Member Article

North Tyneside buildings scoop construction awards

North Tyneside has equalled its best ever haul of awards at a prestigious ceremony that recognises the region’s best building projects.

The Tim Lamb Children’s Centre, Cobalt Business Park Data Centres and 121 Building Services were all winners at the LABC (Local Authority Building Control) Northern Region Building Excellence Awards.

They were among 13 nominations submitted by North Tyneside’s Building Control service - now delivered on behalf of North Tyneside Council by Capita Symonds as part of a technical services partnership.

The Building Control team aims to ensure building work in the borough is compliant with Building Regulations legislation and, where possible, uses energy efficient design and construction.

Cllr John Harrison, cabinet member for Housing and the Environment, said: “We want people to be proud to live, work and visit in North Tyneside.

“This means that as well as getting the fundamentals right, such as providing clean neighbourhoods, we help ensure the very fabric of our borough is to a high standard.

“That’s why I’m delighted that so many of our building projects have been judged as being among the very best examples of construction.”

Michael Clarkson, Building Control Manager, said: “We were delighted to help achieve this recognition for North Tyneside’s building projects.

“We work closely with design teams at an early stage to help ensure buildings are not only safe but are as energy efficient and sustainable as possible. This is a real endorsement of this work”

Details of the three winners from North Tyneside are as follows:

Best Community Building - Tim Lamb Children’s Centre at Rising Sun Country Park

The Tim Lamb Children’s Centre in the Rising Sun Country Park is a specialist centre for disabled children and young people and their families where they can play and socialise in safe and secure environment.

The centre is run by the charity Pathways4All – it was designed by Dene King Architectural Services and built by Robertson Construction.

It is located in a previously derelict building and was refurbished using almost exclusively voluntary labour and donation from across the building trade – including the time of two Building Control surveyors.

Building work was carried out to an unusually tight timescale due to the deadline for filming a TV programme helping to promote the charity.

Best Technical Innovation - Cobalt Business Park Data Centres

Two data centres on Cobalt Business Park house various computer and telecoms infrastructure. Traditionally such centres require large amounts of power for equipment cooling and automated fire and flood protection.

However, the centres in North Tyneside have been designed and constructed to very high energy efficiency standards almost unheard of in the industry. They have achieved the Building Research Establishment’s BREEAM rating of ‘outstanding’.

Many technical innovations have been incorporated including passive ventilation, maximised natural light and ventilation and natural cooling through the use of a water feature.

The centres were built on behalf of Highbridge Properties by Bowmer & Kirkland and designed by Woods Bagot.The Building Control team was involved right from project inception through to the design and build phases.

Best Local Builder – 121 Building Services

Run by Trevor Hope, 121 Building Services operate across Tyneside and relies on personal recommendation rather than advertising.

They have worked closely with the North Tyneside Building Control team in recent years and have developed a close professional relationship that deals with all the technical aspects of construction.

Trevor said: “In order to achieve a good portfolio of previous clients it has been just as important to work closely with the North Tyneside Building control team.

“For a number of years it has been a pleasure not just for myself and my team but for my customers to see friendly and helpful Building Control Surveyors arriving and inspecting their projects.

“The North Tyneside Building Control surveyors are always willing to spend their time explaining the methods and requirements for every individual job. Because most building contracts are based upon trust between myself and the customer it is equally as important that the Building Control surveyor is also entered into the loop so that all parties achieve a successful outcome.”

LABC is the member organisation that represents Local Authority Building Control departments in England and Wales. The northern region features all authorities from the Yorkshire/Lancashire border to the Scottish border.

The LABC Northern Region Building Excellence Awards were presented at a ceremony last month at the Hilton Hotel, Gateshead, attended by more than 240 people from the construction industry across the north.

Over 70 nominated projects were selected as finalists for the Building Excellence Awards - in 13 different project type categories.

The Best Local Builder category is a local award, however, the other winners have been put forward for the LABC National Building Excellence Awards to be held in London in November.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by North Tyneside Council .