Meet the Speller Metcalfe Construction Team

Speller Metcalfe are a privately owned building contractor’s founded in 1995 by Joint Managing Directors Andy Metcalfe and Steve Speller, who still today play very active roles in managing the business and its client’s needs.

With offices based in Malvern, Gloucester and London, the company provides a general building and refurbishment service including design and construction, our projected annual turnover is £57ml, serving primarily local authority, education, police, healthcare, commercial, retail and public leisure facility sectors.  More info can be found at our website www.spellermetcalfe.com.

We are very proud to be building the new primary school at Offmore, one of the first projects to be procured under the new West Midlands Contractors Framework.  We have worked colloboratively with Worcestershire County Council, their design team & the School during the planning stage of the project, and are thrilled to now be able to start works onsite.

Our key people who will be in charge of managing the works are introduced below.

DAVE NEWMAN – PROJECT MANAGER

Dave will be heading up our site based project team.  Responsibilities will include co-ordinating the procurement of materials, subcontractors, quality control and meeting the programme requirements to deliver the new school.

MARK PLAYDON – SITE MANAGER

Mark will also be based onsite assisting Dave with organising the 

busy day to day construction activities to construct the new school.  Mark will also have a special remit to ensure that the works are co-ordinately safely with School whilst they are in their temporary school village.

STEVE HARKER – CONTRACT MANAGER

Steve will provide support to the site based team from our Malvern office, overseeing the project at a more strategic level to ensure that it is delivered on time an on budget.

NORMAN DAVIES – H&S MANAGER

‘Stormin’ Norman will visit site regularly to help the site based team ensure that H&S standards are up to scratch, particularly with the new school being in close proximity to the temporary school village.

 

ADE SPELLER – ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER

Adrian will be responsible for ensuring that the new school meets the sustainable design standards set out by the Project Design Team at Worcestershire County Council to obtain a BREEAM ‘VERY GOOD’ sustainability rating for the new school buildings. 

JULIAN JABCZYNSKI – QUANTITY SURVEYOR

Julian will be in charge of cost management throughout the project to ensure that the school & Worcestershire County Council get the best value for their money.

TONY SHAW – CONSTRUCTION DIRECTOR

Tony will be the Director in charge of the contract; liaising with Worcestershire County Council and the School to ensure that strategic targets of the Contractor Partnering Framework which the project has been procured under, are met.

The new school...some facts and figures

As part of the BREEAM Environmental Assessment, the project team is committed to publishing key facts about the design and performance of the building, including:

Basic Building Cost - £1300/m2 (of which Services Costs - £420/m2)
• External Works - £269/m2
• Gross floor area - 2338m2
• Total area of site – 1.2889 hectares
• Function areas and their size (m2) Classrooms are generally 60m2, the nursery is 65m2, there is a large reception classroom of 99m2 which can be subdivided by a folding screen. There is a hall of 155m2 with a catering kitchen of 58m2. There is also a dance/ drama/ music studio of 60m2, staff room of 52m2 and school offices, toilets, IT areas, library, group rooms and stores.
• Area of circulation 331m2
• Area of storage 120 m2
43 % area of grounds to be used by community (school field, by arrangement)
11 % area of buildings to be used by community (hall, ABC club, studio and associated circulation/ WCs)
Predicted electricity consumption - 25 kWh/m2 Predicted fossil fuel consumption - 22.5 kWh/m2
Predicted renewable energy generation - 52.5 kWh/m2
Predicted water use - 3.5 m3/person/year % predicted water use to be provided by rainwater or Greywater –not applicable
The steps taken during the construction process to reduce environmental impacts : including bat surveys, monitoring of site waste, protection of trees and reuse of crushed aggregate from the demolished old school

A Greener School...

BREEAM Rating and score:
The design of the new school is being independently assessed under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), with a ‘Very Good’ score targeted. BREEAM sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the measure used to describe a building's environmental performance. (go to http://www.bre.co.uk/ and www.breeam.org/schools.html for more details of the Building Research establishment and the BREEAM method) This blog has been set up to report on the progress of the project, and how eventually it measures up in reality to the aspirations and targets set during the design process. It is intended that the site will be updated at regular intervals during the design and construction periods.

The key innovative and low-impact design features of the building:
The new building has been specifically designed in order to maximise its potential as a sustainable building, performing better than required under the current building regulations.
The new school incorporates a number of sustainable features including the use of a wood chip (biomass) boiler and the building would also be highly insulated. The boiler room has a viewing window so pupils can see it working. Digital energy displays in the new school foyer will enable staff and pupils to see how well their building is performing in energy terms. Large windows on the northern face will reduce the amount of time that lights would need to be switched on. The south facing windows will be restricted in size and number to allow a limited amount of solar gain. Where the windows on the south side would be large, such as the Nursery and Reception rooms, they would be situated under large roof overhangs which provide shade. The proposed reduced use of the south facing windows would limit unwanted solar gain that might otherwise give need for mechanical ventilation. Roof lights would also be used to bring in sunlight in a controlled manner.
A Sustainable Drainage System (SUDS) is to be used to control and manage rainwater on the site. The proposed SUDS technique would include swales leading to a small permanent pond and an infiltration area, at the bottom of the site. This water garden would be situated between the parents waiting area and the early years hard play area. As well as dealing with storm water, these features create new wildlife habitats and provide new curriculum opportunities for pupils. Areas of soft landscaping and an allotment garden are also proposed, these would aid the site's water absorption. The rubble from the demolished existing school building would be crushed for retention on site as a sub-base material for the proposed new school building.

A basic description of the project and building

This new school and nursery is one of several major building projects resulting from a review of education in the Wyre Forest area. As a result of the review, in September 2007 Offmore First School became a Primary School with additional two year groups of pupils. A feasibility study of the site in 2006 by Worcestershire County Council, recommended that because of the size, layout and condition of the existing school, conversion and extension was not practicable. Instead it was decided that a new school building should be provided containing sufficient accommodation to house all pupils and that it should be built to better constructional standards than the existing forty year old school building.

The new primary school will be a 1½ form entry Primary School for 362 pupils. It would also accommodate a 40 place Nursery. It will be located approximately in the same location of the present building, which is to be demolished, and the school is being accommodated in temporary classrooms on the school field whilst the new school is built.

In the form of a modern two storey block with a faceted plan, the school will also have two single storey wings projecting outwards towards Wordsworth Crescent. The single storey elements house the school hall, the reception and nursery classes; whilst the two storeys contains the school classrooms, offices and specialist teaching areas.

The facing materials for the new school building will be insulated render, with a brown brick base and features. The windows will be timber, with an aluminium external face. The upper roof will be constructed of zinc, and the lower single storey roofs are 'green' roofs planted with sedums on a single ply membrane. The green roof helps to keep the building cool, reduce rainwater run-off and provide visual interest.

It is proposed that each Key Stage would have its own outside play area/teaching area. The Nursery and Reception hard play area would be located to the south on the existing early years play area. The ABC club hard play area would be situated to the northwest, Key Stage 1 would have a hard play area to the northeast, and the Key Stage 2 hard play area would be located on the existing large hard play area to the east.

The building has been designed by architects and services engineers from the County Council Property Services department, assisted by a range of specialist consultants offering cost, structural, drainage, health & safety, and ecological advice. Under the West Midlands Contractor Framework, Speller Metcalfe (Malvern) Ltd have been appointed as Principal Contractor for the works.

Works for New School Underway

Regeneration works at Offmore Primary School in Kidderminster have begun, with appointed building contractor Speller Metcalfe working closely with the school and Worcestershire County Council to ensure any disruption is kept to the minimum. Preparations for the new school, which will cost around £4 million, are under way with the demolition of the old buildings. School pupils and teaching staff are being housed in temporary accommodation, situated alongside the site of the old school. Demolition is set for completion by the beginning of April, with building works commencing during the Easter break and scheduled to finish by March 2012. Speller Metcalfe Contracts Manager, Steve Harker, said: "All pupils and staff moved in to the new temporary school in advance of the perimeter fencing being erected mid-January allowing demolition works to commence. We are now looking forward to starting the main works in April and working alongside Worcestershire County Council and the school." The new school will include additional teaching rooms, a new nursery, library and IT areas, toilets and extended outdoor play areas with access and the use of a playing field, allotment garden and planted boarders. The addition of eco-friendly facilities include a biomass boiler, recognised 'zero-carbon' technology, providing the school with a reliable source of heat, linked with natural ventilation systems and a green roof which will improve the visual landscape and offer additional ecological and environmental advantages. Local Councillor Fran Oborski stated: "I'm absolutely delighted to see it all get started." The main school redevelopment is planned for completion by March next year, with the removal of the temporary school and the reinstatement of the playing fields due to be complete by the end of June 2012.