Progress Report - Week Commencing 12 December 2011

The weather has been kind so far and this has meant that the contractor has been able to install the roof trusses to both the block of flats at the front of the site and two of the houses to the rear. The installation to the remaining roof trusses will be installed over the next few weeks as long as we don't get any adverse weather.

Having the roofs in place means that the properties can be made weather tight and as such work reduces the risk of construction delays due to adverse weather.

The rear gable wall to Thurston House is now almost fully completed and the work to the roof is continuing.

Internally first fix has commenced with the plumbing pipework and electrics work underway.

Progress Report - week commencing 21 November 2011

Over the last few days progress has been rapid on-site. The roof works to Thurston House is continuing with the repairing/repointing work to three of the five chimneys now completed. One of the chimneys will need to be taken down and rebuilt as it was shown to be in need of major repair following an engineers report. The rear elevation rebuild in now 70% complete and the use of bricks reclaimed from the demolition has resulted in the newbuild matching the existing building.

The interior of Thurston House has seen the new floating floors being installed and the battening out to the walls in readiness for the plasterboard is almost complete. Final detailing for the windows is still being discussed with planners and we are hopeful for final sign off shortly.

The block of flats to the front of the site are due to have the roof trusses installed over the next week and we are still hopeful that these will be made weather tight ahead of any adverse weather conditions.

Timber frames are now in place to the houses at the very rear of the site and the timber frames on the remaining houses are due to be in place over the next couple of weeks.

If you have any queries regarding the work on site please contact Beverly Hill at Accent Nene who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Progress Report - Week Commencing 7 November 2011

The studding to the walls in Thurston House is now well underway and the floating floor to the ground floor is complete. The work is continuing to the retiling of the roof and the stonemason has now commenced work to repair/replace and worn or damaged stonework.

The rebuilding of the rear elevation to Thurston

House is now approximately 70% complete.

Ground floor timber frame has been erected to the flats and the scaffolding is currently being errected to be allow the second floor frames to be put in place.

Foundations are complete for 7 of the new homes to the rear of Thurston House are complete and foundations to the final two units are now well underway.

Progress Report - Week Commencing 17 Oct 2011

The foundations to the flats and 7 of the 9 houses are now up to beam level and the below ground drainage work is well underway for these units.

Rebuilding of the rear extension is now well underway with the blockwork complete and the brickwork approximately two-thirds complete.  The bricks which have been used were saved from the demolition of the extension so that they are in keeping with the rest of the building.

The adoptable road is installed up to base course and the section of road beyond Thurston House in now under construction.

Work is continuing to Thurston House roof and internals, however access is limited due to health and safety issues.  A full update will be given once access is granted.

Progress Report - Week Commencing 25 September 2011

Progress on-site has again been signficant.  The works to the roof are ongoing and there have been no major problems uncovered so far.  A stonemason has been employed to repair or replace and of the damaged stone as necessary.

The replacement wall to the rear elevation of Thurston House is now well underway.

The foundations and blockwork has now completed to the new build properties and work has now commenced in laying the services to these properties. 

Progress Report - week commencing 12 September 2011

Progress on site has been good this week involving many various trades working on-site.  The key points are:

Mains drainage is now in place and on the base course for the road to the turning head has now started.

Construction of the rear of Thurston House has commenced and the contractor is due to start the refurbishment of the roof over the next week.  This work will be carried out in sections in order to keep the building as watertight as possible during this process.

Construction of the houses to the rear of Thurston House is now well underway with the contractor working on the blockwork up to damp-proof course.   

Foundations for the flats to the front elevation of Thurston House are now in place. 

Should you have any questions regarding the construction at Lincoln Road please contact me on 01733 295465.

Beverly Hill - Development Officer

Accent Nene Limited

Progress Report - week commencing 29 August 2011

The scaffolding has been erected around Thurston House and work to the roof will commence shortly.  This will also enable our engineer to carry out an assessment of the chimney stacks to determine whether these are structually stable.

The drainage construction is now well underway and once this is all in place work will start on the construction of the access road.

Foundations to the houses to the rear of Thurston House are now almost complete and the foundations to the block of flats to the front of the site are marked out ready for work to commence.

Progress Report - week commencing 14 August 2011

The development of this site is now beginning to move on,  The Section 38 for the road adoption has been signed and the services are now being installed to enable the road base course to be completed prior to the foundations for the new properties commencing.  It is important to us to complete the services and road works prior to starting the newbuild section as this means our contractor can work off clean surfaces minimising the amount of mud carried out on to the Lincoln Road highway.

With regards to Thurston House, we are keen to get the scaffolding in place and an order has been placed for this, so that we can commence work on the roof.   This is essential (along with the re-building of the rear wall)  as it will enable us to weatherproof the building and commence work on the interior.

If you have any questions or queries concerning the building works at Lincoln Road please call me on 01733 295465.

Beverly Hill - Development Officer

Update - Open Event held 3 August 2011

The community event was held on 3 August 2011.  The event enabled people to view the plans and layouts for Lincoln Road, get an idea on the programme for the scheme and hear more about the history of the house.  The slides from the evening are held on the blog if you would like to know more.

Local residents were also given the opportunity to vote for the name of a new street on the Thurston House Development.

The local authority had whittled down the shortlist to two options, Wadlow Close, after Wadlow Brummit who owned the house in the 1930s and Townsend Close, after Henry M Townsend who is believed to be the architect who built the house in 1873.

In a closely run contest Townsend Close won with 56% of the vote. The voting took place at a community event hosted by social housing developers Accent Nene. The event was organised to update the local community on plans for the development. There were also displays about the history of Thurston house and the eco-credentials of the development.

Northborough Ward Councilor Peter Hiller Northborough Ward Councillor Peter Hiller attended the event and said “The development will be a great asset to the city by turning a disused building into 25 high-quality, energy-efficient homes built to meet Secured by Design Standards and includes secure parking.  I’m very positive about this project and am looking forward to its completion in Autumn 2012.”

Progress Report - week commencing 1 August 2011

The demolition work is now complete.  The bungalow and stable block are now cleared and the rear of the site is being prepared for the groundworks. 



area where stable block was



area where bungalow was

The rear extension of extension of Thurston House itself has also been demolished and work will now begin to rebuild the rear wall of the building.

The internal areas of Thurston House have all been totally stripped.  In order to ensure that the integrity of the building an Engineering Company is regularly checking the building and also providing reports on what work is required to bring the building up to current standards.

The road adoptions are now almost complete which will mean we can begin the groundworks to the remainder of the site.

Don't forget that you can call in at our Community Event on 3 August 2011 at our offices if you would like to know more about the development.

Slides and information from the event will be available on the blog later this week.

Progress Report - week commencing 18 July 2011

This week has all been about the event on 3 August 2011 where you have the opportunity to come and view more information regarding the work on site, the plans for the development, applying for the new homes and vote on the street name for the homes.

We are all working hard to ensure that this event is a success.  The following companies will be represented:

• Accent Nene Limited
• Larkfleet Limited - Main Contractor
• Saunders Boston - Architects
• The Civic Society

There will be refreshments availalbe and it is a good opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have regarding the development.

We hope to see you there.

Progress Report - week commencing 11 July 2011

The stable block to the rear of the site has now been totally demolished and the demolition to the rear elevation of Thurston House is now well underway.

In order to ensure that the integrity of the structure of Thurston House is upheld a new concrete wall is being constructed within the basement which will become the substructure for the new rear wall.

The next few weeks will see the continued careful demolition of the rear elevation and the erection of scaffolding to Thurston House which will allow access to the roof which will be gradually removed and  replaced utilising as many of the existing tiles as is possible and replacing and missing broken tiles with a similar one.

Progress Report - week commencing 4 July 2011

This week has seen lots of progress on site.  The bungalow to the rear of Thurston House has now been demolished.

The roof has been removed from the  outbuilding to the rear of the site and the walls are starting to be taken down, however this process is taking longer due to the proximity to other structures.

The scaffolding is in place to the rear of Thurston House to allow the demolition of this to take place ensuring that the building is supported throughout the process.  The actual demolition of this rear elevation will start next week.

Please remember that if you would like any further information regarding the scheme or if you have any questions which are not on the question and answer page of this blog please ring Beverly Hill on 01733 295465. 

Progress Report - week commencing 27 June 2011

The demolition works are due to commence within the next 7 to 10 days - the initial set up for this demolition will take some time to incorporate all the exclusion areas.  These areas are required to ensure the safety of all staff working on site and the protection of visitors.


The stripping out of Thurston House is now well underway and the attached photographs show just how far this has progressed.  The items which have been removed are being sorted in readiness for the recycling selection process.

Photographs showing interior of Thurston House and items collected for recycling

Progress Report - week commencing 13 June 2011

The soft stripping of Thurston House which involves removing the office interior, along with specific internal walls and doors, in order to facilitate the proposed remodelling works is well underway. Demolition of the rear extension of Thurston House will be undertaken shortly; taking care not to disturb the remaining building, with a new rear wall to be constructed to form the extents of the building. The brickwork will be in keeping with that of the existing building in order to maintain the character. In addition to these works, 80A Lincoln Road and the existing garage block at the rear of the site will be demolished to facilitate the construction of 9 houses. Following on from the demolition, works will commence to form the proposed site access road and site drainage.

Accent Nene have distributed an resident update during the past week to give vital information regarding the works on site to local residents.  Hard copies of this update are available from Accent Nene's reception.

Progress Report - week commencing 31 May 2011

This week has seen good progress on site.  The sign-boards have been errected and the site office and site facility units have been delivered.   This allows the demolition of the small bungalow to the rear of Thurston House to take place, this had previously been used to provide on-site facilities. 

The removal of all asbestos materials from Thurston House has been completed and most of the internal fixtures and fittings have been removed and are stacked awaiting collection for recycling (a licensed waste management company have been appointed to deal with this).

The technical approval for the Section 38 has been registered which will allow the construction of the road to take place prior to the start of construction.  This will help the contractor to minimise the amount of mud and dirt being carried out onto the main highway.

There are a number of photographs below showing how the site looks this week:

Signboards

Front of Thurston House

Site office

Rear of Lincoln Road - Items for recycling 

Rear of Thurston House

Internal Thurston House

Bathroom Thurston House