Hello Readers,

As you know from my previous post PMC are currently working on the Joint Block work as well as the External Brick work for the hillside apartment dwellings. So I decided this week while the workers progress with the construction of this stage I would focus on other important areas of the construction site. While I was analysing the site from behind the legal border, I noticed multiple other aspects of the site and different companies logos posted around the site. Therefore i decided I would conduct some research and try get an idea of the other names and organisations responsible for contributing to the construction process.

One organisation that stood out particularly for me was Generation UK as their logo was attached to all of the metal fencing that generated the boarder for the site. Through research I discovered that “The UK’s largest supplier of non-mechanical access systems, scaffolding, groundworks, edge protection and safety products for hire and sale.” (https://www.generationscaffolding.com/en-gb/about-us/) the company was established in 1978 and has now risen to have 16 branches across the UK and has been involved in over 60,000 different projects. From what I can gather from my limited viewpoint they are simply providing the fencing however it wouldn’t shock me if they had a larger involvement.

Another area I was interested in was the heavy lifting and transportation equipment such as the cranes and the diggers which I am able to see from my bedroom window. From what I could gather, this machinery was provided by PMC themselves. Their logo was printed on all of the excavators and cranes. This is the benefit of hiring such a large contractor like PMC as it minimises a number of complications that may arise when you have to hire large scale equipment from external sources.

One very important factor for a construction site is a source of power to allow all of this heavy machinery to function correctly. Fortunately I was able to locate one of the electrical generators as it was situated on the boarder of the site, probably for health and safety reasons. The electrical power is being provided by CW (Charles Wilson) Instant Power. I believe they are using a Road Tow Generator Trailer (Single Axle) Model: 1500KG 20Kva Road-Tow Generator Trialer (B) for the electrical power source as shown by the picture below.

Hello readers,

I hope that over the recent weeks you have enjoyed my blog and found it informing and also fairly exciting. This week however I am happy to tell you that today I will be able to discuss the next stage of construction. Yesterday I once again visited the hillside site and found that PMC have now progressed onto the early stages of the joint block work adjoined with the external brick work as shown by the images below. It is hard to determine the exact construction of the walls as I am unable to get any closer for the time being however it would appear that they are definitely going for some form of cavity wall or even a Gypsum area separation wall. It is also hard to make out exactly the type of brick however we can tell it is either a standard or some form of molar brick following a basic stretcher bond. Hopefully, by the end of this week I will be able to capture some photos of the progressed brick work and we will finally begin to see the buildings gain some form and character.

Next time I will be sharing with you more information regarding the equipment types and the suppliers of said machinery that are responsible for the majority of the work carried out on site. Also, I hope to be able to discuss the electrical power supply and methods as well as the means of waste and material disposal. Until next time!

Thankyou

-Luke

Dear readers,

this week I have a lot of exciting new developments and new information to discuss. Today I made my third visit to the Hillside Construction site to explore and progression that may have taken place. However while I was there I was able to find some far more accurate view points and capture a lot more information through photographs. I was able to record a list of Companies involved in the construction of the work done thus far and have carried out some further research to gain an idea of their roles in the process and how they have benefited the project.

One company that stood out was Blanchard Wells LTD as their name was written over masses of equipment as well as the building structures. Blanchard Wells are a civil engineering company based in Southampton who specialise in contracts in many elements such as pre construction, groundwork operations as well as their main focus being reinforced concrete frames. As we know from the previous post, PMC are constructing the hillside flats using reinforced concrete which explains their presence at the site. The company are very highly regarded for their work being fairly local will decrease any environmental impacts in terms of the transportation of equipment and materials. The director of the Hillside construction project Steve Cripps stated,

Dear Readers,

this week I revisited our site however they have not yet progressed onto the next stage of construction therefore in this weeks post I would like to discuss with you the Building strategy for the hillside construction site. Below I have attached an image of the site map showing the order for the phases of construction that I will refer to throughout this post.

https://docs.planning.org.uk/20210220/59/QOO4RXDMMP100/uo1rk2nkjx7uve7k.pdf

Through reading the planning document I have been able to gain a good idea of the strategy. I have contacted PMC and asked for some more specific and detailed planning documents with dates regarding phases of construction which hopefully I will be able to share with you in the coming months.

The initial stage, shown by the grey section in the diagram is to build the road that will allow for the materials and equipment to be brought into the site as well as eventually being the primary means of access for tenants to their homes. PMC are then going to construct the drainage and service ducts which will be very helpful for allowing a cleaner work environment for the construction workers and machinery. This has already been completed.

The planning document lists the stages of construction as well as the environmental and sustainable impacts for each phase of construction as shown by the information cited below.

Construction work within each block phase will then proceed as follows:
• Reinforced Concrete Frame
o Environmental Impact Considerations include
▪ Dust
▪ Noise / Emissions from possible onsite machinery
▪ Co2 and Carbonates from Curing Concrete
▪ Waste

• Thin Joint Blockwork (MMC)
o Environmental Impacts Considerations include
Revision G 03/02/2020
▪ Noise / Emissions from possible onsite machinery
▪ Waste
▪ Dust

• Windows / Door installation
o Environmental Impacts Considerations include
▪ Noise / Emissions from possible onsite machinery
▪ Waste
• External Brickwork

o Environmental Impacts Considerations include
▪ Dust
▪ Noise / Emissions from onsite machinery
▪ Co2 and Carbonates from cement
▪ Waste
• Secondary Steelwork / Balconies

o Environmental Impacts Considerations include
▪ Noise / Emissions from possible onsite machinery
▪ Waste

First Fix Electrical and Mechanical                                                                                      Environmental Impacts Considerations include

▪ Noise / Emissions from possible onsite machinery
▪ Waste

• Roof Covering
o Environmental Impacts Considerations include
▪ Chemical
▪ Noise
▪ Waste

• Drylining / Plaster boarding
o Environmental Impacts Considerations include
▪ Dust
▪ Noise / Emissions from onsite machinery
▪ Waste

• Second Fix Electrical and Mechanical
o Environmental Impacts Considerations include
▪ Noise / Emissions from possible onsite machinery
▪ Waste

• Finals / Finishes
o Environmental Impacts Considerations include
▪ Noise / Emissions from possible onsite machinery
▪ Waste
▪ Dust
▪ Chemical

Later in this blog I will be discussing environmental impacts in greater detail as there has been a lot of issues and controversy regarding this site that I very much look forward to discussing with you. I hope this weeks update has been informative and created a very clear breakdown for the construction phase strategy.

thankyou for reading!

-Luke

References

PMC Construction and Development Services LTD (03/02/2020) The Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) available at https://docs.planning.org.uk/20210220/59/QOO4RXDMMP100/uo1rk2nkjx7uve7k.pdf (Accessed 18/03/2022)

Dear readers,

This week I made my first visit to the hillside site. Due to the sites location I was able to gain access to a very clear viewpoint bordering the site. The aim of the visit was to try and gather an idea of where PMC and the construction workers are regarding the building process. From what I could gather, the project is still within the very early stages of development. It appears that they want to complete the concrete structure and foundations for all six of the buildings before developing any of them any further. I believe this to be the case as their building strategy (which you can access under ‘pages’ > ‘strategy’) details that the next stage of construction is  is the joint block work as well as the installation of doors and windows which as shown by the photos attached, have not been carried out thus far.

This week I have also emailed PMC construction and politely requested a building schedule or planning sheet for the project so I am able to provide more specific updates on important stages of the development of the site.

More info regarding the background details and general information on the site can be found under various different titles in the ‘pages’ section of the site.

Thankyou!

-Luke  

Hello Readers,

My name is Luke Gregory  and I am a student from the University of Brighton studying Construction Management. The purpose of this blog will be to analyse the hillside building site off Coldean lane here in Brighton. For those of you construction enthusiasts who are interested, I will be providing bi-weekly updates on the site providing key information as well as regular posts concerning the current condition and stages of the project.

The site is currently in the early stages of development and is being carried out by PMC construction (Main Contractors)who have been contracted by a partnership of the Brighton and Hove council along with the Hyde Group who want to be build 242 new homes in the form of flats. The project will see the erection of two seven story buildings and four six story buildings. The site is very scenic and is surrounded by woodland edges. The site measures approximately 3.8Ha and the site slopes from north to south by approximately 15m.

This site will aim to provide detailed information ranging from regular updates on the progress of construction to environmental impacts and the sustainability of the project. I hope that site will develop and grow into an effective and exciting source of information and that you all enjoy!

Thankyou.

-Luke

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