Category: Projects

O’Brien Contractors has won its third contract with Clowes Development, working as the principal contractor on the delivery of essential highway infrastructure works in Fairham, a new £800 million mixed-used development in Nottinghamshire.

Following the success of two previous contracts for the completion of development phases two and three, the newest contract will see the completion of the fourth stage of the £100 million infrastructure improvements to the 606-acre site. Previous works on the site have included improving public access through the reconfiguration of Clifton Park & Ride with a new dual access road and a roundabout, plus a number of additional roads and access routes.

The next phase of work will involve the construction of new roads, footpaths, and cycleways to allow access to the site as the later phases of the development begin. Upon completion, the scheme will provide new employment opportunities, 3,000 new homes and 200 acres of green space.

Tom O’Brien, Director at O’Brien Contractors: “We are extremely pleased to have secured a third contract with Clowes Developments. The routes are taking shape and allowing access to new areas of the development, it is great to work on this exciting project and to see the masterplan coming to life. Once again, this is a brilliant reflection of the consistency of our team and the standards O’Brien Contractors offers.”

Ali Malik, Director at Clowes Developments, said: “The decision to work with O’Brien Contractors on the third phase of works is a direct result of the success of our two previous projects. The team has proven to us that they are more than capable of handling the job and we trust them to deliver the project on time. It is great to have them on board for the next stage of this major development in the Nottinghamshire area.”

For more information, see here.

Fairham’s Masterplan October 2023:

O’Brien is progressing well at their Northampton Boys College project and is on target to hand over as scheduled in early September 2024.

The 40,000m2 of natural turf pitches have been cultivated and seeded, with germination taken place, and a first cut anticipated in the next couple of weeks. The full size 3G pitch and MUGA has the extensive drainage complete, with both facilities having permeable subbase installed and have received their tarmacadam shock pads. Perimeter weld mesh fencing is ongoing and will be complete ahead of the synthetic carpet installation at the beginning of October 2023. The team have ensured that the contract is working towards the clients brief and budget by using their extensive knowledge and experience in total solutions sports projects.

The project

Forming part of a £28 million new modular build campus for the school, the project will deliver a fully comprehensive sports facility package, including the development of 40,000m² of natural turf pitches, a full size 3G synthetic surfaced football pitch with associated lighting and fencing, and a 62 x 36m “Leisuretex” surfaced multi-use games arena (MUGA), designed to facilitate sports such as tennis and netball.

With work already under way, the facilities are due to be completed by September 2024, ready for the school’s grand opening.

Adding value

Involved right from the start, we were approached by the client in April 2021, with a brief to create a new sports facility.

Over the course of two years, we worked with the client and the college to plan, design, and prepare a best-in-class facility. With the college possessing limited knowledge in project management and construction, we were able to draw on our team’s extensive knowledge and experience in total sports project solutions and bring the vision to life.

Working to the client’s brief and budget, we were able to offer a flexible approach and meet additional requirements requested by the college. Our in-house team provided a full bespoke design package, including earthworks modelling for natural pitches, along with extensive drainage design.

See our progress on site and latest drone video from early September…

 

O’Brien Contractors has successfully completed its first phase. The phase included the construction of a new access road and controlled junction for the new Fairham neighbourhood, along with improving access to the existing Park & Ride site.

The works have successfully been completed on programme, with the latest drone footage showing how far the project has progressed, over the last few months. We have now secured the next phase of infrastructure works and work on site is underway. The video below shows a full site overview of the neighbourhood and ongoing works.

Tom O’Brien, Director said: “We have completed our first phase at Fairham on programme and to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders. This has contributed to successfully securing the next phase of works at Fairham. Due to the positive relationships established; the same site team will continue. This is a great reflection of the quality and management of our teams, and we are extremely pleased to be working on this next phase with the client.”

The contract…
O’Brien has been conducting the work on behalf of Clowes Developments, the company behind the Fairham masterplan. The works are part of £100 million of infrastructure improvements scheduled for Fairham. Fairham is being brought forward in partnership with Homes England, the government’s housing accelerator.

The works involve improvements an existing access road and to create a new route into the £800 million Fairham neighbourhood in Nottinghamshire. The 606-acre site is in the process of becoming a whole new neighbourhood for Nottingham with 3,000 new homes, one million sq. ft of employment space and 200 acres of open green space.

Video content captured by: https://www.photos.co.uk/

Bedford Town Park Project Vision Continues to Shape Up Nicely!

O’Brien started on site late 2021 to carry out works, including earthworks, multiple bridge constructions and hard and soft landscaping to create a brand new and very impressive town centre park and a greenway recreational area.

The scheme is really starting to take shape on this project site with the works on The Town Park and The Greenway showing massive progress on site.  The Town Park and The Greenway will connect the 4 new village communities together on this wonderful development when completed!

Our Project Manager said “The project is progressing well and we are beginning to see signs of the finished product. We have recently installed a new playground and the bulk of the planting works have been completed site-wide, the site team continues to work hard towards our completion.”

We have had some great weather in recent weeks, which has been of great importance for progressing the works on site.

It will certainly be very exciting to see the finished project completed in the next few months!

Our Town Park project progress in Bedford. This week the weather has been brilliant and the progress on the project has been fantastic.

The scheme is really starting to take shape on this project site and along with the works on The Greenway, the two projects will bring new communities together on this wonderful new development!

Following formal inspection of our project sites  by SAPCA, O’Brien Contractors Ltd are delighted to have gained formal recognition and approval from SAPCA (Sports and Play Association) for the construction of natural turf pitches.

O’Brien have been members of SAPCA (Sports and Play Association) for a number of years for artificial turf pitches and MUGA’s, and decided it was time to request formal recognition and approval for natural turf pitches which we have been constructing for many years.

Notable recent projects have been our Western Park Project Phase 1 and Phase 2 where we constructed several natural turf pitches as part of the project and our current project at Old Saltleians RFC where we are also constructing several natural turf pitches.

O’Brien’s Sport Facilities Expertise and Experience

O’Brien offer turnkey solutions for multiple sports facilities, ranging from rugby, football, hockey pitches to stadiums and arenas.

We have a wealth of experience in sports pitch construction and we are one of the first large contractors to be able to offer turnkey solutions for multiple sports facilities, ranging from rugby, football, hockey pitches to stadiums and arenas.

This capability is maintained in-house by our team of experts who have a proven track record of delivering a diverse range of design and build sports projects to exacting client specifications.

We offer a full range of sports pitch services, including:

• Full design and build construction projects
• Synthetic and multi-use games area (MUGA) pitches
• Pitch renovations
• Natural sports pitches
• Total solutions for sports pitches

The sports installations that we deliver include natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket, and synthetic and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities.

We provide the total solution from concept to construction to design and build all Synthetic and Natural Sports Surfaces.

SAPCA Quality System

SAPCA’s Quality System ensures that only specialist companies that can consistently deliver high standards of sports and play facilities can join SAPCA and then remain as members. Members must have a proven track record and trading history, with SAPCA checking that contractors are able to offer clients the necessary high standards of workmanship and must also meet financial stability criteria.

Standards of design and construction

SAPCA has a series of Codes of Practice that set out the industry’s standards of construction. SAPCA members must comply with the required construction specifications and quality of completed work.

Inspection of contractors’ projects

In order to ensure that SAPCA contractors continue to deliver high quality facilities, the Association has an inspection programme, through which checks are carried out on a selection of members’ projects, both during construction and on completion.

https://sapca.org.uk/

The Old Saltleians RFC training ground development is progressing at a pace, with the steel frame for the new clubhouse taking shape this week and completed ahead of programme, providing a great start for the building works.

Since starting on site in November 2021 we have completed the cut and fill works, earthworks, the foundations for the building and under the guidance of ecologists, the works to the existing pond and a new pond has been formed on site.

Whilst the weather over the last few months has created challenges, these have been overcome to keep the programme on schedule.

Keeping it Local and Recycling

To date we have brought to site over five thousand tonnes of recycled material avoiding the use of primary aggregates and recycled material has been sourced locally to reduce transport distance and impact on road users and the environment.

Materials were used to create the access road onto site as the first operation to provide access for construction works and avoid carrying debris onto the surrounding roads.

We are providing local staff resources for this project, achieving reduced travel times to site, meaning a decrease in travel time for staff, contributing towards reducing our emissions.

Community Relations

Fundamental to the success of the project is our ability to minimise impact and disruption to the local environment given the site’s location within a busy residential area with housing adjacent to the site.

Keeping residents informed is important and with this in mind a pre-start meeting was held with the local parish councillors and letter drops conducted to keep residents up to date on the works.

No complaints have been received.

Old Salteians RFC Project Overview

Works commenced on the project with a formal ground-breaking ceremony on 25 November 2021, for a 12-month duration to deliver a fantastic new facility for Old Saltleians, who are relocating due to HS2.

O’Brien are using our in-house civil engineering & construction expertise, along with our extensive sports development experience, delivering a turnkey design & build solution for the client.

The scheme includes a brand-new club house, associated access roads, car parks along with seven natural turf pitches and associated infrastructure. This will be a fantastic development for the club, the rugby, and local communities for generations to come.

The scheme follows on from our hugely successful scheme at Aston Villa training ground, which has been testament to our skills and capabilities when it comes to providing outstanding turnkey sports facilities.

 

ilities.

O’Brien Contractors are proud to be working with Old Saltleians RFC to develop their new training grounds in Water Orton.

A number of years after the process started our O’Brien Director Tony Mitchell along with the Client and their professional team have succeeded in bringing the project from the table and onto site. Works commenced with a formal ground breaking ceremony on 25 November.

Members of the Old Saltleians RFC and other stakeholders attended the formal ground breaking ceremony on the 25^th November which kicks off the 12 month project to deliver the new facility for the relocation of Old Salts from their old grounds due to HS2.

Utilising our in house civil engineering & construction expertise, along with our extensive sports development experience, we are delivering a turnkey design & build solution for the client.

The scheme includes a brand new club house, associated access roads, car parks along with seven natural turf pitches and associated infrastructure. This will be a fantastic development for the club, the rugby and local communities for generations to come.

The scheme follows on from our hugely successful scheme at Aston Villa training ground, which has been testament to our skills and capabilities when it comes to providing outstanding turnkey sports facilities.

A massive well done to the O’Brien team involved on bringing the project to fruition, some things are definitely worth waiting for!

Some of the O’Brien machines working on the site, came along for the photoshoot as well!

 

O’Brien Contractors are proud to be working with Sandwell Council on this important and sensitive project.

Sandwell Council Press Release:

Name of New Cemetery Revealed as Work Begins 100 years After First Burial at Neighbouring Cemetery

Work has begun to create a brand-new cemetery and improve open space in Rowley Regis.

Following on from works carried out earlier in 2020, O’Brien were engaged to carry out enabling works for a new depot on a portion of the site which was situated adjacent to the A49 in Ludlow.

With the site sitting alongside an existing live business and retail park along with Ludlow’s main park and ride facility it was imperative that the works were carried out in a way that did not disrupt the normal operations of our neighbours.

Works carried out on site included cut and fill earthworks to development plateaus, foul and surface water drainage, incoming service provision along with full construction of a new access road to provide permanent and construction access for the new depot. The earthworks presented a significant challenge with works carried out during January and February to meet the clients programme. These months are usually too wet for earthworks but using our extensive experience we provided a soil stabilisation solution that allowed works to be completed as required and the import of aggregates significantly reduced which provided cost and environmental benefits to the scheme.

The works commenced in December 2020 on a 16 week programme of works and have recently been completed.

O’Brien’s previous completed works on the Ludlow site earlier in 2020 were enabling works for a new housing development,  including drainage and attenuation ponds. See full details of previous works carried out:  O’Brien Development Site at Ludlow Progressing Well! – O’Brien Contractors (obriencontractors.co.uk)