Asda Bridgend - resposnible Contracting in Bridgend
Business: Carillion Building Location: Bridgend, Wales |
Date: May 2007 – February 2008 |
Business Benefits include raising the profile of Carillion, risk of mitigation minimised as species are being protected, and with the enhancement in biodiversity a positive impact has been left. |
Community benefits included eradication of Japanese Knotweed, Kingfisher habitats were protected and 2,800 fish were rescued. |
The centre of Bridgend will have a new ASDA store early in 2008, following a year of diligent and responsible contracting from the Carillion Building business group. The development site is close to the town High Street and was previously occupied by council-owned allotments and a multi-storey car park. This structure was brought down leaving an area that required considerable earthworks to create a level site. Instead of taking all material off site, it was recognized that the excavated spoil could be used within the redevelopment plans. Crushers and screeners were bought on site to grade the material, which was then used for the base of the store and the development of new roads. Overall, this meant that less excavated material was taken off-site. Not only did this avoid landfill tax to the financial benefit of both Carillion and ASDA, but also greatly reduced the need for additional transportation and off-site logistics. This careful use of materials was also of interest to a Waste Management organisation which we work closely with called Waste Resources and Action Programme (WRAP). WRAP requested to use the site data as a pilot scheme for some new software they are developing for management of waste on site. The project team was asked to utilise the new tool and feed back any comments to WRAP prior to the development of the final version of their tool. During the excavation phase, Slow worms were discovered on site. Protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act required that the Slow worms had to be moved before earthworks began, which soon became critical for the project. An expert was employed on site to manage the process and Carillion supported all necessary procedures and time required to re-locate the slow worms. This exercise was carried out so successfully that it has been reported as a best practice case study by ecologists. The project team achieved a score of 36 out of 40 in the Considerate Contractors scheme, which reflects the effort that has been made with the local community. With residential housing close on their boundary, and 600 residents, two schools and a college in the local area, the management of dust, noise and traffic was critical. In terms of acoustics, screening with bunds and shutters was provided and noise monitoring was carried out throughout. Overall, the team has given a lot of time to keep the local community informed on progress of different work phases and any changes to access, most of the close neighbours have been in immediate contact with project manager. Residential housing on the site boundary The site is managed under the Green Dragon environmental management scheme. Staff also benefit from regular Tool Box talks and health checks provided on site. The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is also used on site to enable staff to continue with their qualifications. Overall, it appears that a positive relationship between the client and Carillion has enabled an extremely efficient site with any problems and rewards shared between the two parties. | |
