News: Rotherham flood alleviation scheme wins national award

A Rotherham project to reduce the impact of flooding along the River Don has won the first national award of its kind.

The £15m Phase 1 section of the flood alleviation scheme between Templeborough and the town centre, won the Flood Risk Management Award at this year's Waterways Renaissance Awards, run by The Waterways Trust and BURA (British Urban Regeneration Association).

It is the first time a Flood Risk Management Award – sponsored by engineering consultancy Halcrow – has been presented.

The scheme and its Centenary Wetland Park were also commended in the Natural Environment category, sponsored by the Government's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The awards ceremony took place at the Lowry Gallery in Manchester this month.

Cllr Gerald Smith, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Planning and Transportation said: "This is a significant piece of work within the £2bn Rotherham Renaissance programme for our town centre… an acknowledgement of the sound approach that the team have taken to resolving the need to live with the river."

"We're creating the right conditions for new investment in areas yet to be boosted by the massive regeneration that’s taking place alongside the river."

It was a partnership scheme with the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Forward, the EU's Objective 1, contractors Volker Stevin and engineering company Jacobs, and the Wildlife Trust for Sheffield and Rotherham.

Rotherham Renaissance website
Rotherham

Images: Rotherham Renaissance

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News: Volker Stevin recognised for creating long term value in Rotherham

Judges at the Constructing Excellence Awards for Yorkshire and Humber 'Highly Commended' the project team working on the Voluntary Action Rotherham Project for achieving excellence in creating long term value for the client. Volker Stevin was the design and build contractor for the head office building for client Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR), a registered charity. VAR supports, develops and promotes the voluntary and community sector in the Rotherham area. Chris Blenkarn, building business manager at Volker Stevin, said: "The VAR project was a challenging project, but one that showed off our skills for working in project teams that are responsive, fluid and collaborative. We are delighted that Constructing Excellence has recognised our project teams efforts on this scheme." VAR's standards of sustainable construction means that "The Spectrum" has a BREEAM Very Good rating and provides flexible working spaces and facilities for numerous voluntary organisations with very differing needs.
VAR website
Volker Stevin website
Rotherham

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News: Another milestone reached in Rotherham flood scheme

Main contractor Volker Stevin has removed a 30m long redundant gas main pipe bridge at the Templeborough to Rotherham flood alleviation scheme. The 30m long, 2.5m deep and 2m wide steel pipe bridge is now redundant following the diversion of the gas main undertaken as part of the Volker Stevin contract. The new pipe bridge, fabricated by subsidiary company Brooks Contracting, removes the pipe from the flood zone. Working in partnership with Rotherham Borough Council, and with further funding from the Environment Agency, Objective 1 and Yorkshire Forward, the £14m flood alleviation scheme has seen the construction of hard flood defences along a one kilometre stretch of the River Don. A year ago to the day, this area suffered badly in the floods and this work will address the flood risk at the River Don as well as benefit the regeneration of the area as a whole.

Volker Stevin website
Rotherham Renaissance
Rotherham

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News: Master Cutler sees first hand what is being done in Rotherham to reduce the flood risk

Chief Executive of Rotherham company, AES Engineering and the current Master Cutler, Gordon Bridge, was delighted to be shown the outstanding progress made on the nearly completed £14m first phase of the Rotherham town centre flood defences. Gordon said: “It’s of great importance to me that local businesses are protected against future flood events like those seen last year and from what I’ve seen today, this is just what the first phase will achieve for a 1km stretch of the River Don.” Amongst the 100 properties to be protected when the full scheme is complete are major companies such as Firth Rixson, an international specialist metal components manufacturer, Rank Hovis, and Tesco, all significant employers in the town. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is seeking further funding for the next phase of the scheme. The work is being carried out by contractor Volker Stevin for Rotherham Borough Council. The scheme has been designed by engineering company Jacobs and is fundamental to the town-centre transformation being brought about by Yorkshire Forward’s Renaissance Towns initiative. A further part of the scheme, the Centenary Way urban wetland nature reserve, is also nearing completion. As well as serving a practical function for collecting water, this area will also be managed jointly by Sheffield-Rotherham Wildlife Trust and Rotherham Council so that it can be enjoyed by both wildlife and people using the area for recreational and educational purposes.

AESSEAL website

Rotherham Renaissance website

Volker Stevin website

Chamber article

Rotherham

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News: Rotherham flood alleviation scheme

The £14m first phase of the Rotherham Flood Alleviation Scheme has taken two major steps forward. A former railway bridge that caused a five-foot rise in the River Don’s water levels in last summer’s flooding has been removed and defences for a new office park have been completed as part of the phase-one work to protect a one-kilometre stretch from Templeborough towards the town centre. The 60-tonne bridge was on the north side of Sheffield Road at Templeborough. Last June, with the river level already high, it caused a massive obstruction to water flow, creating the increased build-up. Removing the bridge has greatly minimised the flood risk to the town centre. The main steel-pile defences into the banks near the new Phoenix Riverside park on Sheffield Road will protect it to a one-in-100-year standard. The work is being carried out by contractor Volker Stevin for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. Part of Yorkshire Forward’s Renaissance Towns programme, it has been designed by engineering company Jacobs and is fundamental to the town-centre transformation being brought about by Rotherham Renaissance. The council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development, Cllr Gerald Smith, said: “I am tremendously impressed by the scale of the work being done on this first section of the defences and how well the team of Jacobs Design, Volker Stevin construction with our own staff is really working hard to get the job done."

Rotherham Reanissance website

Volker Stevin website

Rotherham

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News: VAR move into new headquarters

Another project undertaken by Volker Stevin in Rotherham is the recently completed construction of a state of the art three storey office building for Voluntary Action Rotherham. As well as using sustainable materials and construction methods, Volker Stevin fitted new energy efficient technology for heating, cooling and lighting that adjusts based on the conditions of the external environment throughout the day. "The Spectrum" has five different facades in three different colours and will be used as VAR's new headquarters to support the voluntary and community sector in Rotherham. In addition there are training and conference facilities and around 1200 sq ft of office space to let. Volker Stevin worked with designers Bond Bryan Architects and SKM Anthony Hunt Structural Engineers. VAR's new offices were funded by Yorkshire Forward as part of a three year £4m investment in the voluntary and community sector in Rotherham.

VAR website
Volker Stevin website

Rotherham

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News: Partnership approach to flood alleviation gains national recognition

The Environment Agency discusses the strong partnership ethos that has been key to the Rotherham Flood Alleviation Scheme taking place at Templeborough. The scheme will improve the infrastructure and reduce the risk of flooding at over 100 properties, businesses and key development sites in the town. With the Agency's help, Rotherham Borough Council has secured over £12 million of support from Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund to help deliver the project, backed up by £2 million from the council and by nearly half a million pounds from the Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee. The project is being managed by Jacobs and the main contractor is Volker Stevin. The first phase of construction is due to be completed in the summer of 2008 and the second phase is currently being designed. The Environment Agency will be taking over the future maintenance of the flood defence structures and Sheffield Rotherham Wildlife Trust has been selected to manage the wetland area. Toby Willison, the Environment Agency’s regional director, explains: “Clearly this is a very important scheme to reduce flood risk and major disruption to large parts of Rotherham. It will help to protect not only road and rail links but also the employers vital to the area’s economic wellbeing." Karl Battersby, Strategic Director for Environment and Development Services for Rotherham Borough Council said: “This scheme is a vital part of the Rotherham Renaissance agenda as it underpins the Riverside focus for the exciting new developments planned for the town." This week the government learned that the UK would receive £31m from the EU solidarity fund to help with the clean up from last year's flood. Figures of £110m had been reported in March.
Environment Agency website
Rotherham Renaissance website

Rotherham

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