Old Square Shopping Centre Walsall

Client : Walsall Council

Contractor: Morgan Sindall

Consultant: Pick Everard

Project : Old Square shopping centre, Walsall

Value: £5.8m construction contract

Date: February 2013 - April 2015

Project overview

The regeneration of Walsall’s Old Square shopping centre was successfully delivered in April 2015 as part of a complex, local authority backed retail development which was critical to improving the town centre.

Walsall Council - leading the way with its forward thinking - invested in the town centre to construct this £5.8 million premier shopping destination after procuring the services of Pick Everard through the Scape National Project Management and Quantity Surveying Framework.

Project overview

This multi-million pound council led retail development will help to attract future investment to Walsall and create hundreds of new jobs.

An NEC3 contract approach to the scheme was vital to its success. The contract’s robust nature and emphasis on collaboration meant any issues could be resolved swiftly and efficiently.

Programme delivery The developer investing in the scheme withdrew, leaving a project which had been started but was at significant risk of cancellation

ResolutionThe council viewed the development as vital to the regeneration of the town centre and acted as developer and landlord. The NEC3 contract approach meant the contractor was appointed early - creating a collaborative ethos to help put the scheme back on track.

Asbestos As work was about to start, the team unexpectedly found asbestos due to a lack of information on the building.

ResolutionSpeed was of the essence. With the NEC3 contract in place, the main contractor was able to work instantly and engage an on-site demolition contractor, resulting in an acceptable delay of only three weeks when a longer delay would have put timescales in jeopardy.

Chloride This was discovered in a first floor slab above the existing building.

ResolutionAll risks were discussed openly and assigned to the best party to deal with them. In this case a sub-contractor was procured who installed an electric current system to avoid decay and keep the programme on track.

NEC3 - the key to success

A number of tools and techniques were used by the NEC3 supervisors to ensure the project ran smoothly.

Tools and techniques

NEC3 Option CThe target cost NEC3 Option C was selected. This meant any financial risks were shared between the contractor and the client if the project ran over budget. In fact, there was a gain share of £400,000 for the client as the project was delivered under budget.

Identifying risksRisks were identified from the outset of the project, with 123 cited in total. The contractor had priced the scheme, but without including costs for the associated risks at that stage. Walsall Council wanted greater cost certainty, so consultants took the time to price each risk and included these within the available contingency.

Early Warning Notices As the programme progressed, ongoing risks to the project were identified as Early Warning Notices (ENWs) and reviewed weekly by all parties involved. This was a collaborative effort and enabled issues to be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Supervisor meetingsAn independent supervisory team was set up with regular meetings held, but rather than all parties attending unnecessarily, any issues or risks were identified in advance so only those to whom this was relevant attended. This was a much more efficient and cost-effective way of working.

Leading on innovation

The latest technology and relevant software was used to enhance project delivery.

SyproThis project management software tool enabled a systematic approach in which all stakeholders discussed and agreed solutions for the EWNs and compensation events arising on a weekly basis.

Clear financial reporting of costs throughout the scheme using Sypro ensured all issues were identified, costed, discussed and resolved at the earliest opportunity. Parties were notified of issues via email using Sypro so that they could come to risk management meetings fully prepared.

Snagmaster LiteA new app was introduced which made the project far more efficient at identifying and resolving snagging issues on site. The new software app, entitled Snagmaster Lite, was used to great effect, with partners managing to cut time spent on site dealing with snagging issues by half.

Any issues were reported quicker with comprehensive reports produced for sub-contractors and clients alike.

The outcomes from the scheme have not only benefited the client, but also local businesses and the wider community. These include:

• A 20% increase in footfall at the Old Square shopping centre. New tenants have come in and key existing stores such as Debenhams have committed themselves to remaining in Walsall.

• More than 160 new jobs have been created and improvements have been made to existing stores.

• The success story in Walsall is set to continue with a further 90,000 sq ft of retail units gaining planning consent.

Outcomes achieved

The completed project has been met with a glowing endorsement from the client:

Pick Everard acted as a principled and ethical organisation, matching the values of Walsall Council.

Their approach to collaborative working and robust project management ensured a challenging public sector led regeneration project was delivered on time and within budget.

The project team were critical to the project’s success and their professionalism and humour has ensured that project delivery has been enjoyable.

Richard Chadwick, WMBC Regeneration Team Leader

Pick Everard scored across the board in areas including quality of service, response to problems and delivery of value for money.

Client satisfaction

• Approach: The Scape framework and the NEC3 contract was the ideal combination to complete the complex project on time and importantly within budget. The committed approach had to be right to rescue the vital regeneration project and turn it around to Walsall Council’s satisfaction.

• Effective Risk Register: A fully priced cost report was implemented to help ensure the client’s objectives were met. This strategy was hugely successful and is now being used across further schemes.

• Teamwork: With a number of stakeholders involved, collaboration was key. Weekly meetings were put in place to ensure everyone understood and had knowledge of the contract and procedures. A team ethic across project management, the contractors, sub-contractors and the client ensured the scheme was a success.

Outcomes and lessons learned

Find out more about Pick Everard:

www.pickeverard.co.uk

www.twitter.com/PickEverard

www.linkedin.com/company/pick-everard