Case study - award-winning project showcases project excellence
A £10 million transformation of a Coventry estate, which won a national award for sustainability in housing, showcased the key role played by the Council’s Highways Adoption Service.
The project formed part of a regeneration of Manor Farm Estate in Coventry by WM Housing, in partnership with Coventry City Council and contractor Lovell, which saw nearly 300 of the housing provider’s homes get a much needed revamp.
Coventry City Council’s highways service played a major part in delivering the £3 million major improvements to the local infrastructure. The project was funded jointly between the Council and Citizen (formerly Whitefriars).
Council teams worked to reconstruct and remodel the roads and pavements which complemented the housing improvements. The work included realigning roads to promote safe driving, creation of more attractive parking areas and improved walking surfaces. To complete the scheme, highways staff also installed coloured surfacing and a range of complementary planting.
Neil Cowper, Head of Highways at Coventry City Council, said:
“We were extremely proud and pleased to work closely with our partners at Whitefriars (now Citizen) to deliver such a high-profile and award-winning scheme.
“Our initial work started back in August 2017 and it really showcased how the team brought a level of professional support and expertise to ensure the project was delivered to required levels and expectations.
“it was also very pleasing to gauge the reaction of the residents of Manor Farm who remained patient through the construction period. Quality is always of great importance to us and the project delivered one of the most significant improvements our teams have made to an area of the city and we are very proud of this. “Additionally because the work was carried through our Highways Adoption Service the roads and pavements which had been completely rebuilt in many cases were immediately adopted and not subject to any maintenance period”.
The Manor Farm project is a prime example of how Coventry City Council has the right engineering skills suited to executing works required of developers under certain sections of the Highways Act, namely Section 278 and Section 30. By carrying out the highway works directly, the Council can adopt the highway immediately on completion, thereby cutting down any defects or maintenance liability period and delivering completion earlier.
As Neil explained there are real benefits, financial and resource-wise, in engaging his team on highway projects such as these;
“We use our own labour or call off contractors from a market tendered framework, providing assurance that developers are achieving value for money from scale far greater than their own project and avoiding the need for further procurement and tendering, thus saving money and time.”