Public Sector construction & refurbishment

North East Essex Primary Care Trust

Phelan are pleased to be associated with the NHS working on several challenging projects of various sizes for the North East Essex Primary Care Trust (PCT).  The Trust is responsible for the delivery of Health services throughout the area and has several clinical sites with an ongoing maintenance and refurbishment programme.

Phelan’s have successfully undertaken over £500,000 of work throughout Essex.  The work ranges from clinics and day care centres through to mental health facilities and even an upgrade of the minor injuries unit at Clacton Hospital.  There are numerous challenges in operating PCT projects including ensuring that the operations of the PCT are not disrupted and that patient services can continue.  The close proximity of patients and the general Public to the works creates further difficulty, with phasing and segregation of the working area.  In Mental Health facilities, there are added hazards with security being paramount.  It is vital to consider and obtain a careful balance between the safety of patients and safety of the workforce alike.

Imperial House Clacton-on-Sea Essex

Phelan have recently completed a £350,000 project to extend and refurbish a listed building in Clacton to form a new “Multi-resource” centre for Tendring Community Voluntary Services, a registered Essex Charity.

Imperial House dates back to 1885 when it was a hotel and public house.  In 1998, it became home to 8 charities and is used by many more community groups.  The TCVS is Core funded by Essex County Council and Tendring District Council but obtained much of the money for the new centre from grants provided by the Interaction Partnership and Colchester Catalyst.

The new Centre boasts a café, IT suite, new lift, garden and meeting rooms and acts as a “drop-in” for local people who would normally not have access to such facilities.  The Centre was constructed over 16 weeks, converting an old disused stable block and infilling a courtyard with a new glass roof.  The charity remained in occupation throughout the works and the project was carefully phased to minimize disruption to the operation of the building particularly during the break-out phase where the new lift was installed to serve the existing first floor.

University of Essex

Phelan are pleased to be associated with the University of Essex at their Wivenhoe Park Campus, having secured a £750,000 Measured Term Contract providing building refurbishment and maintenance services over the next three years.  Wivenhoe Park is a listed concrete-framed building and is not without its challenges when building alterations are required!

The work is carefully coordinated and controlled in conjunction with Faculty staff to avoid interruption of services and most importantly, the delivery of the academic programme.  Health and Safety is paramount on site with segregation of the public from work areas and noisy operations are undertaken “out of hours”.

The University has embarked upon an investment programme of £250m to update existing and to provide new learning resource facilities across its sites in Essex.