Steel Frameworking Derby - Ascot Drive Police Station
The brief and a little history.
Following shortcomings identified by Derbyshire Constabulary highlighting their deteriorating station located on Cotton Lane in Derby, a review was initiated to modernise the facilities for future use by the force. The study concluded that building a brand new police station would be much more cost-effective and less intrusive than refurbishing their current headquarters.
Subsequently, a £9.5m plan was drawn up to build the new police station at Ascot Drive, located towards the city’s south. This would become the central police hub for the area, providing greater access to Derby County’s Pride Park stadium, making match day policing far more efficient.
Again, thanks to our previous work with Bowmer & Kirkland, Westville was appointed to install a robust steel frame system (SFS) as part of the construction project, together with the application of cement particle boards and a Stolit render finish.
The work and the challenges.
Work commenced in September 2020, with instructions that the new police station was to be linked to the existing Fire and Rescue station. The brief required both stations to be tied together to reduce operational costs by sharing facilities between the two services. This, however, meant that careful planning was needed to ensure absolutely no disruption was caused to the ongoing vital emergency fire services, where a delay in minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
Westville’s priority was to install the SFS and cement particle boards. The erection of this skeleton was crucial to the whole operation to ensure all further work would be completed on time. Great care was taken to ensure that the new building wouldn’t place undue stress on the foundations of the original fire station and that the SFS would blend seamlessly into the existing facilities.
Westville It's all in the finish.
Spotlight On Our People...
Doru Ghergu
Spotlight on our people
Our team of External Wall Installers really did Westville proud on this project installing the cement particle boards and a Stolit render finish. A special mention goes out to Doru Ghergu, whose exemplary professionalism and determination to get the job done within the schedule was instrumental on this project. The work done by Doru and his team to complete the project was of the highest quality.
Originally from Romania, Doru has been living in the UK for around eight years and has been an EWI installer since leaving school. As a very family-focused individual, he love’s spending time outside of work with his son and wonderful wife, who is due to give birth to twins later this year. I think a little more overtime might be needed! Doru is also a bit of a film buff; having watched many movies, I’m sure he can recite a line or two, so don’t forget to test him next time you see him on a job!
Results.
The ambitious £9.5m, 1500m2 project is now finished, with work officially completed in May 2021. The handover is due to take place in September. Thanks to everyone’s hard work and rigorous planning, the station was completed well within the schedule. Both Derbyshire Constabulary and Derbyshire Fire & Rescue are extremely happy with the finished project. Both concluded that the super-efficient building will help reduce their carbon footprint and overheads drastically and that the aesthetics of the building with its stunning modern white & blue Stolit finish enhances the whole site.
Following the work done by Westville, the total estimated energy bill savings is around £3,825 per year, compared to their old station at Cotton Lane*
The work done on this project will save a whopping 15.7 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year. This is the equivalent of having your BBQ running non-stop for nearly 2 years, that’s a lot of burgers!
Recent projects by Westville
We’ve had the opportunity to work on some inspiring projects with some fantastic residential clients, businesses and local authorities.
