majordisruption given that ‘The Rock’historically has been the focus of towncentre shopping in the town – and thisroad needed to be closed.“Both the council and the development

team made special efforts to feed as muchinformation as possible to localbusinesses which included presentationsprior to the completion of the scheme.”

The Rock Triangle: the biggest single commercial development in Greater Manchester, with the exception of Media City in Salford

�


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Going even greenerWales

At the turn of the year we knew thenext few weeks were going to provea tad busy for the team, from

changing lightbulbs to laying pipe and thereal manual labour involved in PVinstallation and ram piling. Planningpermissions were coming in thick and fastfor the photovoltaics (PVs) being workingon: Penrhyn (50kw), Plas Newydd (50kw),Cwrt (50kw), Powis (50kw), Erddig(50kw)… with the last 100kw expectedsoon after. Most of the permissions havethe expected and necessary aesthetic orecological conditions attached (newts,trees and planting) especially around thescreening and boundary work, which is asper our mitigation work.On day one at Plas Newydd 50kw the

guys working to the contract companyPrescient Energy were in ram piling. Therewas a slight hitch with the CAT scannershowing an unexpected undergroundcable with a live feed. A little bit of digginglater on showed a cast iron pipe runningthe length of the first array.Why ram pile as a means of installation?

Speed; less ground disturbance;reversibility. Careful pile placing and a bitof tree pruning to get the ram piler in placeand we were away. The team normallypiles 200 uprights a day but of course wehave stony ground, which slowedprogress. The lads doing the piling saidthey were fully booked to March 3 – so

Government’s appeal to the SupremeCourt appears not to have caused toomuch uncertainty in the piling world!My colleague Paul worked on the 700m

of 120mm cable needed to join the fieldbased PV to Plas Newydd mansion.Originally we were going to be bringing in anew three-phase supply from over the roadto the dairy tea room, but, at £25,000, itmade more sense spending the samemoney running our own 700m cable fromthe mansion to the PV, reason being thatthe mansion will use all of the power

generated by the PV as opposed to anestimated 50% the tea room would use (3pexport vs 9p use on-site per kw). A PV of50kw is no small amount of energy.

FIT CHANGES = STRESSEach of the sites had their tweaks and

detail and as ever the devil is in the detail.We were using three types of frames,dependent on the sites. Consol system asused in Llanerchaeron on a couple of steepsites (benching the slope); fabricatedframes for Powis nursery and a morestandard approach in the rest. Blackframed panels were used on a few of themore obvious sites to cut down on glint.The proposed changes to the Feed-in

tariff (FIT) caused us a lot of stress, re-forecasting and looking at deliveryprogrammes. Can we squeeze them in, orshould we, if it causes problems. The bestwe can do is work with the facts. Therevised tariff from December 12th stillworks for us and if there is an additional17.7p per kWh on the 50kw systems wehave going in then that ultimately meansmore income to put into conservation.Money has never been our main driver.

The National Trust in Wales has a 60%renewable energy target/aspiration toreach by 2013 and the FIT is assisting bymaking technologies viable but alsodriving down the prices. This does notseem to be happening in hydro but that’sanother story. After a busy few days withPV the marine source heat pump cameback onto the radar. Because of itPlas Newydd Country House (east front) ©NTPL/Nick Meers

Keith Jones of the National Trust talks BC&DS readers through the NewYear green makeoverhe undertook with colleagues at the Country House and Gardens, Plas Newydd in Anglesey,northWales – from PV installation to marine source heat pumps and even switching to LEDlightbulbs in the tourist attraction’s many chandeliers

�

Panels were installed via ram piling ©NTPL/Keith Jones

potentially being one of the first large-scaleclosed loop systems in the UK it called tomind the old Welsh adage “measure ahundred times, cut only once”.Working with pipe suppliers, engineers

and the Seacams project team fromBangor University we are all fully into theresearch aspect and we had a meeting on-site to scope the marine collector.From the first calculations it looked like

we need quite a few kilometres of marinecollector. But how to configure thecollector, what are the risks and how do webuild it? Do we lay a long length of pipe upand down a shelf near the main navigablechannel in the [Menai] Straits, or 100-500mcoils on metal sleds. Coils in pipes or coilson flexible concrete mats?We need to test each system.

The universityis conducting tests to seewhat, if anything, will grow on the inertpipe and to see if this will affect not only itsefficiency but also its long-termserviceability. The land bit looks fairlystraightforward but we needed to researchthe marine aspect quite a bit more. Thiswas such a gorgeous day, one of thosewhen you’re glad to do the work I do!We entered February with frames

complete and the mansion PV powerstations shifting gear in termsof installation. Day 3 and the main frameand mountings were almost complete PVpanels being fitted day 4. The contractorsstarted on the 700m cable link from themansion to the array so we’d be up andrunning in a week. It is interesting to seethat the component prices are falling on PVbut the area of greatest cost reduction Ifeel is in the installation as experience,speed and systems improve in the UK.There is a lot of generation capacity

being installed by us at the moment and afair percentage of this is going to export –35%, give or take. But the clever thing withgenerated energy is not to export but touse on-site (effectively and efficiently) bothin terms of income (3 to 5p per kWh exportvs 9 to 12p per kWh import) but also interms of carbon saving based on on-linelosses and inefficient grid.We are currently investigating and

piloting something called private wire –having our own micro grid to supplynearby properties with electricity. This willgo along our own cables to tenants, bothdomestic and businesses, to buildingsfairly close to the generation sites. Seemssimply technically and makes sense sowe’re costing up the additional cabling,sub-metering and distribution system.The advantage to the National Trust is

we gain a better return for the generatedenergy because we use it on-site ratherthan export it. Advantage to our tenant:substantial reduction in their bills… andthey get green electricity! Next Paul andI spent a day installing the new heritageLED bulbs in the conservation zones – theconservation zone is the equivalent of the

museum side of the mansion. We’ve allbeen asked as advisors/consultants andbusiness support teams to volunteer atproperties for a few days a year – to lendsupport but also to learn and discuss withthose at the coalface. As the environmentalteam we opted to practice what we preachand this meant changing to low energyconservation bulbs at Plas Newydd.It was a day of scaffolding and really tall

ladders. The new LED bulbs look reallyeffective on the chandeliers. Unfortunately,however, on the wall sconces the newbulbs did not fit. There was also a bit ofimprovement needed on the larger 4wbulbs. The company wholesaling the bulbs

was on-site very quickly and workingon adjustment and improvement to bedelivered to site within three weeks. Nowthat is what I call service!We were looking forward to moving from

25w to 3w in most of the mansion but alsothe longevity aspect with LED meansless frequent call on really, really tallladders. The LED work has highlighted thefact that the NT needs to be exacting in itsdemands of suppliers but also to work withpeople who aspire to the sameends. Mansions are unique and quite oftenso are their services and bulb holders!Much as I like chandeliers actually workingon them is simply nerve-racking.


Wales

A pipe leading from the boiler house pictured at low tide ©NTPL/Keith Jones

�

The sea wall is listed as well as the mansion©NTPL/Nick Meers


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