Coroners Court
Value: £991K
Type: New Build
Partner: G F Tomlinson
G F Tomlinson were appointed through the Constructing West Midlands framework to create a new Coroner’s Court for Birmingham & Solihull Coroner’s Service. This was the first scheme undertaken via the CWM2 framework.
The project comprised the refurbishment of Birmingham’s former youth court based on the corner of Newton Street and Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, to provide the Coroner’s Service with an additional two court rooms. This created three court rooms in total with court one being used as an opener court, court two as a non-jury court and court three as a jury court. The building is located in the Steelhouse Lane Conservation Area.
Works also comprised significant remodelling to form spaces required for the court room facilities and staff such as interview rooms and administration rooms. The heating, electrical and data networks were enhanced to meet the courts requirements and the decoration and finishes were refreshed.
We undertook additional works outside the original scope which comprised the installation of loose furniture and equipment, ICT equipment and ICT data cabling and data points.
Value engineering workshops took place during pre-construction which resulted in Client savings of over £200k, whilst retaining key project elements, allowing the project to succeed.
M&E accounted for 46% of the contract value and we appointed our M&E contractor on an open book partnered basis, resulting in their specialist input into the VE. £90k of cost savings were generated in the M&E package including the retention of existing Air Handling Units and ventilation system, sanitaryware, lighting and alarm (where serviceable and not affected by the remodelling), existing drainage, existing pipework to domestic services.
Regular liaison between the project team and Birmingham City Council ensured satisfaction levels were maintained, progress was reported and queries were promptly addressed. Weekly meetings were held between the site team and the Client to run through upcoming programme activities.
The project was delivered on time and under budget ensuring planned activities were not impacted. The completion date was critical to the Client, with court cases booked for the end of November, which meant it was even more important to complete the works on time.
Project highlights
- £200k+ in Client savings made via Value Engineering
- 102 toolbox talks
- 8 car miles saved through car sharing initiatives
- 3 full time apprentice opportunities created – on site for 13 weeks
- 99% of waste recycled – only 48kg sent to landfill
- Reuse of timber panelling in the non-jury court room to provide sustainability benefits and cost benefits to the client
- 120 student engagements via a careers event at Hodge Hill School in the West Midlands
“The project has been delivered to a high standard thanks to the professionalism of the G F Tomlinson team. The end user is extremely pleased with the transformation of the building which has exceeded their aspirations and has been held up as the best example of a Coroners Court in the country to date.”
Lesley Steele, Operational Programme Manager – Birmingham City Council