The project is one or four projects that was delivered by Bolton Council, who secured £22.9m Town’s Fund investment for their town centre regeneration. Seddon were appointed through the Clear Futures Framework on a two-stage design and build basis, from RIBA 0. The team led an intensive pre-construction period to develop a design solution that achieved the outcomes of Bolton Council’s funding bid, whilst maintaining the requirements of the vast number of stakeholders and market traders.
The project included a new food hall extension following relocation of the existing outdoor market to a new fixed structure. General refurbishment works will upgrade the externals and brighten internal areas. The new food hall has nine food and drink stalls and have both indoor and outdoor seating. The design included a large rooflight to the new internal seating area which along with curtain walls to both the east and west elevations will provide ‘a light and airy feel’. An external colonnade will provide cover to the outdoor seating area and can be closed off at night with scissor gates to store external furniture.
Pre-construction
The Clear Futures Framework is designed to offer the Council cost certainty, which therefore requires design to cost to ensure the project can be delivered within the agreed ‘Affordability Cap.’ To ensure the design remained affordable, a pricing exercise was undertaken at each RIBA stage, with formal submissions at RIBA 2 and RIBA 4, where approval is obtained from the Council to proceed. During the pre-construction period we worked through several challenges, including:
- Fortnightly client meetings were held with the market manager to ensure that the evolving design met the operational requirements of the market. One example is the addition of a shared ‘pot wash’ area for the new food hall for the various trader units. Several presentation evenings have been held to date, allowing the traders to attend and understand the proposals and communicate with our team.
- Due to the requirement for the market to remain operational, several phasing options were presented to the Market management team, and each considered in terms of duration, efficiency, and impact on the traders. This review led to the exclusion of proposed flooring renewal due to the associated large compensation packages for traders. The final solution allows the market to remain fully operational for the duration of the works, meaning the project won’t affect the stall holders revenue. The works were sequenced to facilitate this.
- Both the new outdoor market and new food hall were being constructed over United Utilities drains, requiring two Build Over Agreements (BOA). Obtaining the BOAs involved regular liaison with United Utilities including submission of technical packs. Following an initial rejection for the BOA to the new outdoor market, the design was amended to increase the height of the structure to allow access for United Utilities assets used for maintenance when required. Historical photographs of the area were provided to show precedence of previous structures.
- Enabling works that were planned to be delivered by another contractor did not progress as planned. Our team and designers took ownership of the proposed works to relocate the existing waste compactor and bin store. This was a complex process that required careful coordination between the design team and Packawaste, the operator of the waste compactor. Consideration had to be given to the levels, drainage, access to the proposed area to allow safe operation of the area once complete.
- The site location for Bolton Market is adjacent to a live and busy railway. The proposed location of the new compactor and bin store was on land owned by Network Rail. The Council had lease agreements with Network Rail for surrounding areas and consequently it was proposed that a side letter was arranged for the proposed lease of the land for Bolton Market.
Construction Phase
The construction phase was broken into the following distinct phases:
- Demolition of timber structure under a Network Rail BAPA and railway night closure followed by relocation of the existing waste compactor and bin store. This involved careful movement of waste compactor, baler and container units to new location on a non-market day. High level fencing and bird netting are included to prevent fly-away waste to the adjacent railway.
- Construction of new outdoor market, consisting of two fixed canopy structures running in parallel. A small area will include scissor gates for secure storage of trader tables over night and non-market days. Power, external lighting and CCTV will also be installed.
- Demolition of existing outdoor covered market and construction of new food hall extension to house 9no food and beverage units with a shared seating area including pot wash.
- External works to the existing market including cleaning of existing stone, brickwork, and curtain walling; new main entrance and signage to the perimeter
- Internal decoration works to fresh food and fish hall, including upgrade of lighting and fire alarm system. Communication during the construction phase was key, given the large number of stakeholders and the evolving phases and changing construction environment. Formal fortnightly meetings were held with the client team to review progress, with weekly calls to review cost, programme and risk. The site manager met with the market management team on a daily basis to ensure a positive relationship was maintained.
