Case Study
Bradfield College Army House
CDM Principal Designer ServicE
Background
Bradfield College provides an outstanding education for over 800 pupils from the UK and beyond. Founded in 1850, it’s set in the heart of the North Wessex Downs, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The core of the campus is within a Conservation Area and contains several Grade II listed buildings protected for their special historic interest.
One of these buildings is Army House, which provides accommodation for approximately 50 boys. In late 2022, planning began on a large and complex project involving the replacement of the roof and rainwater goods. As well as repair of the chimneys, brick and flint stone external walls, windows, and an upgrade of extract ventilation within the building.
Challenges
- Obtaining listed building consent from West Berkshire Council required the services of a specialist independent planning consultant.
- There were limited timeframes for working on the roof due to the presence of bats, and the work had to be undertaken in two separate phases, either side of the bat hibernation season between November and April.
- The flint and lime mortar walls were unsuitable to support a conventional scaffold, and so the design and construction of a bespoke scaffold was needed under specialist temporary works. Shrouding of the scaffold and construction of a temporary roof structure were required, which allowed the building to remain occupied and work to continue in poor weather conditions, minimising any delays to the time-critical project.
- Management of road and footpath closures were also required, with temporary traffic management controls as well as management of the interface between pupils, contractors and construction areas. Marshals were needed in the areas around the College buildings, ensuring the safety of pupils and staff in proximity to the construction works.
- A trusted expert was needed to co-ordinate all activity, ensuring the safety and security of everyone involved.
Solution
Our CDM Principal Designer Service was able to provide exactly what was needed, working closely with the client, design team, and principal contractor. Ensuring safety through responsible design, controlled risk management, and effective application of the general principles of prevention.
At Squared Circle, we have extensive experience in planning, managing, monitoring, and coordinating health and safety throughout the design and planning stages of these complicated projects.
We provided pre-construction information to the designers and principal contractor and conducted monthly safety inspections during the construction phase, as well as developing safe access strategies for cleaning and maintenance of the building post-completion.
We also attended the public consultation evening to help explain the impact of the building work on local roads to local residents.
Results
- Pedestrian access in areas of construction will be handled with strategic deployment of traffic control measures.
- Our co-ordination and supervision of the end-to-end project has enabled the transformation to go ahead, now due for completion in December 2025. Keeping everyone informed, safe and secure throughout the end-to-end process.
