Leadbitter project secure awards at Constructing Excellence in Wales
(24/08/2010)

Newport High School has been named Project of the Year by Constructing Excellence in Wales at its annual awards.

The school, which is designed for 1,100 students, was built by Leadbitter for Newport City Council as a direct replacement for the old Bettws High School. It is the first secondary school in Wales to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and was completed with no reportable accidents.

Judges hailed Newport High School, which was opened by the Princess Royal earlier this year, as a “High achiever - not just in the manner that the construction project was delivered and its successful record on waste, but in embracing the needs of the local community and inspiring staff and pupils.”

At the heart of the redevelopment was Newport City Council’s vision: “All our Children, all our Business”. With this clear strategy and Leadbitter’s early involvement, the project’s workforce was sourced locally, with half coming from Newport and a further 30% from South Wales. The judges were hugely impressed with this and how the pupils and community were engaged in the project, which enhanced the strong sense of identity and ownership within the community.

In addition to Leadbitter, the design team for Newport High School comprised HLM Architects, Arup, Clarkebond, and Davis Langdon.

Rob Bradley, Regional Director of Leadbitter’s Western Construction division, said: “Leadbitter is delighted to receive this award as recognition of the efforts of the whole project team over the last two and a half years. The construction of Newport High School has been a huge catalyst for change and achievement in the lives of the young people of Newport, and we are proud to have been part of this. We look forward to achieving the same levels of success at the new Hartridge High School, Newport, which has just commenced on site.”

Leadbitter’s Mariners Quay was also presented with the Low/Zero Carbon Award.
Mariners Quay, the largest sustainable new housing development in Wales, which is being constructed at the former Newport Old Town Dock for local housing association Seren Group, took the first ever Low/Zero Carbon Award. This award seeks to recognise a company, project or initiative that has made a significant contribution to the carbon reduction agenda for construction.

Here the judges were looking for a project where a measurable reduction in the carbon footprint has been, or will be achieved in the construction process over and above the statutory requirements. They were looking for a carbon reduction strategy to be embedded within the entire project and Mariners Quay fitted the bill perfectly.

Russell Houghton, Regional Director of Leadbitter’s Western Housing division, said: “It was our Client, Seren Group, that from day one had the vision of making Mariners Quay an exemplar affordable—and sustainable—housing development. With their support and encouragement, Leadbitter has been able to build on that vision, implementing our project waste management plan to ensure we are not only delivering high quality sustainable homes, but that we are eliminating waste and working in a sustainable way during the construction process.”

When complete, Mariners Quay will be one of only a handful of developments to achieve a Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH) Level 5 rating across the UK. Properties at the development will benefit from substantially reduced energy bills, with the aim of achieving an average £5.00 per week per household. This is thanks in part to an on site energy centre, including a biomass boiler which burns woodchip fuel and will produce much of the power required for the development, together with rainwater harvesting technology.

Significant steps to reduce waste from the development have been made by proactively designing out waste from the onset of the construction programme. Extensive research was carried out to establish the advantages and costs of using reclaimed rather than new materials. An exhaustive project waste management plan was established and a dedicated waste/environmental manager has been employed on the project to monitor and record data.

Indeed, WRAP, the organisation that helps companies to manage waste more effectively, endorsed its close working relationship with the Leadbitter Group at the Mariners Quay development by unveiling its Halving Waste to Landfill logo on the Company’s construction site hoardings, the first time any contractor had been granted this privilege.