“In my whole career this is one of the best sites I have ever visited. The standard of finish was excellent.” Simon Rimington Building Control Surveyor, Derbyshire Building Control Partnership.
Beauchief Homes’ Stonegravels’ site in Chesterfield really stood out for us. The developer’s commitment to both using local suppliers as well as going above and beyond building control regulations, has created affordable homes that not only look good, but are safe and secure for their owners.
As well as DBCP, Beauchief Homes also used local tradesman and Chesterfield-based Jacksons Builder Centre and Sheffield-based timber frame manufacturer Oakworth Homes, to construct the nine three bedrooms houses and 10 two-bedroom flats on the 0.34 hectare site.
Mike Hassall, Managing Director of Beauchief Homes Ltd explained: “We always try to keep everything local when we’re developing a site. We would rather forgo some profits in order to achieve this. We believe that local knowledge and local people collectively working to generate new homes for their locality results in a better end product.”
From conception to completion Beauchief Homes involved DBCP in its development of timber framed houses and flats. Detailed plans were submitted at an early stage, providing adequate information to our building control surveyors. Commencement meetings were also undertaken at the start of the site to ensure both parties were aware of the inspections required.
One of the key benefits of a timber frame is the predictable build programme. This meant DBCP was able to ensure that inspections were aligned with the site-programme.
It was important to Mike that the buildings all met the highest fire and safety standards and when there were any questions relating to the building integrity or selected products, Mike immediately deferred to Simon.
Mike said: “Following recent high-profile tragedies elsewhere, we were focused on ensuring that all products from our suppliers were compliant or better. Where any ambiguity arose in certification or there was a lack of clarity about that compliance, I immediately turned to Simon for the decision as I knew he was at the forefront of the research and regulations. The diligent overseeing of the project by DBCP and Simon’s willingness to get involved in problem solving, along with flexibility and ease of communication helped enormously with the flow of the build.”
As well as being safe and secure, the homes all achieved excellent EPC ratings. Additionally, the adoption of robust details for the party walls and floors within the flats, meant that sound test results far exceeded minimum requirements.
The off-site manufacture and use of timber frames, also helped Beauchief Homes achieve a solid record of responsible environmental commitment and performance for the development, including:
- Sourcing timber from managed forests (Oakworth holds the PEFC Chain of Custody certification)
- Protecting air and water quality near the manufacturing site
- Reducing, reusing, and recycling manufacturing and finished product waste materials
- Collaborating with others by listening to and acting on constructive ideas to demonstrate the company’s commitment to sustainable, environmentally friendly construction
Simon praised the relationship between Beauchief Homes and all its suppliers, saying: “The partnership between Beauchief Homes, Oakworth Homes, the architect, onsite sub contractors and DBCP was second to none. This has resulted in the delivery of a truly exceptional end product.”