Overview:
Marlborough Highways delivered a major footway resurfacing programme in partnership with Brent Council, as part of a larger £20 million scheme, which saw 43 miles of paving rejuvenated across the London Borough of Brent. Marlborough completed the two-and-a-half-year project ahead of schedule, resurfacing a total of 33 footways.
Background
Following a condition survey, with input from local councillors, in 2019 Brent Council identified a combined total of 43 miles of footways in the north-west London borough that needed repair works. The survey also identified locations in which residents could benefit from entirely new footways, to provide them with better access to public spaces. The existing paths comprised asphalt surfaces and slabbed surfaces, all of which had deteriorated and become unsightly, and in some instances unsafe.
£20 million was allocated for the upgrade works, with the streets carefully chosen to ensure the maximum number of residents would benefit from the investment. In line with Brent Council’s commitment to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2030, environmental best practice was required throughout. It was also important that the project delivered social value benefits to the community, with priority given to local employment. After a competitive bid process, Marlborough was amongst three contractors selected to carry out the works, with 33 footways assigned to Marlborough’s expert surfacing team.
The Solution
Marlborough devised a complex schedule, in which footway works were carried out street by street, with individual paths typically taking a minimum of two weeks to complete. All slab paving was removed, and all existing poor-quality asphalt cleared. Footways were then resurfaced with a pioneering, high-performance, low-carbon, warm asphalt mix. Manufactured and laid at a lower temperature than conventional asphalt, it allowed teams to carry out works more quickly, more safely, and more sustainably. Existing kerbing was repurposed where possible in an effort to reduce site waste, and where appropriate, attractive street furniture was installed, turning often underused locations into welcoming community spaces.
The footway scheme involved several stakeholders, with Marlborough’s team recognising the importance of maintaining excellent communication with Brent Council, the public, and with the fellow contractors throughout the period of works. A dedicated Marlborough Liaison Officer was appointed, who kept the relevant parties informed, and worked with the scheme’s Project Manager to co-ordinate a programme of works that resulted in minimum disruption to residents and local business.
Fact File
Client Brent Council
Date November 2019 – December 2021
Duration 25 months
Value £3.8 million (as part of a bigger £20 million scheme)
Project
- Improvement works to 33 footways throughout the London Borough of Brent
- Take up and disposal of existing surfacing
- Take up and disposal/set aside of kerbs
- Laying of new kerbing and repurposing of some existing kerbing as appropriate
- Installation of pram ramps at street-ends
- Reconstruction of footways with concrete block paving on vehicle crossings and on street corners
- Construction of tree pits and planting of some trees
- Installation of street furniture
- Creation of a new pathway, providing better access to the Leybourne Open Space
Team
- 1 full time Project Manager
- 1 Quantity Surveyor
- 1 full time Site Supervisor
- 1 Public Liaison Officer
- 15 Marlborough Operatives across all trades
Client savings
- The project was completed ahead of schedule, despite some challenges to the works posed by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
- The environmentally friendly warm asphalt mix was provided by Marlborough at no extra cost to the client.
Quotes
“A big thank you to you and your team on behalf of Brent. It’s been a pleasure working with Marlborough.”
Councillor Krupa Sheth, Brent Council
“Thank you to the team who are resurfacing Olive Road this week, horrendously hot out there and they are so pleasant and hard-working, the tar is being rolled at the moment, so I think they are ahead of schedule. The team are amazing, please relay my thanks to them and congratulations on a great job.”
Resident of Olive Road, Brent
“One of the things I value most is their very collaborative and transparent team culture. It makes a big difference to have a contractor that wants to work closely with us and is supportive and responsive. With Marlborough, I get a team who are attentive, work collaboratively and honestly with me and don’t lose focus on delivering first class communications and compliance.”
“From the design stage, Marlborough has been fundamental in delivering the Broad Lane Square improvements scheme. During the works, not only did the team manage to keep to the programme, but they went the extra mile to ensure attention to detail and came up with innovative solutions to address issues encountered on site. My thanks on behalf of Haringey goes out to Marlborough for their dedication to deliver.”
“Working alongside our Term Service Contractor Marlborough Highways, we successfully completed renovations to the Crowstone Footbridge. The designs were provided by Marlborough, and the work was unique. The scheme was completed to budget and ahead of its programme duration.”
“I would like to thank you and your team for your efforts, the Marlborough crews were professional, courteous, and hard working all day and ensured the event went without a hitch. You and the team were a credit to the company, demonstrating commitment and support to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.”
“I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to work with Marlborough Highways over the last six months. The quality of work is superb, and there has been some excellent collaboration between Milestone and Marlborough to complete, what at times, has been quite a challenging scheme. I hope to work with Marlborough on another project in the near future.”
“Marlborough worked with us in constructing a 1.3km cycle track. There were a number of technical difficulties to overcome, and their gifted foreman worked to propose some innovative solutions to the challenges we faced. The result is a facility that the locals are proud of, providing walkers and cyclists with alternative access to the hospital and nearby school. The scheme was a lot of hard work, but well worth it.”
“Marlborough attracts people who take care and have pride in their work. Several gangs of Operatives worked tirelessly for six months to reconstruct drainage networks, lay more than 3km of high quality bespoke granite kerbs and granite channels blocks to ensure positive drainage. The technical compliance, attention to detail and level of quality finish along the entire carriageway was exceptional”.
“We saw huge benefits in appointing Marlborough as our full service contractor and we’re impressed – they’ve delivered consistent high quality service and superior quality control across every project. Marlborough, provide us with a ‘one-stop’ shop solution – we get the same quality of service and better control across all aspects of the project.”
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