Tower Hamlets Town Hall

Tower Hamlets Town Hall

Introduction

Tower Hamlets Town Hall project is one of the most significant building regeneration projects to take place in London. In renovating and repurposing the unoccupied Royal London Hospital as the new permanent residence for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets the Council will be breathing new life into this landmark building whilst bringing public services together in Whitechapel.

First opened in 1759 the Georgian hospital has been a site of esteemed medical history from the care provided in treating injured soldiers in both world wars, pioneering heart surgery, and providing training The for two centuries’ of young doctors.

Overview

PMc are the Strategic Client Advisors on this landmark scheme and have supported the project from its infancy. In 2015 we helped to write the business case to review alternative options for the location of the town hall and refurbishment of the former hospital. Peter has continued to support the Council and its in-house team of client project managers in the development of detailed plans for the restoration and new build through to planning, the appointment of the main contractor (Bouygues UK) and the commencement of constructionon site.

Key Facts

Heading #1
Start on Site
August 2018
Completion Date
January 2023
Total Project Area (m²)
24,000m²
Total Project Budget
£135,000,000
Funder
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Architects
AHMM
Cost Consultant and Contract Administrator
Turner & Townsend
Strategic Client Advisor
PMc
Main Contractor
Bouygues

The Projects Objectives are: 

  • To provide a ground floor accessible, free-flowing interface between members of the public and the council;
  • Facilitate relocation of council administrative, democratic and customer activities from several rented premises into the new Town Hall;
  • Bring an Historical Landmark building back to public life preserving its use for future generations.

Additional project benefits:

  • Within 8 years, following sale (or re-use) of current offices the council will recover the project costs and start generating annual savings in running costs;
  • Enhanced public accessibility in a new location next to Whitechapel’s new transport hub at the heart of Cross-rail.

Project Team

London Southbank Colleges

London South Bank Colleges

PMc were first appointed by Lambeth College in 2015 to develop a new estate strategy for the College.  This identified a substantial excess of space across its three sites at Clapham, Vauxhall and Brixton as well as the need to address the poor condition across the entire estate.

We were subsequently appointed in 2016 as the client representative of the Brixton Campus (which was a DfE-led redevelopment). This project involved a land sale to the DfE with Lambeth College then taking a share in a new-build education campus alongside  Trinity Academy (a Free School) and a new UTC sponsored by London South Bank University. Our PMc initial role was to manage the decant of the existing college learners into temporary accommodation in December 2015 to enable work to start on the new build site in January 2016. In 2017 we managed the appointment of an internal fit-out design team led by STEM architects.  We subsequently managed the procurement of Gilbert Ash as a specialist fit-out contractor who started on site in June 2017 and completed their £2.5m construction fit out programme in just 12 weeks – ready for the start of the new academic year.

In 2018 and 2019 we worked with the College to refine and develop the estate strategy’s vision for the Vauxhall site and submitted what would be a successful bid to the Greater London Authority (GLA). This bid secured £25m towards the creation of a new 10,000m2 £50m STEAM centre with a curriculum aimed at meeting future skills needs in engineering, construction, dentistry, science, digital technologies and the arts.

We also supported the Lambeth College and London Southbank University in the development of a comprehensive estate strategy that formed a key part of the merger proposal between of Lambeth College in to the university family. This further consolidated previous plans – resulting in a strategy to create a new technical college at Nine Elms and two community facing college centres at Clapham and Brixton.

In 2020 we were appointed Project Manager and Employer’s Agent for the construction and build out of the scheme at Nine Elms. Jointly designed by Architecture PLB and Rock Townsend Architects and delivered by GRAHAM for the client, South Bank Colleges, this flagship Technical College is a true testament to collaborative working and extensive engagement with stakeholders delivering an education-led, transformational learning environment, which inspires students, responds to employers’ skills shortages, meets staff requirements and is adaptable to the curricula of the future. The client team included Peter Marsh Consulting as Employers Agent and Contract Administrator; Fulkers Bailey Russel as Cost Consultants; and, Rock Townsend as Design Guardians.

In February 2021, we were delighted to announce the start of the construction of the new STEAM Centre for London South Bank Technical College. The project achieved practical completion in January 2023 and was officially opened on Monday 26 June 2023.

London South Bank Technical College – Nine Elms STEAM Centre

Lambeth College – Brixton Campus

Lambeth College – Clapham Campus

Buckinghamshire College Group

Buckinghamshire College Group

PMc were originally appointed by Aylesbury College in 2017 to write the Estates Strategy to support the merger between Aylesbury College and Amersham and Wycombe College. Following the completion of the merger, the newly created Buckinghamshire College Group invited us back in 2018 to carry out a review of their sites as it had become increasingly clear that the two sites in the south of the county were not be best placed geographically to attract an increase in learners, and that they had some tired and outdated facilities that required substantial long term investment, and that neither were sufficiently attractive to enable the Group to increase its market share. We have subsequently developed the business case, secured funding through site sales and FECTF grant and worked with the design team to secure planning and produce tender documents for a £40m new build in High Wycombe Town CentreWe have also worked with the College to secure T Level funding for a range of transformational projects in Health, Early Year, Construction, Business and Digital to transform spaces at the Aylesbury campus from 2021 to 2023. 

Buckinghamshire College Group – High Wycombe New Build

Buckinghamshire College Group – T Levels

South Coast Institute Of Technology

South Coast Institute Of Technology

The South Coast Institute of Technology (IoT) is a collaboration of five further education colleges and two universities – Solent University, University of Portsmouth, Havant and South Down College, Brockenhurst College, Fareham College, Eastleigh College, and The Isle of Wight College. It will open to new students from September 2023, and is expected to welcome over 1,000 students across the seven educational partners in the first academic year.

It will deliver a wide range of flexible post-16 technical education including  Higher Technical qualifications, apprenticeships, degrees, and professional qualifications. These courses can lead to a wide range of exciting and dynamic career pathways, from superyacht engineers, or manufacturing wind turbines, to researching long-term sustainable solutions to climate change, and building virtual production film sets.

PMc are proud to have supported the South Coast IoT project partners from the support we provided in the initial drafting of the Business Case through to the design and delivery of projects on site. We have worked collaboratively with Solent University – as the Accountable Body and each of the Further Education college partners to:

· help write the education & skills business case;

· complete concept stage 2 designs;

· apply for and secure £14 m of funding; and,

· deliver the projects from Stage 3 design through to construction on site.

The development of the IoT projects has close involvement with the Department for Educations IoT project team throughout the two-stage bidding stage and into project delivery. We have valued the support and challenge of the DfE capital team throughout this process.

Building work started in the summer of 2023 on capital projects to create industry-standard facilities, including the construction of new Centres of Excellence (CoE) and the expansion of existing centres across providers.  Some projects will start on site in 2024 ready for the 2024/25 academic year.

The £14 million government investment will help fund:

· creation of a Marine Engineering Centre of Excellence at Solent University,

· construction of an extension to provide additional facilities at Fareham College’s CEMAST campus in Lee-on-the-Solent,

· a new higher education digital centre and expansion of CECAMM at The Isle of Wight College,

· refurbish engineering and digital facilities at HSDC South Downs Campus,

· new equipment at the marine technology centre at Brockenhurst College

The South Coast IoT is central to ensuring a sufficient home-grown workforce with the right skills to meet industry needs. It is working with key employers including, the Royal Navy and Portsmouth International Port, and has support from key local employers such as IBM, QinetiQ, Leonardo, Maritime UK Solent, GKN, DDC, and Teemill.

It aims to increase education and employment opportunities across maritime, engineering and digital industries. A key priority of the initiative is to support individuals from under-represented groups to foster valuable connections and access sustainable, well-paid careers.

Matt Johnson, Director of the South Coast Institute of Technology says, “This is a fantastic opportunity for our education partners to work collaboratively with employers to provide clear career pathways into the industries where we know there are gaps.

“The maritime, engineering and digital industries are some of the most diverse and rapidly expanding sectors in our region, with tens of thousands of job vacancies for talented people. Our high-quality training, industry-expert educators, real-world curriculum and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities will help local people to live, study and work locally and realise their potential.”

Partners

HSDC South Coast Institute of Technology – East Building

Isle of Wight South Coast Institute of Technology – L Block & CECAMM

Isle of Wight College Institute of Technology CECAMM – Project Assurance

CEMAST: South Coast Institute of Technology

Solent University soon to come!

Capital City College Group

Capital City College Group

Capital City College Group is London’s largest further education college group comprising three colleges City and Islington College, Westminster Kingsway College, and the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London as well as bespoke training provider for employers and apprentices, Capital City College Training, and a social enterprise, Visionnaires, designed to help new businesses succeed.

The Group operate over a combined estate of nearly 100,000 square metres situated in the London Boroughs of Camden, Westminster, Islington, Harringey and Enfield. The Group’s estate includes many high quality buildings – some dating back to the 1800s and many having been build in the last 25 years.  The Group operates some of the most efficient buildings in the FE Sector – particularly at its central London sites at Angel and Kings Cross.

Back in 2000 to 2005 Peter led the capital project team at City and Islington College to deliver the most ambitious accommodation programme in the history of further education at that time. The £64m programme included new buildings at Finsbury Park, Angel and Holloway as well as substantial refurbishments of retained buildings at both Holloway and the Angel. Over £50million of this was paid for by the college itself from site sale proceeds with the balance coming from capital grant from the Department for Education. The buildings set new design standards on incredibly tight budgets and were recognised by the Civic Trust Awards, the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Awards, the American Institute of Architects Awards plus the Islington Society Architecture & Conservation Award.

PMc have been working with the Group since 2017 – supporting the development of an education-led estates strategy and the creation of a master plan with a pipeline of projects designed to continue investment in the highest quality learning facilities for London’s learners.

City and Islington College Estate Strategy 2000 to 2006″Building a Better College”

College of – FECTF Tottenham Project

Westminster Kingsway College – FECTF Soho Project

City and Islington College Refurbishment – FECTF Centre of Business, Arts and Technology

Solent University

Solent University

PMc have been working with Solent University since 2015 on a range of projects including:

· the relocation of the Warsash Maritime Academy (WMA) cadet training facilities from Warsah to the City College Southampton campus in 2016. We acted as space planners, and client advisors and helped (in partnership with APLB) develop the RIBA Stage 2 brief for this £6m refurbishment project;

· the development of an estate strategy to support a proposed merger between Solent University and City College in 2017 – which ultimately did not proceed;

· the creation of a new Estates Strategy for Solent University in 2021 which recommended the withdrawal from a number of leased and freehold buildings across Southampton and the refurbishment and re-purposing of the core central estate located at East Park Terrace for the consolidation of the estate;

· the development of the business case and design concepts to support the creation of the South Coast Institute of Technology in 2022 – and the subsequent securing of £14m of capital grant funding to invest in new teaching and learning spaces across the South Coast IoT partners in 2023 to 2024; and,

· the subsequent appointment, as programme managers and project managers, for the portfolio of capital projects for the South Coast IoT working closely with the IoT Director and the DfE Capital team to take forward and deliver the series of projects at Southampton, Fareham, South Downs (HSDC), the Isle of Wight, and Eastleigh.

Solent University – Warsash Maritime Academy

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
Start on site
February 2016
Completion date
September 2017
New Build Area (m²)
1000m²
Total Project Budget
£4m
Funder
Hampshire County Council
Architects
Perkins Ogden Architects/ Hampshire County Council Property Services
Technical Advisors
Hampshire County Council Property Services
Cost Consultants
AECOM
Project Manager, Employer’s Agent, Bid Writers
PMc
Main Contractor
Interserve

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

Media

Update – 3 October 2017
Update – 12 September 2017
Update – 28 November 2016
Golden Bolt photos – 31 October

Runshaw College

Runshaw college

PMc were appointed by Runshaw College in 2020 to complete a strategic estates review.  We concluded that there was an excess of space across the two college sites at Leyland and Chorley and that 16-18 learners much preferred the experience of studying at the Leyland campus. The Estate Strategy recommended consolidating all on-site learning activity onto a single campus and proposed a series refurbishment and new build projects at the Leyland site to create the best possible learning environment.

Subsequently we have supported the College in the development of a number of funding bids for both 16-19 growth funding and T-Level investment and have worked with the College and Day architects to develop a medium term master plan to guide future investment in the estate.

Projects that have been delivered subsequent to the development of the estate strategy include:

The Buttermere Building

In summer 2021, PMc submitted a Post 16 capacity fund bid which included a 1,000m2 new building on the Leyland campus. These spaces provided the Engineering curriculum with inspiring, flexible environments that promotes innovative means of curriculum delivery through a good balance of theory, project and collaboration work. 

T Level Wave 4 Project

PMc worked with the curriculum team to submit a T Level wave 4 bid for Healthcare and which successful. The bid comprised of refurbishments to the Eskdale building to repurpose the existing space to create industry standard teaching accommodation for the Health and Science T Level learners with works completing in the summer of 2023.

Runshaw College – Estates Strategy

Post 16 Capacity Fund (Buttermere Building)

City and Islington College Estate Strategy 2000 to 2006″Building a Better College”

City and Islington College Estate Strategy 2000 to 2006
"Building a Better College"

Introduction

Back in 2000 City and Islington College operated over 13 sites across the boroughs of Islington, Hackney and Tower Hamlets.  The estate had been neglected under previous Local Authority control and consisted of seven Victorian London School Board properties, three poorly built late 1950s schools and a number of early 19th century buildings. The experience for students was poor. Buckets were used to catch drips from the roofs, rooms were the wrong size, windows were draughty and the heating broke down. The 1950s buildings had ventilation problems; lighting was often inadequate, drains flooded and many toilets were very unpleasant.

The cost of running the estate was high and the utilisation of space was very inefficient. In 1999, under the Principalship of Tom Jupp and Chairmanship of Jack Morris, the College had raised just over £25m towards their ambitions through the sale of a major site near the City of London.  But the total cost or replacing or refurbishing all 35,000m2 was estimated at £50m and the College faced the possibility of a two-tier estate. The College was blessed with a Governing Body that was not daunted by the challenge it faced but determined to create the best learning environments in FE.

The Projects Included:

  • Sixth Form College at the Angel completed and opened September 2003, Architects: van Heyningen and Haward, Main contractor: Vinci – Norwest Holst 8,500m2
  • Centre for Lifelong Learning at Finsbury Park completed and opened in January 2004, Architects: Wilkinson Eyre, Main contractor: Geoffrey Osborne Ltd, 7,400m2
  • Centre for Applied Sciences refurbishment completed 2004, Architects: Gollifer Langston Associates, Main contractor: Vinci – Norwest Holst, 4,100m2
  • Centre for Business, Arts and Technology at Camden Road, Holloway, completed 2005, Architects: Wilkinson Eyre, Main contractor: William Verry, 10,500m2
  • Centre for Health, Social and Child Care, & administrative headquarters, partly refurbished in 2004, 4,500m2

Key Facts

  • By working closely with the Principal, external advisors, governors and senior civil servants in the DFe and the then LSC, Peter Marsh led the creation of an accommodation strategy (‘Building a Better College’) that successfully levered an additional £14m from the LSC to part-fund works to a new 6th Form College at the Angel, Islington, a new Centre for Lifelong Learning at Finsbury Park and a complete remodelling of the College’s Centre for Businss Arts and Technology (CBAT) at Camden Road, Holloway. 
  • The 6th Form location was switched from Finsbury Park to the Angel, almost as a condition of funding; this was some feat as the building still opened on time and on budget despite this fundamental shift in brief at stage D of the design process.
  • This plan was costed at £50 million in 2001 and the final £64 million spend by 2006 was made possible because of rising property values reflected in the disposal of the old sites allowed the scope of works to expand to include a major refurbishment and new build at the CBAT site. By carefully phasing the site sales with the letting of each building contract the college was able to lever substantial additional benefits into the programme, particularly in ICT and the replacement of tired furniture and equipment.
  • The Capital Projects Team that was led by Peter managed and accounted for the whole operation from 2000 onwards. The team comprised 13 people at the height of the programme in 2003/04; in addition to the building and fit out the team organised 20 separate moves of staff and equipment.  The complex process of site sales and acquisition involved the purchase of a church, a site designated for a hotel and the conversion of several London School Board buildings into smart new apartments. To maximise the value to the College Peter led the appointment of the design teams for the residential conversions and secured planning permission for them prior to sale.

The Projects Objectives are: 

  • To create a world-class learning environment for the benefit of all students at the College.
  • To create five centres of academic and vocational excellence, across four sites in Islington – all part of one amazing college.
  • reduce the running costs of the estate and improve the utilisation of the space available.
  • To improve student experience by improving the conditions and quality of the buildings which had been previously neglected.
  • To raise enough funding for the college to carry out the much needed £64m refurbishment and new build developments.

 

The Result

This was the most ambitious accommodation programme in the history of further education at that time. The overall size of the estate went from 38,000 square metres to 35,000 square metres whilst accommodating growth in student numbers. The final capital cost was £64 million. Over £50million of this was paid for by the college itself from site sale proceeds with no burden of debt afterwards and no loss of quality and direction for students during the period of redevelopment.

The buildings set new design standards on incredibly tight budgets and were recognised by the Civic Trust Awards, the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Awards, the American Institute of Architects Awards plus the Islington Society Architecture & Conservation Award.  The creation of the 5 new centres on 4 sites, all part of one amazing College, was both a physical and cultural change programme. The consolidation and focusing the curriculum on each site has since enabled the college, under the leadership of Frank McLoughlin, to build communities of excellent teaching practice that have subsequently been recognised in Outstanding Ofsted grades and the Queens Anniversary Prize.

6th Form Centre

Centre for Business, Arts and Technology

Life Long Learning Centre

Centre for Applied Science

Media

City & Islington College – The First Twenty Years: 1993 to 2013
Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award 2004
The Learning and Skills Council’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2003-2004
Transforming Schools
City and Islington – Building a Better College
Brave new building
City and Islington College: Centre for Lifelong Learning
City and Islington College: Centre for Business, Arts and Technology
Sixth Form College, City and Islington College

The Loddon School – Forest Oak (Phase 1)

The Loddon School - Phase 1

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
September 2023
Completion date
August 2025
New Build Area (m²)
650m²
Total Project Budget
£1.9m
Funder
DfE FECTF & Land Disposal
Architects
Rock Townsend
Cost Consultants
G&T
Project Manager, Employer’s Agent, Bid Writers
PMc
Main Contractor
TBC

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

Media