Elland Morrisons Ready to Open

Morrisons are due to open the doors to their long awaited new  store in Elland this coming Monday the 18th of March. The new store promises shoppers an innovative shopping experience with a focus on fresh produce and traditional craft skills such as butchery, bakery and fishmongery.

The opening of the store marks the latest successfully completed project by Watson Batty Architects who both designed and delivered the store as lead consultants. The store is the first completed retail project by Watson Batty which sees the implementation of the store on stilts concept allowing cars to park under the building with shopper using lifts and travelators to access the sales floor.

An enabling contract completed earlier last year rehoused New Swift into a purpose built facility (also designed and delivered by Watson Batty) and the scheme has also included significant highway and landscape works. Watson batty will now oversee the construction of a Petrol Filling Station on what remains of the former Nu Swift factory site, due to open later this year. 

Morrisons Middlewich Opens

On Monday 28th January 2013  Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc opened their latest new store in Middlewich designed by Watson Batty Architects Ltd. Built on the site of the former Boosey’s Garden Centre the store was completed in 24.5 weeks and was not without a number of challenges during the construction period.

Store General Manager Andrew Whelan said: “We’re really proud of the store that has been created here in Middlewich. Our aim now is to offer customers a fantastic range of fresh products at great value and excellent customer service. We’re looking forward to being part of the local community and hope customers come and give us a try”.

CDM Co-ordinator wanted

Watson Batty Architects Ltd offer a comprehensive Construction, Design and Management Coordination Service in line with the 2007 Regulations and subsequent updates. Our in-house CDM coordinator team advise on the implications of CDM 2007 and support its application to all types of construction projects, both internal and external.

To ensure that we continue to deliver a high quality service to our clients, we would be interested to hear from any suitably qualified person who share our aspirations and objectives. If you feel that you have new ideas that can make a difference and are prepared to show commitment and enthusiasm we would like to hear from you.

A copy of a job description can be requested from Pamela Cooke or send your cv to pamela.cooke@watsonbatty.com

Works Begin at Farmers Boy

R N Wooler contractors are underway with the a new extension on the Farmers Boy food production factory in Bradford. Originally designed and built in 1998 by Watson Batty Architects, Farmers Boy is a purpose-built fresh food factory. Watson Batty Architects have worked with Wm Morrison Supermarket Plc for a number of years undertaking internal alterations and extensions to keep up with Wm Morrison Supermarket Plc expanding number stores. The new extension will form new state of the art automated pie and quiche production lines.

Watson Batty Architects will be working closely with all involved in the construction phase to ensure a successful delivery of this key production facility. 

University Reception Building Gets A Fresh Look

The £1.2m internal refurbishment of the Holgate Building for York St John University has now received planning permission for the external elements of the design. The project aims to deliver a ‘one stop shop’ for the provision of highly visible, flexible, accessible and exceptional learner support services for the students in the heart of the University.

The new facilities will provide an increased access to flexible areas for group work and social learning. Improvements to the support services will enhance the student experience even further. Other facilities include Student Advice team reception, offices, interview and meeting rooms, IT, media and group learning facilities, promotion and exhibition facilities and the University reception.

Work is anticipated to start in April 2013 with a completion date of September 2013.

New Morrisons Store Open at Blyth

Watson Batty Architect have successfully delivered a new 60,000 sq. ft. gross Morrisons store in the heart of Blyth Town centre. The Blyth store is one of the first in the North East to be designed around Morrisons ‘Store of the Future’ concept and aims to deliver an innovative fresh food offer which is not available elsewhere while still maintaining great value. The store includes new misting technology which is used to optimise the freshness of the food on offer in the ‘fresh market’ which will stock everything from carrots to tinkerbell peppers and yellow courgettes. The store also includes a continental style deli counter, 140 cuts of meat in the butchery and an unrivalled selection of more than 80 cheeses from the UK and around the world. At the bakery there will be up to 48 varieties of bread baked fresh from scratch throughout the day by Morrisons bakers.

McLaren Construction are now proceeding with the final phase of the project, demolishing the existing Morrisons store forming the remaining car park. Due for completion in summer 2013.  

Successful 1st PassivHaus air tightness test at the STEM Building

GB Building Solutions are currently under way with STEM Bradford at The University of Bradford which commenced in September.

The project is progressing quickly onsite leading to the buildings first of three air tests. To meet the PassivHaus requirements the building must not leak more air than 0.6 times the house volume per hour (n₅₀ ≤ 0.6 / hour) at 50 Pa (N/m²). Onsite testing showed that the building exceeded the requirements and takes the project a step closer to full accreditation.

The demanding project is on track to deliver the University of Bradford’s first BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and PassivHaus accredited educational building in early April.

Planning submitted for the Calverley Building Refurbishment at Leeds Metropolitan University

In mid-December Watson Batty submitted a planning application to refurbish the Calverley Building at the Leeds Metropolitan University city centre campus. The project is split into 3 phases with a total estimated value of £8 - 12 million. Phase 1 involves the provision of new toilet accommodation within the building and the creation of hub rooms and service risers within the adjacent Portland building. 

Phase 2, for which the planning application has been submitted, involves the repair and cleaning of the concrete structural frame, replacement of all windows from levels 02 to 10 and the rendering of the lower part of the building referred to as the ‘Plinth’. 

Phase 3 of the proposals will include a phased internal refurbishment of the building. We hope to be out to tender early February with initial works commencing in June this year.