River Clyde Homes

New sustainable and affordable housing in Port Glasgow, underpinned by an efficient use for surplus rock.

Project: River Clyde Homes Location: Port Glasgow,

Inverclyde Division: Affordable Housing – Lovell

Sector: Residential

Client: River Clyde Homes

Duration: 28 months

Completion date: March 2012

Value: £24 million

Local labour employed: Currently 12.8% and projected up to 18%

Number of apprenticeships offered: 11

Volume of waste recycled: Currently 88% but expected to fall slightly as the project progresses

Area of site: 76,612 m2 across three sites

Project Summary

Lovell is building 195 homes for River Clyde Homes housing association, at three sites in Port Glasgow, near Greenock, Inverclyde. The new housing, worth £24 million, is the first to be built by Lovell under its four-year framework agreement with the housing association. The homes are being built for rent and for existing owners, and include 32 homes at Moray Road, 61 homes at Oronsay and 102 homes at Woodhall.

Delivering today for tomorrow

People

Engaging with the community and helping local good causes. Planet

Use of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) to control and minimise surface water run-off.

Profit

Re-use of excavated rock at nearby docks to save the client money.

People

Lovell has involved the local community throughout the design and construction process, and the site has been registered with the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

Presentations have been made to the community on the construction strategy, and residents meetings have been held to update progress and answer queries. Quarterly newsletters are also being distributed to local residents.

Time and money have been spent supporting local good causes, including helping raise funds for a local nursery school’s Pakistan Flood disaster appeal and sponsoring a local youth football team. Lovell has also donated materials to the local nursery to help construct a herb garden and small play park.

Health and safety presentations have been made at the local nursery and primary schools, and nursery school pupils have visited to learn about the dangers of construction sites. Lovell organised a workshop on recycling principles for local teachers, and organised a trip to a local waste management company depot to give students an insight into recycling.

Students from Port Glasgow High School also visited the site, to give an insight into construction as a career. Work experience opportunities have also been made available.

Planet

Prior to construction, the sites had to be cleared of Japanese knotweed, and the presence of protected wildlife species onsite has dictated the build programme.

The new homes are being designed to the Ecohomes ‘Good’ standard, and are based on a timber-frame kit construction using wood from sustainable forests.

Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) are being utilised, with permeable paving, ground water ponds and overflow systems used to control and minimise surface water run-off.

Profit

With the client keen to rationalise the project budget, the emphasis was on Lovell and their design team to generate ideas for cutting costs whilst maintaining quality.

With significant rock excavation needed to create level surfaces that meet the requirements of Housing for Varying Needs, rock recycling became a main focus. Transporting and disposing of the 26,000 m3 of excavated rock would have been costly, and only some could be reused on site. Instead, much has been transferred to nearby dock projects to use as infill material. Aside from the potential environmental impacts avoided by not needing to dispose of this material, its re-use will save River Clyde Homes a considerable sum of money.

Early in the project, an open day was held by Lovell for local contractors to generate interest in the works. Where possible, local suppliers are being used, for example for windows, doors and stairs. It is estimated that the project will provide 43 locally sourced positions, including 12 apprenticeships.

Best Practice

Rock re-use at nearby construction sites provided a way of cutting costs without compromising on the design or quality of the completed homes.

For more information on the new homes built on this site download this PDF project sheet:  Port Glasgow, New Homes.