Gleeds to manage three North Northamptonshire projects with a combined value of £55m
(22/07/2009)

Gleeds has been appointed by the Tresham Institute as Project Manager to three interlinked schemes in North Northamptonshire, with a combined value of £55m. The projects are being funded through the Learning Skills Council and will be subject to approval of an Application in Detail prior to commencing the construction phase.

Gleeds will be providing new further education college campuses for Corby and Wellingborough as an expansion to the existing Windmill Avenue campus in Kettering. Corby’s new campus will cover an area of 10,300 m2 and will incorporate a “D” shaped atrium housing two distinctive ‘learning pods’, as well as two further blocks which will house general teaching facilities and specialist vocational facilities. The building will use high quality materials including terracotta rainscreen cladding and zinc to create a visually exciting exterior as well as interior.

The new Wellingborough Campus will cover 3,500 m2 and is due to be built on a Brownfield site which slopes down approximately 3m between the northern and southern boundaries. The building will comprise three elements including; an “N” shaped teaching block, which will be half buried into the slope and will house most of the workshops and a service yard, together with accommodation units which will house the remaining teaching facilities.

The Kettering expansion will provide a two storey structure covering 1,700m2 which will pick up the design of the existing buildings using a mixture of brickwork, terracotta cladding and glazed curtain walling. The ground floor will consist of a hair salon, beauty salon plus dispensary and learning areas, while the upstairs will house a training kitchen, two production kitchens, a bistro restaurant and diner. All three of the projects are expected to achieve BREEAM ‘excellent’ ratings through the use of photovoltaic panels and rainwater harvesting.

Commenting on the scheme, Stuart Senior, Managing Partner at Gleeds said “We are delighted to be involved with these projects which demonstrate the local authority’s commitment to regeneration in each town. Each project presents its own challenges but we are confident that we can deliver on quality of design and function whilst adhering to the Learning and Skill Council’s cost models”.