Overview:
Eastbrook Studios is a vast £500m production complex under construction in Dagenham, which will provide state-of-the-art facilities to support the international film industry. Working in close collaboration with Be First and Barking and Dagenham Council, Marlborough Highways conducted pre-works around the site, creating the transport, drainage and utilities infrastructure needed to serve the new facility.
The Challenge
Ahead of the main development phase, Marlborough was commissioned with pre-construction infrastructure works by Be First, which is a Council established company that is responsible for leading and coordinating the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham’s regeneration efforts. Measures included the re-alignment of existing streets and the construction of new roads, the installation of high-tech cabling, the creation of new vehicle access points, and complex works to improve the site’s drainage. As a former industrial site, there were several challenges associated with the excavation works, with unknowns regarding the location of existing cables, piping and drainage infrastructure. Meanwhile, a disused pharmaceutical plant on the site heightened the risk of there being contaminated ground, with the potential of exposure to hazardous chemical materials.
With a scheme of this scale, came the need to work with a variety of stakeholders, including local businesses, residents, utilities companies and the multinational consortium Hackman Capital Partners, which is the Eastbrook Studios lead investor. World class infrastructure was required ahead of the construction of 12 sound stages, three acres of backlot, offices and ancillary space, with one of the primary objectives being the need to permanently divert through traffic away from the site. With this came a variety of unique challenges, with expert planning crucial to works being delivered in line with the wider project timelines, and the requirement for an innovative planning solution that would meet the needs of film production companies and local road users.
The Solution
Marlborough, Be First and Barking and Dagenham Council collaborated to devise a year-long schedule of works that would deliver excellence and instil confidence in the wider project, while causing minimum disruption to the community. Expert teams were brought on site, with painstaking works carried out to map the subterranean features and the safety of the ground, before civils, surfacing and specialist ducting gangs worked collaboratively to realign, improve, and construct the required infrastructure, which included approximately 1km of new road. The works were completed to time and budget, with developers now on site, creating what will be one of Europe’s premium studios. To date, several international production companies have expressed interest in the facility, with Apple and Netflix amongst the high-profile corporations now associated with the development.
Fact File
Client Be First
Date July 2021 – July 2022
Duration 1 year
Value £3.5m
Project
- Excavation of site
- Re-alignment of existing roads
- Construction of approximately 1km of new road
- Installation of new ducting
- The creation of new vehicle access points
- Drainage works
Team
- 1 full time Project Manager
- 1 full time Supervisor
- Approximately 50 operatives
- 12 administrative staff supporting from a dedicated onsite office
Community benefits
- 1,200 local jobs will be created once the facility is in full operation.
- Eastbrook Studios is expected to contribute £35 million to the local economy each year.
- The site will inspire more commercial development into the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Quotes
“This was a very challenging project given the history and former usage of the site and limited service information. Marlborough Highways were instrumental in problem solving and ensuring that the works were completed on time, on budget and to a high standard”
Rob Wybrow, Construction Manager Civils and Infrastructure, Be First
“Dagenham used to be famous for factories and Fords. In the future, we will be equally famous for making films. It’s about bringing in thousands of jobs, providing education and training opportunities for local young people.”
Barking and Dagenham Council Leader, Darren Rodwell
“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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