THE NEW ORIEL HALL

BROOKLEAZE BUILDINGS

LARKHALL, BATH

Before...	...and after

PROJECT BRIEF

Brooks Chartered Surveyors were commissioned in September 2001 to design and project manage the £750,000 conversion of a derelict Victorian building into a community village hall. The original building was an eyesore and required extensive stonework and roofwork repairs. The design was to be to a very high specification to meet the planning and Building Regulations requirements and also had to be accessible by disabled wheelchair users.

PROJECT SYPNOSIS

One of the initial difficulties was that the stepped access to the building made it inaccessible to disabled wheelchair visitors. Our solution was to form a new access from the adjacent public car park which required planning permission and extensive negotiations with the local council's estates department.

Health & Safety was a priority as the building backed onto a school playground.

Our Building Surveying department headed up the design team and undertook the principle design from the preparation of sketch scheme proposals through to working drawings. The design team comprised structural engineers, services consultants, acoustic engineers, and landscape architects. Effective communication and leadership of the design team was paramount to the successful design.  

Brooks Chartered Surveyors followed on from the design to the project management of the building works which involved site monitoring of progress, chairing meetings, and preparation of monthly valuations which resulted in the project meeting the practical completion and budget costs.

SUMMARY

The project was successfully completed on time in March 2004 and the New Oriel Hall have since received positive praise and support from the local community.