News - Exhibition Road 09
Schal’s transformation of London’s Exhibition Road reaches new milestone
20 April 2009
Leading UK project management experts Schal - part of Carillion plc - and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have reached a key stage in their transformation of London’s Exhibition Road, with the appointment of Balfour Beatty on the preconstruction stage of the Streetscape works to finalise the design and settle construction costs.
Already responsible for managing Balfour Beatty’s work on the £5.5 million first phase of the project, which involves changing the road layout, traffic flows and traffic signal installations around South Kensington Station, Schal continues to play a pivotal role in delivering the £30m development, which will transform the existing Exhibition Road area into one of the most important public spaces in London and a major new user-friendly cultural venue for the 2012 Olympics.
Commenting on their role in the selection of Balfour Beatty as preconstruction contractor, Steve Child, Schal’s Director said: “We recommended Balfour’s tender as it impressed us with its attention to detail and its thorough analysis of the challenges the Team will face.”
Since 2005 Schal, the project management arm of TPS, which is in turn part of leading UK support services and construction company, Carillion plc, has project managed the large-scale Exhibition Road project, which aims to improve the pedestrian experience and increase safety for all road users by transforming the heart of London’s museum district into a Single Surface shared public space.
This second phase of the project - the £18.8m Streetscape works - will consist of two stages: the first, programmed to last six months, is the preconstruction stage, which involves all the preplanning for this very complex project. The second stage of the scheme consists of the physical paving works on site and this is scheduled to finish in the autumn of 2011.
Commencement on the second phase of project follows the Mayor of London’s announcement in January that Transport for London (TfL) will provide total maximum funding of £13.3 million towards the whole project, with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster County Council providing the balance.
As project managers, Schal takes responsibility for managing the contract to ensure the works are planned and constructed within the agreed timescales and within the tight budget.
“Because of the large number of stakeholders affected by the scheme, such as the area’s residents and the area’s museums, communication will be a key element in assuring the project’s success,” continued Child.
As the works fall under the jurisdiction of no fewer than three Highway Authorities, the other key will be to obtain timely decision-making to enable the project to be completed efficiently.”
Schal has already successfully demonstrated its ability to tackle large scale public sector urban environmental projects with its involvement in the £20m environmental enhancement and consequent traffic management of London’s Trafalgar Square and the surrounding area, completed in May 2003 on behalf of Transport for London.
Steve Child commented: “This is a most ambitious Public Realm project and one which Schal is extremely proud to be a part of.
“Following, as it does, on the heels of our involvement with the Kensington High Street development and the transformation of Trafalgar Square, myself and my team are delighted to have the rare and prestigious opportunity of helping to shape the London of the 21st century.”
