Future Skills Centre – Bordon

The Future Skills Centre – Bordon

Introduction

The Future Skills Centre, which was designed by Perkins Ogden Architects, now marks the entrance to new Louisburg employment zone in Bordon which is a key part of the redevelopment of the former Army barracks by East Hampshire District Council and their partners at Enterprise M3 LEP and Hampshire County Council. The project’s investment was approved and formed part of the regeneration of the area to enhance the local and regional economy by providing a centre of excellence for construction skills training.

Overview

PMc were appointed as Client Director by Hampshire County Council,  Hampshire Futures Team. Our role entailed writing the funding bid to the Enterprise M3 LEP, producing the draft business plan and outline curriculum plans, liaising with CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) on the design and business model for the new centre, assisting in the appointment of the contractor, preparing for Gateway Review meetings, helping with the appointment of the operating partner, and chairing regular project meetings throughout the duration of the project.

The planning application for the new centre was submitted in September 2015 and approved in November. Works started on site in the summer of 2016 and the Centre opened for learners in the autumn of 2017.

Future Skills Centre 2016 - 2017

The Projects Objectives were: 

  • Provision of just over 1,000 m2 of construction and other training facilities to meet employer demand in Bordon ;
  • Creation of three industry standard workshops, three general purpose teaching spaces and a dynamic concourse acting as a ‘shop window’ to the Future Skills Centre and the wider employment zone;
  • Creation of a functional space to serve the local community – for adult education, conferences and community events.

Key Facts

Heading #1
Total project costs
£4M
Start on site
February 2016
Completion date
September 2017
Architects
Perkins Ogden Architects / Hampshire County Council Property Services
Main contractor
Interserve
Building area
1000 sqm
Employers agent & cost consultant
Aecom
Client project manager
Peter Marsh Consulting Ltd

Testimonial

“We chose to work with Peter and his team on this project based on the successful delivery of the CEMAST project in Fareham and his strong understanding of both the construction process and FE curriculum delivery. The project has faced a number of legal, funding and design challenges which Peter has helped us work through with tenacity and drive. We very much look forward to welcoming the first cohort of learners into the new centre in the Autumn of 2017 and for the FSC to become a key part of the local economy – supporting the construction industry and local community in equal measure.”

Phillip Walker, Head of Future Skills, Hampshire County Council

Building new careers in Whitehill and Bordon
www.hants.gov.uk

Building the future has begun at Whitehill and Bordon’s brand new Future Skills Centre – and the new training facility has been officially opened by the Minister of State for Employment, Damian Hinds MP.

GALLERY: BCOT officially handed over new site
www.basingstokegazette.co.uk

A Basingstoke college has officially taken on a new centre designed to train up the construction professionals of the future.

Project Team

Lambeth College – Nine Elms Campus

Lambeth College – Nine Elms STEAM Centre

Overview

Lambeth College is the largest provider of skills training for young people and adults in the London Borough of Lambeth and is an important education facility and a large employer within the Borough.

In February 2021, we were excited to announce the start of the construction of the new STEAM Centre for Lambeth College in Vauxhall. The STEAM Centre will be a ten-storey further education skills centre for Lambeth College with specialisms in science, dentistry, digital, media, engineering and construction.

We have been working with the College since 2015 – on space planning; developing the estate strategy; writing the business case; helping to secure funding from the Mayor for London; and working with the design team to take the scheme through the planning process. We are delighted to be the appointed Project Manager and Employer’s Agent for the construction and build out of the scheme – working with the client’s technical advisors and Grahams Construction to transform this important college site.

The redevelopment of the Nine Elms campus in which the new STEAM centre is located is an education-led scheme. The scheme, which comprises 4 phases, allows for a substantial increase in educational floorspace, as well as a smaller element of student residential development and a shared workspace as part of a new business incubation and innovation hub.

Introduction

Since the summer of 2017 Peter Marsh Consulting Ltd (PMc) has been working with Lambeth College to develop an education-led redevelopment of their existing site at Nine Elms. A ‘Skills for Growth’ funding bid was submitted to the London Education Action Partnership (LEAP) in April 2018 which set out the detailed business case for the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths (STEAM) Centre that forms the first phase of the redevelopment of the site.

We worked with the design team led by APLB to deliver a RIBA Stage 2 report, which formed part of the successful bid for £22.5m funding which we wrote to support the construction of the £45m new STEAM Centre on the College’s Nine Elms Campus. In the summer of 2019, following a competitive tender process via the Bloom Framework we were appointed as Project Managers from stage 3b onwards. The design of the building progressed, following extensive engagement with stakeholders to ensure that the end result is a transformational learning environment, which inspires learners, responds to employers’ skills needs, meets staff’s requirements and is adaptable to the curricula of the future. The funding bid was successful and the final funding agreement for the project was signed in September 2019.

Taking the space planning brief, we produced as a point of reference, options were explored to reach an optimum depth and primary structural grid to most efficiently provide the room sizes defined by the brief, whilst enabling flexibility and adaptability both internally and in conjunction with glazing and facade solutions.

By establishing a building grid into which standard room sizes fit, internal partition walls could then be located at any point along the length of the plan, flexibility was designed in. Also, a straightforward and efficient layout with a central corridor provides for easy navigation and simple circulation routes. Rather than create a single large atrium that is passed through at the start and end of the day, the building includes as series of larger double-height ‘Digital Spine’ spaces at the prominent South-East corner of the building which provide a range of cross-college facilities and create a series of shop-windows looking up to the busier Wandsworth Road.

A core requirement of the brief is to ensure flexibility is designed into the STEAM building, so that it is inclusive, future proofed and sustainable.  The scheme was submitted or planning approval in July 2019 in detailed form with the wider site-wide master plan of a further 28,000 m2 submitted in outline form.

In November 2019 the scheme was considered by Lambeth Council as the Local Planning Authority and a resolution to grant permission was agreed.  In June 2020 the scheme was subsequently referred to and approved by the Mayor for London.  Looking to progress the design of the Phase 1 STEAM centre further, and in preparation for a tender process, Rock Townsend joined the team as technical advisors in 2020. Later in September 2020, John Graham Construction Ltd was successful via the Pagabo Framework and subsequently appointed in January 2021 for the construction of the phase 1 STEAM centre. Works have commenced on site on February 2021 and are due to complete late summer 2022.

Nine Elms STEAM Centre (Phase 1)

The Projects Objectives are: 

  • Respond to current and future skills requirements of employers and for over 2,500 full and part-time learners, improve quality of provision and learner satisfaction, progression and success rates;
  • Support over 400 new apprenticeships per year and increased progression to the highest levels of vocational and technical study;
  • Generate 250 construction jobs during the course of construction;
  • Creation of 74 new flexible teaching spaces providing 1,350 student workplaces; and,
  • Establish strong and innovative partnership with employers and local stakeholders.

Key Facts

Heading #1
Start on Site
February 2021
Target Completion Date
Late Summer 2022
Refurbishment area (m²)
10,050m²
Total Project Budget
£47.5m
Funder
London Education Action Partnership (LEAP) and Greater London Authority (GLA)
Architects
Architecture PLB
Technical Advisors
Rock Townsend
Cost Consultants
Fulkers Bailey Russell
Project Manager, Employer’s Agent, Bid Writer & Cost Consultant
Peter Marsh Consulting Ltd
Main Contractor
John Graham Construction Ltd.

To read the latest on planning permission for the project, please see the link below:

Planning Application Summary – REF: 19/02643/OUT

Project Team

The Loddon School

The Loddon School

Introduction

The Loddon School is an independent residential school, providing year-round education and care for children who have complex learning difficulties and who can no longer live at home due to their exceptional support needs. 

The school estate comprises a mix of  buildings developed over time between the 1860s and 1930s, with more recent purpose-built buildings; providing homes, education, leisure, play, outings and holidays for some 28 children and staff members.

The Loddon School is rated Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ and the delivery of new purpose-built homes for its students is a core part of its strategy to provide the very best environment for both learning and care for the young people it serves.

Overview

PMc was appointed to develop an Estates Strategy in the Spring of 2018, this was completed and approved by the Board of Trustees in September 2018.  The Strategy provides a long-term estates route map to meet the school’s strategic estate needs and bring all of the school’s pupil-focused accommodation onto the main site and out of the Main House into purpose-built homes. Following the adoption of the Strategy, the Loddon School is proceeding in 2019/20 with the delivery of the first phase of a three-phase project. 

Phase 1 involves the construction of the ‘Forest Oak’ houses, which comprise two, 260 m2 single-storey houses, with associated external works to provide living, learning and sleeping accommodation for up to 12 children. PMc are acting as the Client’s Representative, Project Manager, Employer’s Agent and Quantity Surveyor on this project alongside the retained design team led by APLB architects.

Key Facts

Heading #1
Start on site
January 2019
Building area
520m²
Planning Authority
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Total Phase 1 project costs
£1.7m
Construction cost for Phase 1
£1.43m
Target completion date
September 2020
Architects
Architecture PLB
Main contractor
Ascia
Project manager, Employers agent & Cost consultant
Peter Marsh Consulting

The Projects Objectives are: 

  • Develop an Estates Strategy to provide a long-term map of the schools’ estate needs.
  • Construction & Development of two single-storey residences to accommodate the needs of 12 students as part of phase one delivery.
  • Delivery of the subsequent two phases of development including the creation of a new two-storey building to accommodate the younger learners at the School.

 

Project Team

CETC

Fareham College - Civil Engineering Training Centre (CETC)

Introduction

The new Fareham College Civil Engineering Training Centre (CETC) project provides a permanent home for the College’s pioneering Civil Engineering and Ground Works Apprenticeships which has been developed in direct response to employer needs.  

The £4m project provides just over 1,000 of high quality teaching and learning space adjacent to the College’s award winning CEMAST project on the Solent Airport site.

PMc performed the roles of Bid writers, Client Advisors, Project Managers and Cost Consultants in the delivery of this project working closely with the College, Hampshire County Council Property Services (the Architects to Stage 4), Amiri (the main contractor), Blanchard Wells (lead ground works subcontractor) and the team from the Solent LEP.

Overview

The business case for the new premises was developed in response to a to a nation-wide skills shortage which is having an impact on the deliverability of major civil engineering works in the south and Solent area. As a result, this innovative employer-led project will deliver more than 1,600 groundwork and civil engineering apprenticeships, with the high quality classroom space being utilised to teach higher level professional construction courses such as Building Surveying and Project Management. 

Testimonial

Throughout the journey and for a long time after, many people have asked ‘HOW was CETC possible?’. A big part of that answer is that PMCs contribution was HUGE because they ‘thought so much BIGGER’.  Even at the toughest times they believed it was possible and always  ‘found a way’. They were extremely fair, professional and clear. They worked tirelessly to ensure a rapid resolution of each challenge, so much so, that it’s my opinion that ‘not one issue took longer than 14 days to resolve in its entirety and in my experience that is unheard of.

Recommending companies is not something I like doing, BUT, Peter Marsh Consulting Ltd, and particularly Mo Poswell and Peter Marsh, are people I hold in the highest regard. They would unquestionably be my first choice.”

Mark Wells, Blanchard Wells Construction

Projects Objectives:

  • Deliver first class apprenticeships
  • Provide a functional site for both classroom and practical teaching

Key Facts

Heading #1
Building size
1,000m²
Total project costs (including land purchase)
£4m
Start on site
January 2019
Completion date
October 2019
Architects
HCC Property Services
Main contractor
Amiri Construction
Employers agent & cost consultant
Peter Marsh Consulting

Project Team

Fareham College – Bishopsfield Road Campus

Fareham College - Bishopsfield Road Campus

Introduction

We have worked with Fareham College to create new learning spaces that will help shape the future careers of thousands of young people and adults.

We worked with the College to develop an ambitious property strategy that helped raise the necessary funding to invest £28m between 2013 and 2016 in new technology and facilities which will provide learners from Fareham, Gosport and surrounding areas with the very best educational experience.

The College’s £12 million Centre for Excellence in Engineering Manufacturing and Advanced Skills Training – CEMAST – opened in September 2014; it exceeded its 900 learner recruitment target in its first two years of operation and has won numerous accolades from the Solent LEP and Hampshire County Council as well as awards from the Civic Trust, LABC and Space.

In the summer of 2014 a £9.5m site sale of excess land owned by the college was agreed with Bloor Homes creating 110 new homes adjacent to the main campus.

The main campus at Bishopsfield Road offers courses in art, design, photography, fashion and graphics, performing arts, music, hospitality and catering, beauty and hairdressing, travel and tourism, construction, business, computing and digital industries.

The detailed space planning of the site allowed the new development to remain at the right size and fund major improvements to it including the sale of excess land which was developed into a residential area

Work on the new £16 million Bishopsfield Road Campus at Fareham College started in June 2014 and the new campus was opened on time to learners in September 2015. The release of land at the southern site of the campus saw the creation of 110 new homes by residential developer; Bloor Homes. The £9.5m receipt from the advanced site disposal, together with £5m from the Government’s Skills Funding Agency have helped create state-of-the-art facilities for the College’s learners with workshops, laboratories, studios and training suites ensuring that students learn in realistic working environments. The new campus offers workshops for a wide range of construction trades, a digital industries lab, a fully integrated media, music and performing arts suite, plus an on-sit gym and sports centre.

The works included a 2,000m² new building with a selection of studios for digital industries, hair & beauty, performing arts, media and music plus extensive internal refurbishment and re-cladding of four 1960s buildings to create workshops and classrooms to support learners aiming at careers in construction, health, sports, public services, the arts and childcare.

With an all-in spend of just £2,160 per square metre (including VAT) the BRC project demonstrates how the re-use of existing buildings can help deliver both value for money as well as environmentally sustainable building developments.

The photographs taken throughout the construction process demonstrate the extent of the transformation while the College continued to operate and expand its apprenticeship learner numbers throughout the duration of the project.

In the Autumn of 2017 Fareham College was designated an Outstanding College by Ofsted, with its investment in learning accommodation that reflected real life working environments being noted as a key strength.

Main Campus Redevelopment 2014 - 2015

The Projects Objectives:

  • redevelop the main campus to create an outstanding and inspiring learning environment;
  • space plan the new campus to release surplus land, reduce operating costs and maximise the use of retained space for learning;
  • provide learning facilities for students to be educated for ‘in demand’ industries from digital, science, construction, health, education, hospitality and the arts.

Additional project benefits:

  • In 2017 Fareham College was designated an Outstanding College by Ofsted;
  • Fareham College was named the 2018 AoC College of the year;

Key Facts

Heading #1
Start on Site
July 2014
Completion Date
August 2015
Refurbishment area (m2)
7,400m² including 2,000m² of new buildings
Total Project Budget
£16m
Architects
Perkins Ogden
Main Contractor
Bouygues UK Ltd.
M&E Consultants
RHB
Structural Engineers
Scott White Hookins
Cost Consultant & Employer’s Agent
AECOM
Site Sale Agent
Hughes Ellard (now Vail Williams)
Client Director
Peter Marsh

Testimonial

“It had been a strategic objective, some would say a ‘dream’, of Fareham College for many years to secure sufficient capital investment funds to transform its campus. Its learning environments were dated, tired and inefficient. It needed to create modern efficient and attractive facilities if it was going to compete against local organisations that were already enjoying new and attractive facilities.

As Principal, I had a vision, but I needed someone to bring it to fruition. Peter Marsh presented the ideal solution; knowledgeable about further education, an expert in project management and with astute financial management, Peter gave Fareham College the required expertise to deliver the ‘dream’.Through the development and implementation of a multi-phase £28m capital investment project, Peter, and the team he led, delivered a combination of new build and refurbishment of the entire college over two campuses in just 1000 days, on time and within budget.

The projects included site acquisition and disposal as well as the build projects, their fit out and commissioning. The CEMAST project has gained national recognition for its attractive and efficient learning environments. Fareham College had the vision, Peter Marsh and his team delivered it!”

Nigel Duncan, Principal and Chief Executive of Fareham College

Project Team

T Levels Refurbishment Works 2020

The Projects Objectives:

  • Refurbishment of Digital and Education & Childcare spaces to deliver T Level and a new Fashion Studio space;
  • Applying bid funding to ensure the maximum area of high quality refurbishment and the inclusion of specialist equipment; 
  • To deliver the project on time to ensure the spaces were available for the beginning of term in September 2020.

Key Facts

Heading #1
Start on Site
May 2020
Completion Date
September 2020
Refurbishment area (m2)
830m²
Total Project Budget
£900k
Architects
Re-Format
Main Contractor
LST Projects
M&E Consultant
RHB Partnerships
Project Manager, Employer’s Agent,
Bid Writer & Cost Consultant
PMc

Project Team

Fareham College - T Levels Wave 3 Sustainability Centre

T Levels Refurbishment Works Summer 2020

CEMAST

Fareham College - CEMAST

Introduction

The new Centre for Excellence in Engineering & Manufacturing Advance Skills Training or CEMAST brings together all the Automotive, Engineering and Manufacturing courses run by Fareham College on a single site at Daedalus airfield in Lee-on-the-Solent. The Centre provides training for over 900 Full Time and Part Time Students, and acts as the main learning centre for students in apprenticeship programmes with partner companies such as – BAE Systems, GE Aviation, Virgin Atlantic, Coopervision, Burgess Marine, Jensen Motorsport.

The training is career led – preparing students for work and/or higher study in their chosen field. The CEMAST curriculum has been created in partnership with local industry leaders to ensure that students gain the most relevant and up to date industry knowledge.

CEMAST opened in September 2014 – the result of a collaborative process that began with funding and consultation and ended with a successful construction project.

CEMAST 2013 - 2014

The Projects Objectives were: 

  • To provide a new training centre for advanced engineering skills key to the local economy;
  • To create an industry led and enriched curriculum;
  • Develop existing and new relationships with employers;
  • Create a learning environment based on real life working conditions;
  • To implement a  “community of practice” for staff;
  • A catalyst for the regeneration of the local economic community.

Key Facts

Heading #1
Start on Site
September 2013
Completion Date
July 2014 (On Time)
Area (m²)
4,000m²
Project Cost
£12m
Construction Cost
£7.3m
Funders
Solent LEP, Skills Funding Agency, Hampshire County Council
Procurement Method
2 Stage D&B through the iESE framework managed
by Hampshire County Council Property Services
Architects
Perkins Ogden
Main Contractor
Leadbitter – Part of the Bouygues UK Ltd Group.
M&E Consultants
RHB Partnerships
Structural Engineers
Scott White Hookins
Client Project Manager
AECOM
Cost Consultants
Jacobs
Client Director
Peter Marsh

The Henley College

The Henley College

Introduction

The Henley College is located in Henley, Oxfordshire it was formed in 1987 from the merger of the prior South Oxfordshire Technical College and the Henley 6th Form.  Offering a range of both academic and vocational courses, the Sixth Form College operates over their two sites of Rotherfield and Deanfield.

Carrying out further studies that would enable the potential for land disposal across the two sites, in order to raise capital to reinvest in the college. This involved – in partnership with architects APLB, the creation of massing drawings, organising relevant surveys and submitting a preplanning application for the local council. 

Subsequently in 2018 and 2019 PMc have project managed a number of refurbishment works.  

Overview

In consideration of levels of underutilised space and site composition from Victorian, grade A listed to 1980 builds, PMc were initially approached by the College in 2017 to develop an Estates Strategy and long-term plans for the two campuses. This was developed with attention to provision for both planned growth and financial sustainability. Following the approval of the Estates Strategy, PMc were retained as the Colleges’ client advisors to project manage the next phase of works which have comprised the creation of STEM spaces in a number of existing buildings.

Key Facts

Heading #1
Building area (Refurbishment)
661 sqm across the two sites
Total Project Costs
£1M
Funders
OxLEP & The Henley College
Start on site
June 2019
Completion date
September 2019
Architects
LTS
Main contractor
Fasset
Project Manager, Employer’s Agent & Cost Consultant
Peter Marsh Consulting Ltd

The Projects Objectives were: 

  • 661m2 of refurbishments across the two sites;
  • 288m2 creation of a Digital & Creative Arts Hub to improve access between the Rotherfield site and the R4 arts buildings, with further provision of a mac suite, sculpture garden and digital arts facilities;
  • D1 Deanfield refurbishment to create a 373 m2 modern, spacious Digital Skills & Enterprise Hub, named the ‘Cuthbert Suite’. Located near the campus entrance this new space provides a flexible study space with a digital skills café, careers services, pop-up enterprise space and larger digital skills teaching space to support student engagement with future career opportunities.

 

Testimonial

I would like to thank you and your team for helping us to deliver our vision which we set out in January 2017 – PMc have guided us well with our development plans to deliver parts of the vision in a different way to our original plan. It has been a pleasure working with you and your partners to have had the projects delivered well on time, within budget and with the least inconvenience to staff and students.”

Satwant Deol, Principal  

 

“I just wanted to send my thanks for giving the art department an amazing new space and facilities to work from. I went for a walk around today and I have seen the final images and it all looks incredible. It is an ideal space for the art department – the students are going to love being up there.

It is a great asset to the department as well as the college and I am very grateful to you all. Thanks for the hard work and commitment that has been put into setting it up for the area. These rooms along with the new Mac suit will give students and staff the perfect foundation to build on the creative arts area and move it forward. 

I’m very excited to see it all being used this year.”

Sarah Wilson, Curriculum Leader for Creative Industries

 

“I am pleased that with PMc’s support and vision, the projects from last and this summer have delivered on all of the above and importantly are excellent solutions

I have been told by a number of staff and governors, that projects in the past failed to deliver to the same standards as these recent ones, so we should be pleased with our collective performance, but also that we’ve set a high standard and improved the level of confidence amongst stakeholders in our ability to deliver successful projects.”

Ashok Patel, Interim Director of Finance and Operations

 

“I just wanted to say thank you to you both for the new media suite. I appreciate the amount of work and money that has gone into it and I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am. It is the most gorgeous room, it’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to start teaching in it. Thank you so much for your support and for everything.”

Sarah Wilson, Curriculum Leader for Creative Industries

 

 

Project Team

CECAMM & Isle of Wight College

Isle of Wight – CECAMM

Introduction

The Isle of Wight College has secured approval to a £11 million bid to develop a new 3,000m2 Centre of Excellence for Composites, Marine and Advanced Manufacturing from the Solent LEP, as part of its investment commitment to the future skills needs of the Solent economy. The facility will be located in Whippingham, East Cowes, offering specialised education and training for around 600 students.
The bid for funding for this project was led by GKN Aerospace and suppor ted by other local employers in the composites, marine and advanced manufacturing industries.

Our Role

PMc Ltd have been appointed by the Solent LEP to provide project assurance and advice to the College and the LEP on the delivery of the new Centre of Excellence for Composite, Advanced Manufacturing and Marine. We were appointed in September 2015 and we have worked with the College, their contractor and the project manager to close a £2m gap in the project budget, and we’re delighted that contracts were entered into in December – on budget and in scope. The Contract with construction partners, Balfour Beatty, was let in December 2015, work started on site in February 2016 with the frame and ground works progressing well at July 2016.

The new Centre opened to learners in September 2017.  Throughout the construction period PMc supported the College and the Solent LEP in the delivery of this important project – bringing our skills, knowledge and experience to help create an outstanding new learning environment on the Isle of Wight.

Testimonials

Peter Marsh was appointed by the Solent LEP to help the Isle of Wight College and its professional team address a £2m difference between the available funds and the post tender cost packages on the College’s flagship ‘Centre of Excellence for Composites, Advanced Manufacturing and Marine’. His first priority was to clearly understand the College’s strategic priorities for this project and how it would benefit the students and employers. Peter’s comprehensive experience enabled him to quickly identify a broad range of solutions and devise a robust and structured framework for addressing the identified gap which built on the Value Engineering process that the College had commenced. With clear targets set and a timetable for action agreed, the College and their advisors were able to bring the project back within budget whilst preserving the required level of contingency to offset identified risks.  Peter’s no nonsense approach and significant experience of working with LEPs and contractors on other projects helped us secure the funding for the project and maintain the confidence of the LEP in our combined ability to deliver.

Debbie Lavin, Principal, Isle of Wight College

 

The Solent LEP is committed to an ambitious programme of investment to support economic growth and raise productivity levels in the Solent. Developing the areas pipeline of marine engineering skills forms an important part of our investment programme, and the Isle of Wight’s Centre of Excellence for Composite, Advanced Manufacturing and Marine is a key project for the LEP.  The LEP approached Peter Marsh Consulting to assist the College with delivery of the project.  Peter has worked effectively with the College, their advisors and the LEP’s due diligence consultant to ensure the project has a solid basis for delivery.

Stuart Baker, Head of Local Growth, Solent LEP