The construction of a new salt barn at Goddard Road, Ipswich is well underway with the timber and glue frame being craned into place in 3½ tonne sections. Barnes Construction is the main contractor on the project which, when completed in September, will have a capacity to hold 6,000 tonnes of salt - 2,000 tonnes more than the previous depot at Great Blakenham.

Suffolk County Council has made a £400,000 saving through the use of local contractors and suppliers that, as well as Barnes include: Breheny, Bower Fuller and carpentry and superstructure contractors M&S Contractors.

To mark the start of construction work at the new East Anglia Children’s Hospices (EACH) facility in Ipswich, Graham Butland, Chief Executive for EACH, has assisted in the installation of one of the 149 piles that will support the new building.

East Anglia's Children's Hospices' Treehouse Appeal was launched in March to raise £3 million towards the total cost of £3.7 million required to build the new purpose-built hospice. The building will be situated in four acres of woodland, close to St Augustine’s Church at Bixley in Ipswich. 

“To get this much needed project underway, we have already raised £700,000 of the total project cost in a private phase of fundraising prior to our public launch. We have also been lucky enough to have the land donated to us by a local charitable trust.  With the strong backing of our partners and our considerable public support, the decision by EACH Trustees to begin construction was considered very carefully before deciding to proceed.” Graham commented.

The single-storey hospice which has been designed by Ipswich architect Barefoot & Gilles, will thread between mature trees and have a sedum roof to blend in sympathetically with its natural and peaceful surroundings.

Barnes Construction is carrying out the building work for the hospice which will take around 15 months to complete. After clearing some of the site and carrying out some environmental works, the installation of the augured piles is now underway.

There are lots of exciting ways to get involved with the appeal throughout 2010 as an individual, company, school or community group. Fundraising packs can be obtained by calling the Treehouse Appeal fundraising office on 01473 276115 or details can be found at www.each.org.uk/treehouse.

The Haverhill Community Football Project on the town’s Chalkstone Playing Fields, has taken another step forward with the installation of the spectator stand and floodlighting.

“Six floodlights, each just over 15 metres in height, have been erected,” commented Colin Lockwood, Site Manager for Barnes Construction, the main contractor for the £1.9 million new community football ground: “The stand is 25 metres long and has been installed in sections. Once the bolt plates and uprights were in place, the stand roof was put on and then the seats were fixed in place. The final stage was the installation of the cladding.”

 The construction team comprising Barnes, MLT Architects and Structural Engineers’, Morrish, (who are both based in Bury St Edmunds), have been hard at work on-site since September.

The state-of-the-art facilities will be run by the Haverhill Community Football Association once completed at the end of April. The project will incorporate a number of football pitches and areas for training and coaching with a total of 20 teams set to benefit – including Haverhill Rovers.

Library Manager Neil Holmes has helped to demolish the old façade wall, as part of a £2.4 million facelift for the library in Bury St Edmunds.

Barnes Construction is carrying out the building refurbishment work over the next eight months. Once work is completed in the summer, the new building will not only have extra library space, but will also accommodate a range of new community services including a Learning Enterprise Access Point (LEAP centre) and a children’s centre situated next to the children’s library.  

“It’s really exciting to be able to play a part in this project.” Neil commented. “The wall I have just helped to demolish will make way for the new entrance and glazed exterior on the ground floor. This will also make room for the coffee shop which will be relocated from the first floor, making it much more accessible to the public.”

The original library was built in 1984 and over the last quarter of a century it has served the local Bury St Edmund’s community well. However, there is a need to refresh the building so that it is modern and up to-date in the services it offers.

Councillor Rosemary Clarke, Suffolk County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Sport, Culture, Diversity, Health and Wellbeing said, “Its great news that the work on refurbishing the library is gathering pace.  The new facilities being created, will not only be of enormous benefit to current local library users, but should also attract other people to try out the improved range of services on offer. The LEAP centre will provide adults and businesses in Suffolk with information and guidance on local learning and training opportunities, while the Children’s Centre will carry out activities as well as offer parents of the under 5's information and advice on a range of subjects.”

Whilst Barnes Construction carry out the refurbishment work, the library facilities have been relocated to temporary accommodation at Shire Hall in Bury St Edmunds.

The first step in a project to develop a major new education campus for Lowestoft has received the approval of young people and local community groups from the town.

Once the redevelopment work at Barnard’s Meadow playing fields is complete, the site will boast a new floodlit all weather sports pitch, café, sports pavilion and on site parking. It is expected that the new facilities will open in spring 2010.

County Councillor Graham Newman Portfolio Holder for Children & Young People’s Services said: “The redevelopment will significantly improve facilities available to young people and community groups across Lowestoft. The site will also form part of a new education campus for the town.  The campus will include a state of the art building for young people to carry on their learning after leaving secondary school.  By working together the new sixth form college and the existing further education college will be able to offer young people a much wider range of courses and qualifications than ever before.”   

Depending on ministerial approval the new Lowestoft Sixth Form College plans to open its doors to young people from September 2011.

Two senior managers from Barnes Construction have continued to build their way to the top by achieving GNVQ Level 5 in Construction Management.

Project Manager Nick Timms (pictured right) and Senior Site Manager Richard Groom (pictured left) undertook the course at Colchester Institute in Essex. The course is designed for construction managers working in a wide range of job roles and is the highest level in the NVQ framework. Delivered in 11 units, studies are focused on the core elements of roles, functions and responsibilities of a construction manager.

Nick has worked for Barnes Construction since 2001.  He plays a key role in the delivery of projects, providing advice on buildability, value engineering, programme information and supporting the design function.

Richard joined Barnes Construction in 1998 as Assistant Site Manager. He soon progressed to Site Manager, and in 2003 he became Senior Site Manager.
Nick Fayers, Managing Director for Barnes Construction commented: “As a company, we encourage all our staff to push themselves in their professional development. By completing NVQ Level 5, Richard and Nick have demonstrated their ability to apply a significant range of fundamental principles across a wide and often unpredictable variety of contracts. This achievement has also recognised their ability to form and lead a project delivery team, as well as oversee the job, from initial idea through to the hand-over of the completed building.
Nick and Richard are now eligible to apply for Corporate Membership of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

Barn owls could soon be flying above Bourne Park thanks to a unique partnership between Ipswich Borough Council and Barnes Construction.

The local contracting company, which has an owl in its logo, is fully supporting this project which aims to encourage barn owls to return to the area and to breed.

Ipswich Borough Council’s Wildlife & Education Rangers Project team manager Laura Whitfield commented: “We want to improve the wildlife habitat in the park and encourage barn owls to nest here. By building two barn owl boxes (one for the male and one for the female and potential young) and by letting some of the grass grow long we can create a habitat, both for the birds and their primary food source, the short-tailed field vole.”

Currently there are no barn owls breeding anywhere in Ipswich and, if successful, Bourne Park could be the first place in Ipswich that barn owls have bred in more than 100 years.

Councillor Judy Terry, the Council¹s Arts, Culture & Leisure portfolio-holder, said: “This is an excellent example of the public and private sectors working together to benefit park visitors and we are grateful for the fantastic and enthusiastic support shown by Barnes Construction. A hundred years is a long time for Ipswich to be without barn owls and I hope we can soon see these magnificent birds here again.”

Nick Fayers, Managing Director for Barnes Construction added: “Right from the start, we were keen to get involved with this project because of our obvious relation to the Barn Owl, through the company name and a logo that has served us well over the last 26 years. Also, this is a worthwhile project that many of our staff, who live in Ipswich, can support and take an interest in and to show our commitment, we have nominated two ‘champions’ from the business, Helen Kembery and Paul Crisp, who will be ensuring that we keep in close contact with progress and give our full support wherever we can.”

Watched by colleagues and the building project team, Cllr Colin Noble, Suffolk County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adult & Community Services has been helping to get a new respite care home nearer to completion, by laying a section of the sedum roof at a topping out ceremony.

The £1.9 million development is being built by Barnes Construction and is situated in close proximity to the Cathedral and Abbey Gardens. Replacing Chestnut House at The Vinefields in Bury St Edmunds, the home, when completed at the end of the year, will provide accommodation for eight people in two self-contained blocks, with a third linking block providing Day Services.

Of great importance to Suffolk County Council is the environmental credentials of the building and with this in mind, the council’s Corporate Property Department has designed the building with an aim to achieve a BREEAM* rating of ‘very good’.

“This new building includes areas of green and bio-diverse roofs, a woodchip boiler and high levels of insulation. It is an opportunity for us to create a prototype which can be used as a flagship and model for future buildings of this type across Suffolk.” Cllr. Noble commented.

Two weeks ahead of schedule, Barnes Construction has handed over the brand new Gainsborough Library in Ipswich to Suffolk County Council. To mark the completion of the 455 square metres, state-of-the-art community facility, Mandy Grimwood, Manager of Gainsborough Community Library accepted a framed photo and the keys for the building from Mark Bailey, Associate Director for Barnes Construction.

"This is a very special day for me and my team.  We saw the new building take shape over the last nine months, and now all our ideas and plans are suddenly very real.” Mandy commented.

The temporary library will close its doors for the last time on Friday 31st July and the new library will open its doors to the public on Tuesday 4th August at 9:30am. At that time local residents and the wider public will be able to take advantage of the diverse range of community services the building will offer. These include a well-stocked modern library, large community room, social enterprise café (similar to that recently opened in Felixstowe Library) and a digital sound recording studio, as well as a plethora of learning and leisure activities for people of all ages.

“It has been a delight to work on this contract which has resulted in this excellent facility for the community of Gainsborough.” Mark said. “What has made it particularly special is the support we have received from our client Suffolk County Council and the local residents that this new distinctive looking building will serve.

And distinctive the new building is with the entrance rotunda clad in a striking mirror green stainless steel; a first for Ipswich.  Architect, Consulting Engineer and Quantity Surveyor, Pick Everard designed the building which is principally glazed and partially rendered and can be seen from the junction of Clapgate Lane and Landseer Road. They incorporated the cladding that requires minimum maintenance into the design to help Suffolk County Council in its aim to create a landmark and dynamic 21st century library that promotes regeneration in the local community. Its use also fits in with the client's aspirations to deliver a 'very good' rated building through the BREEAM sustainability assessment method.

Three county councillors have lent a hand to complete a key milestone in the construction of the new £1.4 million library at Gainsborough in Ipswich.

Graham Newman, Portfolio Holder for Adult and Community Services, Rosemary Clarke, Vice-Chairman of Suffolk County Council and Assistant Portfolio Holder for Adult and Community Services and Bill Quinton, County Councillor for Gainsborough, helped to get the building nearer to completion, by assisting with the installation of the glass roof panels on the central rotunda entrance to the community facility.

When completed in the summer, the 455 square metre facility will not only house a well-equipped library, but also a large community room, a social enterprise café (similar to that recently opened in Felixstowe Library) and a digital sound recording studio. Outside there will be a community garden and a dedicated vehicle entrance with car and cycle parking.

Architect, Consulting Engineer and Quantity Surveyor, Pick Everard have designed the building which is striking in appearance, being principally glazed and partially rendered. The main feature that will be seen from the Clapgate Lane and Landseer Road junction is the entrance rotunda which, when finished, will be clad in green stainless steel, a first for a building in Suffolk.

Construction started in autumn last year on the scheme which is funded by the Big Lottery, as part of its Community Libraries Programme that helps to bring public libraries in England up to a modern standard. The library has integrated a number of sustainable elements into the build, such as an eco-friendly computer controlled window actuation cooling and ventilation system. Under floor heating and high levels of insulation will maximise thermal efficiency, which in turn will help to reduce on-going running costs.

Portfolio holder for adult and community services, Councillor Graham Newman commented: "This new library for Gainsborough and south east Ipswich has been designed in conjunction with, and to meet the needs of, local people. It will provide a community facility fit for the 21st century and will be a vibrant, landmark building to fit in with the neighbourhood it serves."

Barnes Construction has ended its 30th birthday year by winning two accolades at the Anglian Business Awards.

The gala dinner, hosted by Alistair McGowan and run by the East Anglian Daily Times, saw Barnes beat off strong competition to win the ‘Medium to Large Business’ category. The company was then chosen from the 14 category winners to be given the ‘Business of the Year 2008’ title.

Nick Fayers commented: “These awards are testament to the great team at Barnes Construction. This is our 30th year in business and our founding Chairman; the late David Barnes would have been delighted to share in the celebrations. After all if it wasn’t for his belief that you could have both a thriving construction business and a happy workforce, we wouldn’t be where we are today”.

Glasswell’s new Ipswich showroom has been 37 weeks in the building and more than four years in the planning. Paul Glasswell, third generation of the Glasswell family in the business, bought the site in June 2007 and building work began in March 2008.

Barnes Construction completed the work to a tight schedule, and the keys were handed over by Paul Lambert, Contracts Manager for Barnes Construction (pictured with Paul Glasswell) at the end of October, enabling the shop-fitting to begin.

At the start of December the 73,000 sq. ft. home furnishings showroom will open its doors to the public.