St Lukes Primary School
Built upon the former Runwell Hospital site in St Luke's Way, our project team have completed the construction of a new primary school which will accommodate 210 primary school student and 56 nursery places.
Key Stats
- Delivered within 44 Weeks
- Delivered through the Essex Construction Framework 2 (ECF2)
- 10/10 customer satisfaction
- Built upon the former Runwell Hospital
- 100% safe
At a Glance
Budget
£5.5m
Completion
September 2022
Location
Wickford, Essex
Framework
Essex Construction Framework 2
Sector
Primary School/Education
Social value
TBC
Sustainability
100% Waste Diverted from Landfill
Introduction
The former hospital, which was built in 1930 and ultimately closed in 2010, was demolished as part of a wider housing development. The new primary school will sit in the heart of St Luke’s development which will see 575 new homes built to create a new community in Runwell.
Steel frame technique
St Lukes Primary School was completed using a combination of steel frame and traditional construction methods which resulted in a fit for purpose building that compliments the new community. Steel frame buildings are metal structures and consist of horizontal steel beams and vertical columns. The steel frame structures are used to form the skeletal frame which in this instance, a school is then built around. This approach significantly reduces the amount of construction traffic visiting site in comparison to alternative methods and therefore also reduced the overall carbon usage on the project. With less construction traffic on site, it also ensured the project was safer which the project completed 100% safe.
Ensuring minimal disruption to our neighbours
The location of the primary school in this new community meant that the team had to approach all construction activity sensitively, particularly ensuring minimum disruption to the neighbouring houses. All construction delivery vehicles would enter site via St Luke’s Way through a newly formed entrance on the east side of the site. The vehicles would then enter the secure site compound for unloading and would then exit the same way back onto St Luke’s Way. This approach was developed to achieve minimal disruption to the local highway which effectively reduced traffic throughout the housing development. All deliveries were be required to call ahead prior to arriving to site. The site team would then confirm access is available which ensured Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) weren't unnecessarily parked up waiting on the surrounding roads.
There was a designated material storage location within the compound where vehicles could safely deliver/collect materials before reversing back onto St Luke’s Way safely. This was aided by a gateman to keep other road users safe and uninterrupted.
Social Value
In order to help make a difference to the skills shortage and industry perception our team developed a robust comprehensive social plan which included aims to educate the next generation on what the construction industry has to offer. This included talks at Chelmsford College careers days and gave one student the opportunity to partake in work experience on the project.
The project team also donated surplus materials such as timber and pallets to the neighbours of the project. Material had also been donated to the school to help with the construction of a new storages shed.
The building of St Luke’s Park Primary school and nursery will be invaluable to the local community in Runwell and will create more high-quality school and nursery places locally through these new state-of-the-art facilities" - Tony Ball, Essex County Councillor
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