Housing Contractor of the Year: Category 2

Gold

Driller thriller
A first with directional drilling of a major water main helped Paul Taylor to cut the programme time by 10 weeks and generate considerable savings on the project

Paul Taylor was charged with building a delightful development in a high-density suburb of North London. The design was extremely attractive, consisting of a crescent which was a semi-circle divided into two quadrants. It is built to radius and based on the Royal Crescent in Bath. The judges were particularly impressed with the construction of the roofline, which they described as excellent.

This site is adjacent to Brent Magistrates Court, a high-profile court attended by Category 1 prisoners and terrorists, so the highest level of security was required throughout the whole of the construction.

When a Category 1 prisoner was attending the court, the part of the site adjacent to it had to be closed and patrolled by armed police, as it gave a great vantage point over the court. Getting this process to run smoothly required a lot of sensitive liaising with the courts, the police and security forces.

Site closure was sometimes required at short notice, so flexibility in the programme was important. Despite this, Taylor brought the project in early. One of the main reasons for this was his use of an innovative drilling system.

The neasden main
Not only was the site in a confined area but a new water main had to be diverted under Neasden Lane. This is an extremely busy road flanked on both sides by mature trees. After researching the problem extensively himself, Taylor chose a directional drilling technique, which was very successful and prevented any disruption to the environment and the traffic use as this very busy road didn't have to be closed.

The technique involves digging a trench on either side of the road, sinking a shaft for the drill and drilling horizontally under the road. Before it could be used, however, Thames Water had to agree and it took eight months of negotiation before the utility company consented.

This is the first time this method has been used in connection with major water mains, and Thames Water needed convincing that it would work and meet its standards, as there was no benchmark available for this type of exercise. The water company was satisfied on both counts.

New spandrel panel
Taylor managed to reduce the project's programme time by 10 weeks and produced a considerable cost saving. The crescent design meant the scheme was built to radius and had a complicated roofline, so a new spandrel panel had to be designed to comply with Building Regulations on the party wall.

Taylor took this task on himself and designed the new spandrel panel for construction of the party wall detail. This again saved considerable time and cost on the project. As well as the innovation with directional drilling, Taylor's efforts in the design of the new spandrel panel were highly praised by the judges in this category.

The project was finished to a very high quality, under budget and 10 weeks early. What's more it kept the neighbours happy by keeping disruption to a minimum. The magistrates court also had the confidence to carry out its cases safely, thanks to Taylor's co-operation. Willmott Dixon, the client and Taylor have every reason to feel proud of the site, which has provided good-quality housing.

Winner: Paul Taylor
Contractor: Willmott Dixon Housing
Site: Neasden Lane, London

Silver

Asbestos no obstacle
A highly contaminated site didn't slow down Paul Smith

Having won a bronze medal in 2000 and a commendation in 1999, Paul Smith is no newcomer to the Housing Constructor of the Year Awards. He has also won quality awards from the National House Building Council in 1998/1999 and seals of excellence in 2000/2001 as well as the internal George Wimpey UK Regional Production Quality Award.

The judges recognised that Smith had many difficult factors to deal with on this project. It was a highly contaminated brownfield site, which also experienced a lot of flooding due to high rainfall and a high water table. Despite this, he brought the project in very quickly and to a very high standard.

Before Smith could get work started at Sandringham Grove, he first had to oversee the demolition of an old furniture factory, which contained considerable amounts of asbestos. Still, the demolition went according to the programme and the first phase of the development was completed in record time.

Smith completed 40 units at a build rate of 1.5 houses per week. This is no mean feat for any housing manager. The houses were constructed to an extremely high quality in difficult conditions. There were no reportable accidents and there was an external audit carried out by Health & Safety Executive experts, for which Smith received the highest recommendations from the consultants.

Smith has really taken on the challenge of the new directives from the HSE and done all in his power to make the construction site a clean, safe and tidy place for workers and visitors.

Smith successfully ran his own housebuilding firm for several years before joining Wimpey, which means he not only concentrates on the construction details but is also aware of the commercial pressures on housebuilders. He has a good appreciation of the business factors involved in housebuilding and maintains the cashflow on site well.

All in all, Smith is a very industrious and experienced site manager who leads from the front, a credit to the housing sector of the construction industry and a great ambassador for Wimpey Homes.

Winner: Paul Smith
Contractor: George Wimpey East Midlands
Site: Sandringham Grove, Hucknall

Bronze

Nullifying the nimbies
among Bill Fisher's headaches were sensitive locals in a picture postcard village

Bill Fisher had the job of building 10 four-bedroom properties on a high chalk hill, immediately off the High Street in the picturesque Hampshire village of Overton. Construction had been opposed initially by the locals, so great care had to be taken to ensure that the works on site were carried out with the least possible disruption and inconvenience to residents and local businesses.

This challenge was compounded by difficult access. All construction traffic had to go through Overton, which is a tiny village with narrow streets. It also required some technically difficult civil engineering, to dig into the chalk bank and create the traffic site lines into the site.

Work began with the demolition and clearance of an existing property. The narrow entrance to the site made the initial site strip and removal of approximately 24,000m3 of chalk a particularly difficult problem. The operation had to be carefully controlled to avoid any accidents or disruption to the local community, with working hours restricted to daytime only.

The next phase required careful negotiation with the neighbours and the construction of high retaining walls to provide site lines to the entrance of the site for traffic.

With Fisher's experience in ground works and high-quality home building, this contract, against all the odds, was completed on time. The homes were built to a high quality, bearing in mind the site was a mixed development of bungalows, two-storey houses and split two/three-storey houses to suit the sloping site.

To carry out this type of work to the quality achieved, including the construction of a highway with a gradient of 1 in 10, takes a manager of very special abilities. The project required some serious engineering solutions, which Fisher not only negotiated permission for but also set out himself. He kept the sensitive local residents informed at all times about the programme of works and kept disruption to their properties to a minimum.

Winner: Bill Fisher
Contractor: Bewley Homes
Site: Highfields, Overton, Hampshire

also Commended in category 2
David Connachan, George Wimpey East Scotland; David Ebdon, Westbury Homes; John Guttery, Willmott Dixon Housing; Steve Holmes, David Wilson Homes Northern; Daniel McNee, George Wimpey East Scotland; Ted Norcross, George Wimpey East Midlands; and Michael Ryan, Crest Nicholson Residential (South).