With another year drawing to a close, we wanted to say thank you to our colleagues and everyone who has worked with us in 2022. Your continued support is always appreciated and valued. Merry Christmas, from our homes to yours! We look forward to seeing and working with you in 2023.
We are closed from 24th December 2022 and reopen on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.
Nottingham-based Guy Barwell has been appointed Associate Director at Concertus Design & Property Consultants and will be based in the company’s East Midlands offices.
Guy, who is part of the RICS East Midlands Board, has over 20 years of experience in the construction industry and has played a vital role in delivering projects for numerous County, Borough, and District Councils in the East Midlands region. Before joining Concertus, Guy was leading professional services teams for Gateley Vinden as a Managing Consultant, where he oversaw all commercial aspects of commissions and projects including governance and fee management, job costings, resource requirements, and inter-trading. Guy has extensive experience in building surveying and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Chartered Institute of Building, and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers.
Guy’s focus now will be to manage the positive relationship Concertus has with Derbyshire County Council, as well as leading the surveying and project management teams in the Matlock offices.
He said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Concertus Design & Property Consultants. When the opportunity was presented to me, it was extremely difficult to resist – the business has a great and still growing reputation in Derbyshire and the East Midlands. It was a journey I wanted to be a part of.”
“With so many exciting projects currently underway, and on the horizon, it’s an extremely exciting time to join the company. I’m also looking forward to passing on my knowledge and experience to the team here. I can’t wait to see us go from strength to strength.”
Kirk Schartau, Operations Director, said: “Guy has been at the forefront of construction projects for many years in the East Midlands and has delivered projects and surveys across the whole of the UK on various commissions across sectors such as education, commercial, residential, banking, insurance, and healthcare.”
“He is well known in the area and has a proven track record of successfully and efficiently delivering projects to an incredibly high standard. He brings with him his remarkable knowledge of the area and fantastic experience in being able to build prosperous relationships. He will be instrumental in the next part of our journey as we look to continue to build on the already growing reputation of the company in the East Midlands.”
Suffolk Group Holdings, the wholly owned company of Suffolk County Council, is delighted to announce that all companies within its portfolio will now trade as Vertas Group.
As of 1st April 2022, Vertas Group Limited, Concertus Design and Property Consultants Limited and Opus People Solutions Limited will now work under one leadership structure whilst keeping their individual brands and identity.
The changes will see Ian Surtees MBA lead the Group as Group Chief Executive Officer.
Matthew Self, previously Group Director – Commercial and Operations at Concertus Design and Property Consultants Limited, has been appointed Managing Director.
Brad Sinclair has been appointed Managing Director for Opus People Solutions Limited, after previously being their Finance Director.
Duncan Johnson MBA will continue to chair the Group as the Non-Executive Chair.
Ian Surtees MBA FIoD, Group Chief Executive Officer, Vertas Group, said: “This is a really exciting time for the new Vertas Group, bringing the three businesses into alignment. The changes will offer future development opportunities for our colleagues and support our ambitions to collaborate with our portfolio of current and potential clients. I am delighted to be leading the Group and look forward to the future as we combine our efforts, particularly on our road to Net Zero and our contributions to ESG – like investing in social value for the greater good of the communities around us.”
We would like to take a moment to say that we hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who has worked with us and supported us during 2021. Please do take a look at some of our highlights from this year on our timeline!
We are closed from 24th December 2021 to 4th January 2022.
Progress in the construction of Stowmarket’s newest primary school has been celebrated with a ‘Topping Out’ ceremony, with the building now reaching its highest point.
Representatives from Orwell Multi-Academy trust (OMAT), Suffolk County Council, designers Concertus and builders R G Carter were joined by local Councillors to mark the major development milestone at what is set to become Grace Cook Primary School and Nursery, in the town’s Northfield View development.
The school, which has been named after pioneering local Astronomer Alice Grace Cook, will accommodate 210 primary school pupils and a further 60 pre-school pupils in new, state-of the-art education facilities when it welcomes its first pupils in September next year.
James Wilson, Director and General Manager at R G Carter said: “We are delighted to be working on this project and pleased to be celebrating such a key moment in the development of this brilliant community building. Grace Cook Primary School and Nursery is going to be a fantastic facility for the people of Stowmarket and will support the town’s growing population for many years to come.”
Construction of the school is being funded through Suffolk County Council’s capital programme and will be run by OMAT.
Anna Hennell James, CEO of OMAT, said: “It has been wonderful to watch the building grow so quickly over recent months. It is fantastic to now be another step closer to Grace Cook Primary School being ready to open in September 2022”.
Charles Coulson, Associate Director from designers and project managers Concertus said: “The new Grace Cook Primary and Pre-School will provide a modern, fit for purpose learning environment for local children, as well as helping to ease pressure on local schools due to the expansion of housing in the area. Our design is focused on representing the school’s surroundings within the colour choices and fabric of the building and creating a central community hub which will be both unique and aesthetically pleasing.”
With below-ground masonry work now complete and the school’s ground floor concrete slab poured, above-ground works are continuing to make the structure watertight.
CREDIT: R G Carter
Staff and students at Chantry Academy put on their site gear and PPE and picked up a spade to help signal the start of work on a major extension to their school in Ipswich. The project at the academy, which is part of The Active Learning Trust, is being carried out to meet growing demand for secondary places in the local area.
On behalf of Suffolk County Council and Concertus Design and Property Consultants, Morgan Sindall is carrying out all construction work. Phase one of the project includes building a brand-new single storey special educational needs and disability (SEND) block. Phase two includes the creation of a two-storey block, compromising of 11 classrooms and a library.
Works has now started at the site on Mallard Way and is expected to be complete by the end of June 2022.
Craig D’Cunha, Executive Principal at Chantry Academy, said: “We are delighted that the building work to extend our school has started. The design and facilities are fantastic and will provide significant benefits to our current and future students along with the wider Ipswich community. At Chantry Academy we want every child to be successful and believe there should be no barriers when it comes to learning. The new expansion work will undoubtedly help achieve this, and ensure our students can become active, confident, and responsible citizens within society.”
The project is set to expand the school from 900 places to 1,050 places and provide an additional 18 places in the SEND unit.
Charles Coulson, Associate Director at Concertus, said: “We are pleased to be working with Morgan Sindall for Suffolk County Council on the expansion and the new SEND unit at Chantry Academy. The expansion along with the specialist teaching block will provide high quality learning environment for the children. We look forward to seeing the project progress”.
Commenting on Phase one of the project, Rachel Hood, Cabinet Member for Education, SEND and Skills at Suffolk County Council, said: “It is wonderful to see the progress being made at the new SEND unit. It will make such a different to young people at the school. I am committed to increasing the number of SEND placements in Suffolk and ensuring that we provide the very best education for all of our children and young people.”
The new expansion work supports The Active Learning Trust’s ongoing commitment to education in Ipswich. Earlier in the year, the Trust was granted planning permission for a 2-Form Entry (420-place) Primary School and (26-place) Nursery, at Carr Street, Ipswich.
The proposals were jointly consulted on behalf of The Active Learning Trust, the Department for Education, and Morgan Sindall Construction. The new school, designed by Concertus is due to be open in September 2023.
To find out more about Chantry Academy, visit: www.chantryacademy.org
Learn about The Active Learning Trust, visit: www.activelearningtrust.org
Media contact: Tom Evans; [email protected]
Held on the 11th November at the site of the future St Luke’s Park Primary School and Nursery, the ceremony was hosted by Morgan Sindall Construction, which is the main contractor on the project, and was attended by Essex County Councillors Tony Ball and Ian Grundy.
Morgan Sindall Construction’s Essex business has been appointed to deliver the £5.5m scheme under the current Essex County Council Framework (ECF2). The project team, together with Concertus Design and Property Consultants, have taken the project from feasibility and planning to the project commencing on site. The Eveleigh LINK Academy Trust has been appointed to manage the primary school section of the site.
Built on the former Runwell Hospital site in St Luke’s Way and due to open in September 2022, the one form school will provide 210 primary and 56 nursery places for families in the new 575-home St Luke’s Park development. Peter Whitmore, Managing Director for Morgan Sindall Construction’s East region, said:
“We’re excited to be hosting this ground breaking ceremony, which signals an important step in not just the creation of a new educational facility but also in the evolution of the Runwell community. Demand for both school and early years and childcare places in the Chelmsford district has risen significantly and St Luke’s Park Primary School and Nursery will play a key role in meeting this requirement with a high-quality learning environment. At Morgan Sindall Construction we have a lot of experience in delivering first-class schools that enrich the local area and we’ve applied this expertise to this project to ensure that it supports the area’s families and their children for generations to come. We’re looking forward to working closely with Essex County Council, our site neighbours and the whole project team as we move forward with the delivery of Runwell’s brand new school.”
Tony Ball, Essex County Councillor, said: “The building of St Luke’s Park Primary school and nursery will be invaluable to the local community in Runwell and will create more high quality school and nursery places locally through these new state-of-the-art facilities. I was delighted to attend the ground breaking ceremony at the site and I look forward to taking a tour around the new school once it is complete.”
The Trustees of The Eveleigh LINK Academy Trust (TELAT) have warmly received the announcement from the Dept. of Education’s Regional Schools Commissioner that following a successful presentation in June that The Eveleigh Link Academy Trust has been awarded the sponsorship of a new primary school on the St. Luke’s Park Development at Runwell near Wickford in Essex. Mr Joe Figg, TELAT’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We made a very strong case to the selection panel and are absolutely delighted at the outcome. It’s a perfect fit for our ambitions and capacity to grow the number of schools under the already successful TELAT umbrella! We will deliver on our promises and have pledged to work in close partnership with the local community and all interested stakeholders”.
The one-form entry school will include state-of-the-art teaching facilities in both the primary and nursery sections of the site as well as sports pitches and external hard play areas. The project’s design incorporates architectural features into the buildings and soft landscaping that mirrors the nearby historic chapel and the wider St Luke’s Park development. This includes a masonry façade that matches the neighbouring buildings and an aluminium PPC protrusion that complements the chapel will delineate the main pupil entrance. The school’s soft and hard landscaping will align with the existing communal space and contain similar elements such as gabion features and resin paving.
For more information about this news release please contact Daniel Ash at Influential on 07788 260 546 or email [email protected]
A ground-breaking event took place today, Monday 15th November, to celebrate a new £13million development that will see a new older persons home built in Leighton Buzzard.
Marigold House is the first, in a number of older persons accommodation that will be built by the council in the next few years and will be used to replace existing outdated homes. The 63-bedroom care home has been designed by Concertus Design & Property Consultants and improves on traditional buildings of this nature, using a combination of sustainable design solutions focusing on Passivhaus with air source heat pumps as the main heating source.
Alongside the main contractor, Farrans, the landmark occasion was celebrated by Cllr. Brian Saunders Central Bedfordshire Council’s Chairman doing the honours with a spade to symbolically break ground. Several residents from Westlands Care Home were also in attendance to see the event. Visitors, VIPs and residents from Westlands Care Home were then able to view an exhibition of the proposed building.
Cllr Ghent Executive Member for Housing and Assets said: “This is a truly momentous day as we celebrate the start of the build on site for our new state-of-the-art care home in Leighton Buzzard, recently named Marigold House. The name was chosen by the staff and residents of Westlands Care Home the residents of which, will have the opportunity to move to the new home when it is complete.”
“This is the first care home Central Bedfordshire Council have built and it is planned to be built to Passivhaus standards making it a super energy efficient home with outstanding eco credentials.”
“Our Care is Central employees that will work here, together with Marigold House’s residents, will both reap the benefits from living and working in one of the healthiest types of building it is possible to build and, and which is also environmentally friendly.”
Cllr Hegley Executive Member for Adults Social Care said: “The major investment of over £13m in this development is a testament to the council’s commitment to tackling the challenges of providing outstanding accommodation, care and support for our growing population of older people. The facilities at Marigold House will sit alongside the independent living scheme the council is delivering to form a range of provision that can meet the accommodation and care needs of all our older citizens. As part of this, care homes have a critical role to play in providing a place where people can exercise their independence and receive the care, they need to lead fulfilled lives.”
“The residents of Westlands that choose to live at Marigold House are a generation that have witnessed the most momentous changes throughout their long lives and they will now benefit from the newest technology, wonderful spaces inside and out and the best of care.”
“The residents of Westlands that choose to live at Marigold House are a generation that have witnessed the most momentous changes throughout their long lives and they will now benefit from the newest technology, wonderful spaces inside and out and the best of care.”
Regional Director, Cathal Montague, Farrans said “Today’s ground-breaking marks an exciting step forward in this important project for Central Bedfordshire Council. Our team has been here for four weeks preparing the site and we are looking forward to delivering a top quality, modern residential care facility for the people of this area. The construction will be to the highest sustainable standards using Passivhaus criteria to deliver an energy efficient building. This is a very important region for our business and, we are committed to working alongside local stakeholders to bring added social value to the area through apprenticeships and local procurement.”
You can get a feel for what the care home will look like when complete, from this CGI fly-through video showing a vision of the inside and what the building and accommodation will look like when built.
During our recent health and wellbeing day over 20 employees in our Ipswich and Matlock offices packed food bags to donate to our chosen charities – FIND – Families in Need and Chesterfield Foodbank. Over 100 bags were filled with necessary items for over 100 families!
We regularly liaise with the charities we have selected to support this year to ensure we are providing the food they need. As we enter the colder months, we are making sure we understand exactly which vital items the families need throughout these challenging times.
A decision was made earlier this year to incorporate at least one parcel packing session into each of our health and wellbeing days to help our charities throughout the year. As a result of our recent food drives, our employees have reported how they have experienced an increased level of happiness and wellbeing when they have joined together to support our local communities. In addition to Concertus providing over 1000 items to pack on our recent health and wellbeing day, our employees have been very generous with their own donations. We delivered over 80 items on our last trip! Both of our offices have permanent food banks in the Reception areas, which soon become full to the brim!
We are committed to supporting our local communities within the East of England and the East Midlands. Our team are looking forward to continuing supporting our charities and helping to make a significant impact for those in need.
Roisin Williams-O’Gorman, Deputy Project Coordinator, said:
“Concertus Design & Property Consultants have provided Chesterfield Foodbank with valued support during an incredibly difficult time. Since the start of the pandemic we have fed over 9000 people with sadly a quarter of those being children. With numbers continuing to rise month on month donations have been needed now more than ever so that we can continue to support local people in crisis. This is why Concertus’ support has been invaluable. They have done a number of different fundraisers and food drives for us, most recently providing 40 bags of food, which would each feed one person for three days! In total this year Concertus has provided 300 kg of food. This support makes a real difference to people’s lives and helps us to try and make sure that no one goes hungry in our local community”.
Area Bishop of Colchester, the Right Reverend Roger Morris, visited Lawford Church of England Primary School today, to bless and officially open its new extension.
Commissioned by Essex County Council, Barnes Construction built the new two-storey classroom block which has enabled the school to double its pupil capacity by 210 to 420.
Concertus Design and Property Consultants were appointed by Barnes as the architect, structural engineer, and M&E consultant for the scheme, and Pick Everard was the client’s project manager and quantity surveyor. Now construction is complete, there are an additional eight classrooms, a library, as well as several offices and specialist practical areas. The school also has a new outside Multi-Use Games Area.
The bishop gathered with headteacher Abbie Fairbairn, school governors, members of the school council and the construction team, at the new school entrance. He then took time to take a tour of the school, blessing the rooms, meeting the children and joining with them in collective worship. Ms Fairbairn is delighted with the result and said:
“This extension to our school offers our pupils new facilities, including a technical classroom and a studio, in a wonderfully spacious environment for learning. I am grateful to the team from Essex County Council, especially Christina Halls, who has led the project and ensured that the building is fit for education into the future. We are delighted that as our Church of England school expands, Bishop Roger has been able to join with us today to bless the building and lead our school community in collective worship. It has truly been a day that everyone will remember.”
Mark Bailey, Director for Barnes Construction said: “We are delighted to have played a part in providing much needed extra school places for the young people in Lawford.”
With sustainability in mind, the new classroom block has been built using modern methods of construction. The timber roof cassettes, SIPS (Structurally Insulated Panels System) and precast concrete floors and stairs were all manufactured offsite before being delivered to site complete for erection.
