ISG’s remarkable new store development for Tesco at Seaton in Devon, which opened on 21 November, has proved the contractor’s most demanding scheme to date. Built on a site two metres below the flood plain, the project posed major challenges associated with preparing the site beforehand and carrying out enabling works.
Andy Taylor, UK Retail Business Development Director at ISG, recalls how he and his colleagues rose to the occasion: “The concept for the dredged solution to make up the site levels at Seaton was ISG’s, and we then engaged with a number of trusted specialists to ensure that our innovative solution was viable from both a cost and feasibility perspective. We always encourage our teams to think innovatively, and that’s one of the reasons why ISG has great success in converting the more complex and challenging retail projects.”
ISG also has considerable experience of building retail projects that place great importance on such factors as sustainability, environmental friendliness and greenness. Tesco Seaton is an excellent example of sustainable construction, both in terms of the building’s timber frame design and the overall construction solution. The use of 300,000 m3 of dredged material from licensed under water sea quarries, removed the need to transport this material by road to make up site levels, saving over four years’ of truck movements in the locality and their associated emissions.
All the major UK grocery retailers recognise the importance of acting sustainably and minimising the impact of their developments on the environment, and ISG has worked on a number of other major projects for retail clients that demonstrate this sustainable commitment. Andy Taylor explains:
“We built a new store for Asda in Gorseinon, South Wales which opened in 2010. This was the first ever new-build development for Asda that sent zero waste to landfill, meaning that every by-product of the construction process was either directly re-used on site or recycled into a useful product. The scheme is an exemplar of what can be achieved through a focused commitment to sustainable construction, and ISG fostered good relationships with a number of really innovative recycling organisations as a result of this project, which we now introduce to our supply chain and clients.“
Greenness is increasingly important in retail. Another ISG project, the recently completed 25,000 sq. ft. Sainsbury’s store in Dawlish, Devon is the retailer’s greenest store to date. It sets a benchmark for sustainable supermarket builds and features a timber frame, biomass boiler system, rainwater harvesting and re-use for flushing toilets, energy saving LED lighting and night blinds on chiller doors to prevent cold air loss into the aisles. The store even offers charging points for electric and hybrid vehicles in the car park, and a storm water drainage system, next to the store, has been planted with 40 species of native trees and shrubs to create natural habitats and encourage wildlife.
See ISG interview on page 7
ISG Plc
Comments are closed.