Hull animal welfare trust
Hull Animal Welfare Trust is a registered charity and has been caring for animals in the Hull and East Riding area since 1982.
Sewell Construction already had a long-established relationship with the charity after building its first kennel block 20 years ago. The charity’s premises in South Cave had become dated and a new welfare centre was needed as the charity had outgrown the existing facilities.
A new, modern two-storey building was needed to ensure all animals had their own separate areas, plus a flat for an animal warden to be based on site 24/7, offices, an animal recovery room, training room, canteen, toilets and showers on the ground floor.
Project development
The centre needed to remain open to both staff and the public while the work was carried out, so it was vital disruption was kept to a minimum. We ensured all of our supply chain teams were briefed that it was a live site so they had to follow certain rules with delivery times, speed limits and general delivery safety.
Whole building life costing was taken into consideration, with early plans made to install solar panels on new and existing buildings to reduce costs long-term. Low energy light fittings and eco sensors were also included in the environmental developments.
"The whole process of design development, build and handover has been conducted with the utmost empathy and friendliness with nothing too much trouble. The difficulty in building in a busy working facility must not be underestimated but the team helped and guided us in just the way we wanted and needed."
Project delivery
The entrance to site was a multi-use single track road, that needed 24-hour access, so the team needed to carefully plan access to the site. There were several key milestones in the project, from demolition of existing buildings, installing the steel frame, to fitting the roof, windows and landscaping.
We held daily briefings on-site, as well as weekly meetings with contract managers and bi-weekly meetings with the charity, alongside daily conversations to address any challenges.
Engaging with the community was vital and we informed local residents and businesses about the work taking place.
The results
The project was delivered on budget and without any defects. Due to additional works at the end of the project, out team were on site three weeks longer than first planned. Any surplus materials generated from the project were donated to local farmers, and we completed extra jobs for the charity while we were based on site.
Protection of wildlife and habitats was also part of the environmental work, including installing bat and bird boxes within 15m of the site and checking trees for birds’ nests. Hedgehogs found on the site were taken to a nearby hedgehog sanctuary. We also donated a kitchen and another local supplier donated a kitchen, oven and a hob.
We held raffles to raise extra funds for the charity through on site collection boxes.
90% of the supply chain was local | Local spend was 100% | 95% of waste went to landfill | 4 apprentices based on site