Welcome to the Spring edition of our quarterly publication which contains a roundup of news from across our construction sectors: automotive, commercial, education, healthcare and residential. I hope you find this newsletter of interest and would be delighted to help with any enquiries you may have.
As we spring into a new season, the team is looking forward to better weather, after what feels like a long winter; perhaps as always! For all construction site personnel, come rain or shine, they deal with whatever the weather throws at them to move projects and works forward. This perseverance and commitment, I feel, can sometimes be insufficiently acknowledged. Again, further highlights the importance of protecting the physical and mental wellbeing of those involved in construction.
Over the last 3 months, we have welcomed the ending of COVID restrictions. Even though we must remain vigilant, this change is already delivering productivity improvements across all areas. Coupled with signs of improvement in supply chain efficiency, the industry seems to be experiencing, albeit slowly, a slightly less bumpy ride. However, we can’t ignore new industry challenges that could lie ahead due to conditions in the world economy, as well as resolving the significant cost to businesses from the impact of the pandemic over the last two years. In January, we contributed to an article by Ingleton Wood about the importance of having ‘early honest conversations’ in construction projects to tackle the materials supply issues – see latest news section.
Since our last edition, we have announced the construction of Avery Healthcare’s first care home (£8.5m) in Essex and a new mixed-use business centre (£2.8m) in Great Dunmow – see below for more information. In addition, all of our construction sites, from Bedford to Maidstone, are progressing well.
Over the last couple of years, during the widespread challenges in the industry, we have experienced record levels of new business enquiries and in the latest news section below, we talk about how ‘developers look to Horizon for confidence’.
New additions to our team include Paul Fisher as a Quantity Surveyor and Ben Rodwell as a Contracts Manager; they both bring a wealth of experience to our clients and operations. We continue to expand our site team and welcome Ryan Frost as an Assistant Site Manager, who is excited about the change of direction in his career.
We are also delighted to appoint Harry Taylor to HSQ&E Manager. Harry was a Site Manager in our team and has retrained to fulfil his new role. He has recently become qualified as a mental health first aider and passed his NEBOSH course with distinction. From a drone pilot in the military to a champion of health and safety, the story about his life experiences and career will soon be available.
Please continue to explore the content on this page. Our estimating department remains very busy with progressing opportunities in all sectors, so we hope to share more exciting news very soon. If you have any enquiries, please contact us in the usual way.
Kind regards
Phil Holding
Managing Director
Sector focus: Healthcare
Over the last two years, our construction projects in the healthcare sector represent a value in excess of £30m. Our projects have delivered new care home facilities in Suffolk, Essex and Kent. We have been building our reputation in this sector over a number of years and are recognised as a trusted principal contractor for high-quality solutions and service.
The short videos below show you one project in progress and two completed projects.
New projects
Healthcare: New 75-Bed Care Home in Braintree, Essex
Avery Healthcare Group has awarded Horizon Construction a contract to build their new £8.4m care home in Braintree, Essex. Horizon Construction was selected with confidence to deliver the care home – Avery’s first in Essex – to add to their nationwide award-winning care home portfolio. Construction works commenced at the end of January 2022 and are expected to complete in Q3 2023.
The project involves the construction of a modern and carefully considered 75-bed facility. The delivery partners include architects at Harris Irwin, project managers at Holden & Lee, and mechanical and electrical consultants at Harniss Consulting.
We are excited to be on-site to start work on “Braintree Mews Care Home” for Avery Healthcare. The team has been setting up the new site office and working hard preparing the land for construction works. The drainage installation has commenced and steel cages are being created for the foundations. Preparations are also underway for a tower crane from April.
Commercial: New mixed-use business centre in Great Dunmow, Essex
Horizon Construction has been awarded a £2.8m commercial construction contract to create a mixed-use business centre at Bluegates Farm, which is located near to the historic town of Great Dunmow (Essex). Construction works will commence later this month.
Our team is looking forward to working with the project managers at Real8 Group, architectural team at Inkpen Downie and the structural engineers at WA Consulting Engineers, as well as a number of great suppliers and contractors.
Project updates
Commercial: Office Facility in Ardleigh, Essex
The programme at our commercial site work in Ardleigh for NEEB Holdings is progressing well. The foundations and first steel lifts have been completed. The bricklayers are now laying blocks ready for the block and beam floors.
This £5.1m project consists of two large office blocks and an adjacent carpark – representing 26,000 sq.ft. of commercial space. Construction works are expected to be completed in Q4 2022.
Our architecture partner is Wincer Kievenaar Architects.
Commercial: Office Unit in Braintree, Essex
The new office unit is quickly taking shape at our commercial site in Braintree. The steel frame structure is complete and the cladding panels are being fixed around the building. installation of framework for a detailed bullnose feature at roof level has also begun.
Internal works will start very soon after the completion of the first-floor slab pour and ground-floor screed installation. We are looking forward to finalising the detailed finishes with the client, DOA Underwriting.
All works on this £1.3m contract are expected to complete by the end of Q2 2022.
Education: Teaching Block for Grange Academy in Bedford
Construction works are on schedule at Grange Academy in Bedford to create a modern two-storey teaching block.
The steel frame system has been completed and the external brickwork is well underway. Both floors have been screeded. The internal mastec walls are being constructed and the first electrical fix has started. Works on this £2m contract will be completed during the summer to allow the school to prepare the facilities for the new academic year in September.
The delivery team includes the project and architectural team at Ingleton Wood.
Healthcare: 72-Bed Care Home in Maidstone, Kent
The marketing suite has recently been handed over to the client, Oakland Care, to start welcoming prospective residents to Maplewood Court Care Home.
Landscaping has begun on the outside area of the building. Decorating and the final M&E (Mechanical and Electrical) fix are progressing throughout all areas of the care home. The expected completion of this £7.3m healthcare contract is in Q2 2022.
The project delivery team includes Aedifice Partnership, ADG Architects and WA Consulting Engineers.
The following video captured the site in January 2022.
Latest news and publications
Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date with our latest news and announcements, including construction projects and job vacancies. Our LinkedIn company page now has over 3,500 followers.
The latest news and publications on our website include:
- Events: “Charity Football Tournament 2022 – Register your interest”
- Publications: “Case Study of Cavell Manor Care Home”
- Corporate News: “Developers look to Horizon for confidence”
- Insight: “To be forewarned is to be forearmed – having early honest conversation is best solution for materials supply issues”
- Corporate News: “New 75-bed care home for Avery Healthcare Group”
Recruitment
We are on the lookout for great and aspiring talent to join our team. As a forward-thinking and innovative construction company, we are constantly planning ahead to match the growth in demand for our services with new resourcing requirements.
As well as our Current Job Vacancies (Quantity Surveyor), we have our Future Job Vacancies section on our careers page that shows the expected opportunities over the next 6, 12 and 24 months. These vacancies are regularly updated.
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