Industry inspectors praise University of Northampton for considerate approach to building £330 million campus
The University of Northampton’s Waterside Campus development has been hailed as a flagship scheme for all construction sites to aspire to.
VolkerFitzpatrick are working with the University on the construction of their £330 million campus, which will open in time for the 2018-19 academic year and has been rated ‘exceptional’ by the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS). Projects registered with the scheme must demonstrate an appreciation of the impact of its work on the community, the environment and its workforce.
CCS inspectors were so impressed that they awarded Waterside nine-out-of-10 points in each of the scheme’s five categories, giving it an overall rating of ‘exceptional’.
Exceptional sites are, according to the CCS, at the forefront of industry best practice, demonstrating the very highest level of achievement far above the minimum standards required by the scheme’s code and addressing all questions on its checklist to the highest standards.
The inspection report concludes: “This is an exceptional site throughout, which should be used as a flagship for all construction sites. The commitment and enthusiasm shown throughout management and its team is outstanding.”
Chris Evans, managing director for VolkerFitzpatrick’s Civils division said: “We’ve enjoyed a great relationship with the local businesses who have interfaced with the road works. In addition, we’ve employed an apprentice and five workplace students from the local community, as well as holding a careers event and motivational talk at HM Prison Onley. We’ve also taken measures to help the local environment by reducing waste and saving offsite disposal of 15,000m3 of earthworks material, which we re-engineered back into the project.”
Professor Nick Petford, vice chancellor of Northampton University said: “The University has a huge positive impact on Northampton, employing more than 2,000 people and attracting 15,000 students to the area…The endorsement from the Considerate Construction Scheme reaffirms we made the right choice by forming a partnership with Bowmer & Kirkland, Kier and VolkerFitzpatrick to deliver the UK’s newest university campus.”
Measures taken to help protect the environment which were praised by inspectors included piling methods which reduce waste, vibration and noise; relocating lichen on site to the roofs of the new buildings; dust reduction methods; wildlife protection and reintroduction; workforce car and van share schemes; rain water harvesting for boot washing and suppressing dust, and the protection of watercourses.
