You may recall our announcement a few month ago about our involvement at the British Army’s, Baker Barracks site, situated on Thorney Island, where we were appointed by Kier to refurbish the old air craft hangar for troops relocating back to the UK from Germany.

The project was completed on time and to budget and we are delighted to share the details with you now the work is complete.

What really stands out on this project is the relationships between the British Army, Kier and Spaceway and how the complementary working styles made this a big success.
The Government’s 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, committed to bringing back all military units from Germany by 2020. The plan is in place to help the 100 army units to relocate, reconfigure, disband or re-role.
The development at Baker Barracks will provide the facilities the British Army needs to live, work and train in the UK as it returns from Germany. Situated on the former RAF Thorney Island air base, the barracks has seen a major transformation with over £27 million invested to provide modern, suitable facilities for Army personnel living and working on the site. The final stage of the project saw Kier awarded a £9.7 million contract to cover the building of a new training centre, armoury and office suite extension and a new perimeter fence.

As part of the new office suite, Spaceway was appointed by Kier to manage this area of work. The work undertaken included the installation of a huge 9.000sq.ft. two-tier mezzanine floor. The refurbishment has created much needed and essential workspace, and made full use of the cubic capacity, maximising all possible space within the old aircraft hangar building. The hanger was being utilised by the British Army vehicle maintenance team and essential work would still need to continue whilst construction took place.

The installation of the new mezzanine floor allowed for the creation of new offices on the first floor, plant space and storage on the second floor. In addition to the 12 enclosed vehicle maintenance spaces on the ground floor. This area will be used for specialist teams to work on vehicles in a clean environment. The project took just 16 weeks to complete.

In 2016 due to a late design change at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island we required a solution for office and store accommodation within an existing hanger. Working with Kier construction, proposals were put forward by a number of companies, the decision to use the Spaceway offering was easy due to their understanding of our requirements and time scales. They offered a robust product that would be “squaddie proof” as well as being modern and complementary to the existing structure. It has proven to be a good decision as the quality of the product and the service received from the Spaceway team has been exceptional. We will be using Spaceway again should similar requirements arise. Thank you Spaceway for making our troops happy – Scott Ross, Senior Requirements Manager ABP from the Ministry of Defence. 

 

Speaking about the project, our Director, Dominic O’Brien, said: “What really stood out to Kier and the MOD in our tender documents was our encompassing approach, where we project managed the entire job, from planning, through installation to completion. With so many other projects being undertaken on the site, taking the project management of this particular aspect really stood us apart.”

When it came to our partnership with Kier and the MOD, Dominic added: “Our partnership with Kier and the Army is incredibly successful because of our complementary and cohesive approach to work. At Spaceway we go above and beyond typical construction standards, something which Kier is renowned for. We pride ourselves on health and safety, the team has worked hard and diligently on this exciting project and as a result, Spaceway was named as Kier’s site safety winners in April.”

As part of the project, Kier committed to refurbishing the Sussex Arms in order to give something back to the community which will bring all the families living on site, for years to come, a place to get together and socialise.The renovation included redecorating, replacement of the floor and all floor coverings and replacement of electric and light fittings

Speaking about the community commitment to refurbish the Sussex Arms, Gary Trudgett, Head of Marketing at Spaceway said: “What a fantastic way to give something back to the local community. We are delighted to have been involved in this ‘DIY SOS’ style project which has helped transform the lives of the people living in the barracks. With so many troops relocating back to their bases in the UK, it really is essential to have a space to celebrate those special moments, create memories for their families, but for some, just simply having a place to relax, reflect and unwind.”

Full details of the British Army’s Baker Barracks project will be published in the September / October issue of Building Engineer Journal.