News: Council undertakes land swap with funeral directors

Rotherham Council is carrying out a land swap deal to support a town centre housing development.

Council contractor, Willmott Dixon, is well underway with work on Westgate on the Millfold House site - a £10m project that will feature one apartment block and a number of back-to-back houses.

As part of the redevelopment, the Council has agreed a land swap with J. Parkinson & Sons in order to provide for a larger density development. This will enable the Council to add a further six apartments to the proposals.

Established in 1875, the funeral directors moved into purpose-built premises, situated on the old car park on Westgate, in 2013.

The firm is staying put but as part of the land swap deal the Council have agreed to construct four garages on the land they are transferring to replace J. Parkinson & Sons existing garage/office which needs to be demolished as part of the new development.

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Although the land swap itself will be carried out at a £1 peppercorn, the overall additional costs in developing the site for six more apartments will be £1m. The authority is also paying legal fees for both parties.

The Council says that: "With the inclusion of these areas of land this will enable a further six apartments to be developed, improving the financial performance of the scheme as a whole" and it is expected that the additional apartments will realise an additional £25k in rental income per year.

The Millfold Rise development will feature one apartment block consisting of 31 apartments and 14 back-to-back houses, which offer first floor garden terraces.

The homes are due to be completed in Spring 2022.

Images: RMBC / Willmott Dixon / Bond Bryan

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News: Rotherham buildings recognised in awards

Several new buildings across Rotherham have been acclaimed in a regional building excellence awards.

The Brook Meadows housing development in Aston; the new building for funeral directors J Parkinson and Sons in Westgate; and two schools in Maltby - the newly-revamped Maltby Academy and the Lilly Hall Primary School - were all successful in this year's South Yorkshire and Humber Building Excellence Awards.

The awards, which recognise building excellence during the year, are organised by building control departments of local authorities across South Yorkshire and the Humber.

The projects were judged on a range of criteria including compliance with building regulations, accessibility, inclusive environment and sustainability as well as client and customer satisfaction.

W. Redmile & Sons, a family-owned business based in Sheffield, were the winners in the "Best Housing Development" category for Brook Meadows in Aston. The site comprises 200 units off Mansfield Road and although it has taken a few years to complete this phase of the site the standard of build is always high and consistent.

The recent re-build of Maltby Academy helped BAM Construction pick up the winners award for the "Best Education Project." BAM Construction has transformed the existing site to provide over 10,000 sq m of modern teaching facilities in both new and refurbished buildings. This phase of works includes the focal point of the redevelopment, the new Business and Enterprise Centre (picture during construction), as well as the refurbished teaching and social spaces.

Most importantly, throughout the whole construction period, the daily running of the Academy has been maintained and safety ensured for the 1,200 pupils and teaching staff.

Achieving highly commended in the "Best Small Community Project" category was Maltby's Lilly Hall Primary School. It was designed by James Cox of Rotherham Borough Council's Design and Projects department and built by local contractor George Hurst and Sons Ltd.

Eton Construction, which is based in Rotherham's Wellgate, achieved a highly commended award for its nomination in the "Best Commercial Project Up To £1m." They are responsible for the new building in Westgate, Rotherham, for undertakers, J Parkinson and Sons.

Cain Green, commercial director of Eton Construction (pictured above, right), said: "We are delighted to have received the award out of the many other projects put forward within the region and hope this will help further establish ourselves moving forward.

"The project was met by many challenges; limited site space, limited shared access with our clients who were still operating in their current building and piling of the building, to name a few. We overcome them also giving recognition for the award, by closely working with the building inspectors from Rotherham Building Control, our client J Parkinson and Sons and Building Design Concept, the Rotherham based project architect."

Successful projects in the South Yorkshire and Humber Building Excellence Awards 2014 are now eligible for nomination to the national LABC - Local Authority Building Control finals - to be held in London later in the year.

Local Authority Building Control website
Eton Construction website

Images: Maltby Academy / Eton Construction / LABC

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News: Eton to build new town centre office development

Rotherham-based Eton Construction has secured a contract to build a new landmark office building on the edge of the town centre for J Parkinson & Sons.

The Wellgate contractor is continuing to expand its portfolio and will construct a purpose built office and workshop for the undertakers, who at present occupy an adjacent older property on Wellgate.

J Parkinson & Sons was established in 1875 and today the fifth generation of Parkinson funeral directors operate the business. It has now outgrown its current site.

Adjacent to the former Wellington boot pub, which now operates as a music academy, construction recently began on the site for the three-story building which has been designed to fit in with the surrounding area as it lies within the town's conservation area.

When completed, it will provide 350 sq m of floorspace with an office and reception plus workshop and preparation space.

Cain Green, commercial director of Eton Construction (pictured, centre), said: "We are pleased to have been awarded the contract and pleased to have formed a partnership with J Parkinson & Sons, a long established company within the borough. The town centre will no doubt benefit from the investment in a new development."

Established 2010, Eton was trading as Harris Construction (Yorkshire) Ltd as a residential developer. Following a management reshuffle the firm rebranded as Eton Construction Ltd, to concentrate on commercial contracts. The first major contract was the refurbishment of Swinton Grange nursing home, Swinton.

Other contracts include internal fitout work to an industrial unit in Meadowbank and an office refurbishment and extension for a solicitor in the town.

Cain added: "Being a small company we are very competitive in similar sized projects and we provide a full professional service working closely with our clients at all times, with the main aim of producing a quality finished project."

Eton Construction website

Images: Eton Construction

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