Overview:
In collaboration with Havering Council, Marlborough Highways carried out vital improvements to a large residential estate in North East London, rejuvenating its tired roads and pavements while preserving the area’s welcoming and pleasant character. With the Harold Wood project encompassing nearly a kilometre of carriageway across multiple streets, the scheme has enhanced safety, accessibility, and aesthetics, benefiting the local community for years to come.
The Challenge
The Harold Wood project involved improving well-used residential streets – Firham Park Avenue, Little Aston Road, Birkdale Avenue, Hoylake Gardens, and Royston Avenue – all of which showed significant wear and tear. Each road presented unique challenges due to their narrow layouts and mature trees, requiring a careful balance between upgrading infrastructure and preserving the area’s welcoming character. Protecting tree roots and trunks while avoiding damage to underground utilities demanded meticulous planning and specialist techniques.
Additionally, the need to avoid storing equipment and materials beneath tree canopies meant supplies had to be stored and transported off-site, adding complexity to logistics. Implementing full road closures for carriageway resurfacing and maintaining pedestrian safety during footway works required expert traffic management strategies and a phased approach to keep the community moving. Marlborough’s experienced teams overcame these challenges with a methodical approach, ensuring smooth project delivery and high-quality outcomes.
Footway works
The footway reconstruction covered 2,885 sqm, involving excavation of aged paving and verge overruns. These were replaced with robust asphalt footways designed for longevity. Vehicle crossovers were refurbished, and damaged kerbs were replaced with new materials, restoring the pavements to an exceptional standard. The summer works took place over a three-month period and required precise excavation and skilled craftsmanship, particularly when working around street trees. To ensure continuity, the team deployed advanced equipment such as compact excavators, asphalt spreaders, and rollers, delivering a smooth and durable surface. By carefully coordinating activities, the works were delivered efficiently, with pedestrian access maintained through well-planned diversions.
Carriageway resurfacing
Spanning approximately 900 metres in road length, the carriageway resurfacing was completed over three days in autumn. Marlborough used a skilled workforce of 30 operatives, including dedicated Planer, Surfacing, and Road Marking teams. High-performance excavators were used to remove the tired surface layer with precision, followed by the application of premium asphalt. Rollers ensured proper compaction and a flawless finish, restoring the road’s durability and appearance. With full road closures expertly coordinated by Marlborough’s Traffic Management team, the operation minimised disruption while delivering exceptional results. Despite challenging wet and cold weather conditions, the resurfacing met the highest levels of safety and quality.
Fact File
Client Havering Council
Date June – November 2024
Duration 13 weeks for footway works and three days for carriageway resurfacing
Value £280,000
Project
- Excavation of existing footways and carriageways
- Replacement of pavements with high-quality asphalt
- Refurbishment of vehicle crossovers and kerbs
- Planing and resurfacing of 900 m of carriageway length
- Road markings refreshed
- Traffic management, road closures, and pedestrian diversions
Team
- 1 full time Project Manager
- 1 full time Supervisor
- 7 x skilled operatives to deliver footway works
- Planing, Surfacing, and Road Marking crews comprising approximately 30 Operatives
- 2 x Traffic Management Operatives
Quotes
“I would like to compliment all the workers in Hoylake Gardens, Harold Wood on their manners and kindness. Every single one of them I encountered was very courteous and helpful. Thank you.”
Resident, Hoylake Gardens
“I would just like to say how hard your team has been working on our front pavements in Birkdale Ave. Very polite and helpful. A big thank to you all. Have a good day.“
Resident, Birkdale Avenue
The results
The project has created safer and more attractive streets for pedestrians and drivers alike. Residents expressed high satisfaction with the works, praising the professionalism and courtesy of Marlborough’s teams. The roads and pavements were refreshed to an excellent finish, with increased durability to withstand daily use. By integrating expertise, advanced equipment, and a resident-focused approach, Marlborough demonstrated its ability to deliver a complex project efficiently and effectively. Havering Council was equally impressed, commending the team for their responsiveness and quality of delivery.
ISO 14001 Environmental audit
During the works in Harold Wood, Marlborough underwent a successful ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems audit, reaffirming its commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. The auditor visited footway crews on Firham Park Road, providing an opportunity to witness live operations.
The accreditation is the international benchmark for quality, with Marlborough’s site team demonstrating the company’s robust procedures, policies, and processes, to effectively manage the environmental impact of such operations. Skilled operatives were on hand to answer questions and to provide detailed insights, with the auditor observing industry best practice and identifying no non-conformities.
“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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