Birse Water - Birse Civils Ltd

BirseNews
Birse Water
goes with the flow
Also in this issue >
Opportunities for growth
> See page 2 for more
On the crest of the wave
> See pages 8 and 9 for more
Bridging the gap, Houdini-style
> See page 12 for more
Winter 2007

02 BIRSENEWS
Opportunities
for growth
Welcome to this edition of Birse News, which is being published
more than a year after our acquisition by Balfour Beatty.
This development has opened up new opportunities for
growth that we could only have dreamt of before and given
new impetus to our business diversification strategy, which
is the theme of this edition.
Business diversification has been one of our key strategies
for three years as we realised we needed to develop
specialist types of expertise and also break into new
geographical areas.
In this edition we look at three of our specialist businesses -
Birse Coastal, Birse Water and Birse Nuclear - and also at
our latest regional business, which is based in
Gloucestershire.
There are also features on some of our latest projects,
including a quay in the North East that we refurbished in
time to welcome the QE2, and two prestigious frameworks
that we have been invited to join - one led by the Environment
Agency and the other by the Highways Agency.
With solid customer support behind us, we continue to develop
new areas of expertise and to grow our business. We turned
over around £240m in 2007 and expect to hit £275m in 2008.
I hope you enjoy reading about our progress and I thank you
for your support.
We turned over around £240m in 2007 and expect to hit £275m in 2008.
We’re in the frame
In a partnership with the consultants Mouchel Parkman we have been
appointed to the Highways Agency’s project support framework.
We were the only contractor to be appointed to the original
framework - all the others were consultants.
Our role is to assist the HA on issues such as budgeting,
programming and buildability.
The North East Region has delivered three appointments so
far, the largest being for a procurement and buildability
study for a £1,500m scheme - the widening of the M1
between junctions 21 and 30.
The Birse/Mouchel team worked closely with the HA’s design
consultant Arup to study certain key elements of the design
proposals. The customer’s team will use the study to help
them assess the relative merits of different design options.
Rob Adams
Managing Director
Birse Civils
Our contribution to the study included:
construction planning and programming of each section of
the proposed scheme
a master programme for the scheme
cost estimates for traffic management
buildability studies for five key structures
a buildability study looking at different options
for the cross-section of the motorway
a programme risk workshop.

Customers drive
diversification
Birse News: “A key part of Birse Civils’ strategy over the
past three years has been to diversify the business. What
was the thinking behind this?”
Mark: “The diversification strategy, like most things in
Birse, was driven by our vision of putting the customer at
the centre of the business. Over the years we have had a
great deal of support and encouragement from our existing
customers. They really like the way Birse does business
because we put safety first, foremost and always, and we
deliver exceptional levels of customer service. In addition,
they like the fact that the managers of individual
businesses stay close to them and can respond to their
particular needs.
“We had a feeling that some organisations, that were not
currently our customers, would also appreciate this
approach.”
Birse News: “How did you go about implementing
the strategy?”
Mark: “Our first concern was that, in looking at new
markets and new customers, we did not let down our
existing customers, who have supported us so well to date.
From this, we took the decision that we would address new
markets and new customers through new business units that
would address these specific areas. By doing this, we could
ensure that our existing customers would continue to receive
the high levels of service they have come to expect.”
Birse News: “How did you choose new areas of business?”
Mark: “We looked at three key criteria. First, the new areas
had to have customers looking for the approach and service
that Birse offers. Second, they must not be serviced
particularly well by their current contractors. Finally, the work
had to be within Birse’s technical capability. We had to be
sure we could deliver any work we secured, “safely and
efficiently.”
Birse News: “What are the new areas you’ve tapped into?”
Mark: “We now have a new regional business, known as
the Western Region, and a series of specialist businesses –
Birse Coastal, Birse Water and Birse Nuclear. In addition, we
are gaining work under two new framework agreements, one
with the Environment Agency and another, with the
Highways Agency for the delivery of project support. In the
current year, these areas will account for just under 25% of
our total revenue.”
Birse News: “How have these new businesses been
received?”
Mark: “Very well, as the articles on each of them in this
publication make clear. Diversification has been a big
success story so far and we are now looking at other areas
such as the waste sector. We see no reason why we
shouldn’t continue to diversify into other areas, provided they
meet the criteria we have set.”
BIRSENEWS 03
Birse News catches up with Mark Farrah, Birse Civils’ Corporate Development Director to
discuss the background to the company’s diversification strategy.
Total Revenue
250M
200M
150M
100M
50M
0M
Percentage of revenue
from diversification
Birse Coastal
Formed Birse Nuclear
Formed
Western Region
Formed
Birse Civils revenue
Birse Water
Formed
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
“Our first concern was that, in
looking at new markets and
new customers, we did not let
down our existing customers,
who have supported us so
well to date.”
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
%Revenue from new business

04 BIRSENEWS
Expanding our
nuclear family
Two years ago the government established the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to manage the clean-up of the UK’s
civil nuclear legacy arising from 50 years of civil, military and research programmes. In response to this, Birse Nuclear was
formed under Managing Director Paul Bresnan. Birse News caught up with Paul just outside Sellafield in Cumbria to bring the
story up to date. Sellafield is the biggest nuclear site in the UK and represents the single, largest challenge for the NDA.
“We know what we
are good at, but in
other areas we are
clear that other
organisations have
greater strengths.”
Birse News: “When the government set up the NDA, what
was it looking for?”
Paul: “New ideas and new people to come into the nuclear
clean-up market. Given Birse’s reputation for creative
thinking, we thought this would be a good opportunity to get
involved through setting up a specialist business."
Birse News: “What does Birse Nuclear bring to the
nuclear industry?”
Paul: “First, our culture of safety first, foremost and always.
Safety is top priority in Birse Nuclear and this is obviously
critically important in the nuclear industry.
“Second, our approach to customer care and customer focus.
We have brought to the nuclear industry the culture and
approach that our other customers appreciate so much.
“Third, our existing skills and expertise in project management,
civil works and process engineering. With experience from
across the broad energy and environmental sectors, these skills
bring our customers great benefits, in terms of innovation,
value engineering and competitive solutions.”
Birse News: “Anything else?”
Paul: “Yes. We work well with others and this is very
important in the nuclear industry. The industry is very
complex and projects often need the capabilities of many
different organisations. We get on well with others and
genuinely enjoy working as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
This really helps deliver these complex projects.”
Birse News: “So, who are you working for at the moment?”
Paul: “Earlier this year we were appointed to support a
multi-disciplinary site works framework at Sellafield. The
team is led by Hertel, an engineering support services
company, and also includes Boulting Group (electrical and
instrumentation) and Jordan Nuclear (mechanical, fabrication
and installation). Sellafield estimates the framework will
undertake projects with a total value each year of £10m to
£15m.“
Birse News: “Would you say that you bring a lot to this
new area of business?”
Paul: “We like to think so, but it is also important to
remember that we don’t have all the answers. We know
what we are good at, but in other areas we are clear that
other organisations have greater strength. The key is to
establish a team that plays to each organisation’s strengths
and, together with our partners, that’s what we’re doing.”
Birse News: “Any final thoughts?”
Typical work involved in nuclear decommissioning:
Paul: “Really, just to emphasise how customers have
encouraged Birse Nuclear, as a new player in the industry
supply chain. We are clearly seen to be bringing valuable
benefits and, in turn, are learning a lot about the exciting
challenges of nuclear decommissioning.”
Managing the nuclear clean-up
Decontaminating, demolishing and removing the original facilities, ensuring that recovered
materials are segregated for appropriate storage or disposal.
Building new facilities to store different contaminated wastes from the
decommissioning programme.
Ensuring that the infrastructure can maintain supplies of water, electricity and other services
during decommissioning.
Ensuring the physical integrity of structures at all stages of decommissioning, to protect
health, safety and the environment.

Flood of new
work expected
Selby in North Yorkshire is the location of the first construction contract to be awarded to
us under the Environment Agency’s NCF2 Framework.
After winning the contract in a ‘mini competition’ with
other companies that are also on the framework, work
started in June 2007 on this £2M contract to install new
flood defences on the River Ouse in Selby.
Other contracts won under the framework agreement
include a flood alleviation scheme at Gainsborough,
Lincolnshire, the provision of 35,000 cubic metres of graded
shingle for Denge beach near Dungeness in East Sussex
and recoating of flood gates on the Thames. The contract
at Denge was won by Birse Coastal. In addition we have
been working with the Environment Agency under a
professional services contract to develop a scheme to
prevent the River Rhymney from flooding at New Tredegar
in South Wales.
The four-year framework agreement, which started in April,
offers the potential of £500m worth of flood protection
work throughout England and Wales to be shared among
the seven contractors that make up the list. Of the seven
contractors, we are one of only two listed for both core
(river) works and coastal works.
The framework sets out a series of stages through which
each scheme has to progress.
Stage 1. Early Contractor Involvement
To get as much benefit as possible from contractors’
knowledge and experience, the framework is based on an
ECI model – something Birse Civils is very familiar with.
The EA normally chooses one contractor to work with its
consultants to scope the scheme and come up with outline
solutions and prepare a Project Appraisal Report (PAR), that
includes all scheme costs including EA, consultants, land
and construction. There is no guarantee this contractor will
deliver the final scheme so this stage is covered by a
professional services contract.
Stage 2. Mini-competition
The EA normally selects three from the seven listed
contractors to take part in a mini-competition. They are
usually given two weeks to prepare a quality submission
and price the works. In awarding the contract, half the
marks are given on quality and half on price.
Stage 3. Design development
Only if a scheme is approved by an EA investment
committee does it go forward for its design to be
developed by an integrated team comprising the EA, its
consultants and the chosen contractor. Other issues to be
worked on at this stage include value engineering,
buildability and potential cost savings. This stage
concludes with a final target price, a detailed design and
time schedules.
Steve Kennedy, who is our Framework Director, welcomes
the three-stage process as a positive move.
“It is very logical and it has a lot to commend it. In particular,
we like the fact that the chosen contractor is incentivised to
share in any gains made on the whole of the project’s costs,
not just the construction element.
“These include the EA’s internal costs, the consultants’ costs
and land purchase costs, where applicable. You are therefore
looking at the total picture all of the time and are working as
part of an integrated team to deliver the project as efficiently
as possible.
"That plays to our strengths in thinking smarter across the
whole piece and fits perfectly with our safety and business
ethos of working as safely as possible as closely as possible
with customers as early as possible across as wide a field as
possible."
BIRSENEWS
05
“Only if a scheme is
approved by an EA
investment committee
does it go forward for its
design to be developed
by an integrated team
comprising the EA, its
consultants and the
chosen contractor.”

06 BIRSENEWS
Water, water
everywhere
One of the latest businesses in Birse Civils’ ever-expanding portfolio is Birse
Water, which serves the UK’s wastewater and water sectors.
Managing Director Rolfe Nuttall said: “We offer a
seamless, in-house, one-stop shop for comprehensive
design-and-build services to our customers. We benefit
from the design specialities of the Balfour Beatty
Engineering Solutions Ltd process engineering team in
Manchester and the construction capabilities of Birse Civils
and Balfour Beatty. In addition, our own people provide
complete mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control
and automation (MEICA) capabilities. It’s the perfect match.
“We are also gaining useful leverage from Balfour Beatty’s
presence and strength throughout the UK. For example, we
are working for them throughout Scotland on a framework
contract to improve the safety of chlorination plants in
Scottish Water’s treatment works.”
What does he think makes Birse Water special from a
customer’s point of view? “There are several factors. First,
there is our commitment to excellence, which can be seen
in our value engineering procedures and the way we keep
our eye on costs based on real-time experience.
“We have a contractor’s slant on our designs and
operations and a strong relationship between engineering
and operational staff. We are keen to learn lessons from
previous projects and our attitude is not so much ‘can do’ as -
‘want to do’.
“Second, as a multi-disciplinary, turnkey contractor for
water and wastewater projects, we also offer fullyintegrated
procurement, project management and
construction solutions within a single team.
Also, among the benefits we offer to customers is
3-D computer-aided design that is a fantastic visualisation
and design tool. It not only improves health and safety,
design and space management, it also gives enhanced
clarity for design reviews and simulates complex
installation sequences.
"Finally, customers feel reassured that we always put safety
first. In fact, we have now worked for a single year without
a lost time accident."
What about Birse Water’s areas of expertise? Rolfe pointed
to two particular types of work – odour control and also
complex MEICA projects. It often works in conjunction with
another company. Alderley Birse Alliance Ltd (ABAL), which
it set up as a joint venture with a specialist organisation,
on odour control and cover solutions projects, where it is the
leading player in the UK market.
“In London we are engaged on an important odour control
project, working with ABAL refurbishing the Mogden waste
water treatment works, near Twickenham, for Thames
Water,” said Rolfe.
“At Liverpool’s Sandon Dock, we have carried out a series of
schemes for United Utilities worth £55m under AMP3. This
included a new clarification system, refurbishing the BAFF
plant, upgrading the pumping system and the power
distribution facilities, installing a new plant control system
and three chemical scrubbing odour control units. We
are now carrying out more bespoke filtration work on the
same site under AMP4.
“Another ongoing project for United Utilities is a £6m scheme
to refurbish and upgrade eight sludge pumping stations
alongside the River Mersey. The project follows the successful
completion of six sewage pumping stations for United Utilities
in the Lake District and will finish in June 2008.
“Meanwhile, in East Anglia we are working on all the
mechanical and electrical works, excluding the main
transfer pumps, of the St Germans Pumping Station at Kings
Lynn. The £7m project started towards the end of 2006 and
will be completed by April 2009.
“Our customer, the Middle Level Commissioners, one of the
oldest water authorities in the UK, is upgrading the pumping
station, which is the largest of its kind in Europe, as part of
a £35m project. Each pump is the size of an average
three-bedroom house.”

Where Birse Water is
working across the UK
DAER WTW
A newly awarded £9.4m scheme for
Scottish Water Solutions. Working in
conjunction with BB Northern to provide
upgrade and extension to an existing
water treatment plant.
LIVERPOOL
A series of schemes have been
completed for United Utilities at
Sandon Dock under AMP3. Bespoke
filtration work is now taking place
under AMP4.
THE MERSEY VALLEY
Eight sludge pumping stations are
being refurbished and upgraded for
United Utilities.
LONDON
An important odour control project for
Thames Water is ongoing at the
Mogden wastewater treatment works.
EDINBURGH
Birse Water is working with Balfour
Beatty’s Edinburgh-based organisation
to improve the safety of chlorination
plants in around 50 of Scottish Water’s
treatment works.
BIRSENEWS 07
KINGS LYNN
Work is continuing for the Middle
Level Commissioners on the St
Germans Pumping Station, the largest
of its kind in Europe. It protects 25,000
properties and drains 700 square
kilometres of land in The Fens.

08 BIRSENEWS
On the
of a wave
“We have been the largest coastal contractor in the country for some time,” says
Phil Wright, Managing Director of Birse Coastal, with justifiable pride.
Birse Coastal’s origins go back to 1999, when the North West business won a
single coastal defence project for Blackpool Borough Council.
“Since then we have developed a level of expertise in coastal defence and a way
of supporting our customers that we believe is unmatched,” says Phil.
Birse Coastal’s particular expertise is in large complex schemes, where it can get
involved with the customer at an early stage. This allows Birse Coastal to work
with its customer to look at different options for design, quality of finish and how
to construct the scheme.
“One good example is the Blackpool Central scheme where we have put in place a
pre-cast concrete revetment made up of over 4,000 units in 90 differently curved
shapes. These were manufactured off-site at a purpose-built factory. This has not
only made the project safer and quicker but has also given the customer access to
unprecedented levels of quality of finish.”

crest
Phil believes that it was this expertise that contributed to Birse Coastal being
included as one of only three contractors on the Environment Agency’s framework
for coastal works. “The framework is all about contributing to the design
development as well as constructing the works – and this is just where our
strengths are,” says Phil.
The framework enables Birse Coastal to work in all of the Environment Agency’s
regions throughout England and Wales, opening up thousands of miles of coastline.
The framework, which started in April 2007, lasts for four years but Phil’s vision
goes beyond that timeline. “The framework can be extended from four to eight
years and we’ve every confidence of still being in there until 2015, if not beyond.”
Phil values being part of the framework, not just for the recognition it provides,
but because it exploits Birse Coastal’s strengths through working with customers
at an early stage.
“They don’t just want you to build a scheme, they want you to contribute to its
design and development. That’s what we like to do and experience shows we’re
good at it.
BIRSENEWS
09
“We have developed a level of expertise in coastal defence and a way of supporting our
customers that we believe is unmatched” Phil Wright, Managing Director of Birse Coastal
“We also like the framework’s disciplined approach. There are key performance
indicators for each job, which we think is excellent.”
But Birse Coastal is not content to rest on its laurels. In addition to its leading
positions in early contractor involvement and off-site manufacture, it continues to
look forward.
“We are continually innovating and looking for new approaches and techniques
that may benefit our customers – and we spend a considerable amount of time and
effort on research and development. We have a number of new innovations we
will be rolling out to our customers over the coming months.”
One of Phil’s latest projects, the Morecambe Coastal Defence scheme for
Lancaster City Council, won the top “Best in Class” accolade in Birse Civils
Managing Director’s Safety Awards in late 2007.

10 BIRSENEWS
Why our Western region
is going great guns
Our latest regional diversification has seen two businesses - Western
and Eastern - led by Dudley Jones and Steve Kennedy respectively,
emerge from the previous Midlands business. Birse News talks to
Dudley Jones about the future for the Western Region, which is based
at Stonehouse, near Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Birse News: “Although two new businesses have been
created, it feels like the new business is the Western Region.
Is that how you see it?”
Dudley: “To a certain extent, yes. The Western Region is
certainly the business with the new location and lower
volumes of work - the Eastern Region has much more
continuity and will continue to be based in Northampton - but
that is why the Western Region’s prospects look so exciting.”
Birse News: “Why did you set up the Western Region?”
Dudley: “In the past, we have had lots of success in that
geographical area and plenty of satisfied customers,
but, because the work was carried out from
Northampton, we felt we were spreading ourselves a
bit too thinly and missing potential opportunities.”
Birse News: “Where do you see these new
business opportunities?”
Dudley: “I’m looking all over the patch, but Bristol
and the South West, where in the past the
previous Midlands business had little coverage,
will be an area of special focus. We will, of course,
continue with our existing and new customers in the
West Midlands area.”
“I fully expect
that in three years’ time the
Western business will be
turning over around £45m and,
in five years’ time, £55m.”
Birse News: “Where do you see your turnover heading?”
Dudley: “I fully expect that in three years’ time the Western
business will be turning over around £45m and, in five years’
time, £55m. That, in our view, is the ideal size for a regional
business and it explains why we thought the old Midlands
business, which had a turnover of £65m, was too large.
We’ve already seen, in the few months since we became
separate businesses, that opportunities are there and that
we are ideally suited to benefit from them.”
Birse News: “So what will the benefits be?”
Dudley: “The biggest single thing is that we can get closer
to our customers, and not just in a geographical sense,
though that is important. Our business will be built on
forming close relationships with selected customers and
becoming their contractor of choice. We aim to be the first
contractor they think of, so they pick up the phone to call us
when they want help.
“Having fewer customers in each business also means that
we can spend more time with them, focus even more
strongly on understanding their needs, and devote more time
to customer care. The whole Birse Civils philosophy is
centred on a unique approach to customer care and having
two businesses instead of one enables us to take this
philosophy to a new level.”
Birse News: “Are there other benefits as well?”
Dudley: “Yes. We can also get closer to our supply chain
partners and local stakeholders and integrate them into our
customer-focused relationship strategy. We will also be able
to understand and appreciate the economic strategies of our
regions better.”
Birse News: “Any final thoughts?”
Dudley: “Just that this major change will not in any way
cause us to lose our focus on safety. The first achievement of
the new business is to have won a Gold Medal from RoSPA
for our safety record, I’m very pleased about that and
congratulate all of the team involved.
”Our newly appointed Health, Safety, Quality and
Environmental Manager, Julie McDonough, will seek to
ensure that our safety record remains at the forefront of
industry standards. We have recently passed 750,000 safe
working hours in the region and our target is now one million
safe working hours. The team has every reason to be very
proud.”

BIRSENEWS 11
Keen to be green
A series of ‘green’ challenges, together with the need to protect two pipelines and to build a
bridge over a railway, have been keeping our team at Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, on their toes.
The £12.5m project, to build a bypass diverting the A507
past the village, began in December 2006 and is due to be
completed early in 2008.
One of the issues facing the team, led by Project Manager,
Mushtaq Ahmed, was to relocate a colony of great crested
newts. Specialist ecologists were brought in to move the
newts to a newly created habitat in May 2007. Only then
could work begin on one of two embankments to be built
on either side of the railway line between Bedford and
Milton Keynes.
Mushtaq takes up the story. “We no sooner solved one
green issue than we had to deal with another – the
material to be chosen for the embankments.
“Together with our customer, Bedfordshire County Council,
we agreed on using 130,000 cubic metres of pulverised fuel
ash, a recycled product from Didcot Power Station.”
Elsewhere on the site another green issue arose – how to
dispose of pernicious Japanese Knotweed that had been
discovered next to some watercourses.
Again, ecologists were brought in to prepare a
method statement for its disposal and to monitor the
removal process.
“Resources were brought in to remove and transport the
Knotweed to a licensed facility. The Knotweed was then
buried 5 metres deep,” recalled Mushtaq.
To prevent the knotweed from spreading, the area where it
had been dug up was treated with a specialist membrane to
give it full protection.
Other protective measures - of a different type - were required
to avoid damaging two pipelines that run across the site. One
pumps cement, in slurry form, from Dunstable to Rugby
Cement’s plant in Rugby, one of the main suppliers to the
concrete trade. The second is a GPSS pipeline that provides
fuel to the military and airports. No work could be done within
twelve metres of the latter pipeline until the protection work
had been completed.
A further environmental complication arose with the
discovery of remains from both the Roman era and the Middle
Ages. Archaeologists documented the finds before they were
covered with sand and construction work could continue.
A final difficulty came with constructing a road bridge to
carry the bypass over the railway. Work to the wing walls
and abutments could be done during the day, but in the
interests of safety - the team have so far worked 200,000
hours without a reportable accident - work on the parapets
and the deck could only be done at night, following
procedures agreed with Network Rail.
The five-kilometre bypass runs close to Junction 13 of the
M1. Next time you are speeding along that stretch of
motorway, spare a thought for the painstakingly careful
progress we’ve been making just over the fields.
One of the issues
facing the team,
led by Project
Manager,
Mushtaq Ahmed,
was to relocate a
colony of great
crested newts.

12 BIRSENEWS
Bridging the gap,
Houdini-style
Creative thinking has been at the heart of two major bridge projects for the
Highways Agency’s structures framework in the South East.
The first project – applying cathodic protection to a series
of crossheads on the M4 flyover at Chiswick – called for
what the magazine New Civil Engineer called “Houdini-like
dexterity and lateral thinking”.
The motorway was built about 40 years ago and the beams
between the columns are in good condition. But the
columns, which, unlike the beams, were built on site, have
only ten to 15 years’ life left.
They are being repaired by inserting electric anodes for
cathodic protection through the holes so they are good for
another 50 years.
One of the major problems with the scheme was access.
We couldn’t close the A4, which runs beneath the
motorway, and during the day we could only close one lane
of the motorway. Although we could close two lanes at
night, we were restricted to 71 decibels of noise, which
meant we couldn’t break out the damaged concrete at
night.
Then Neale Gale, our Site Agent, suddenly had a brilliant
idea as he was about to board a plane for a holiday in
Corfu. His inspiration was the airport’s ‘scissor lift’ vehicle,
a mobile unit which can be jacked up at the side of the
plane for moving passengers, luggage and food.
“I realised that we could use that concept by modifying the
unit so to create a roofless cabin that could be jacked up
under the concrete crossheads. It could be insulated
against noise but the men would be able to work from it to
access the crossheads,” he explained.
“It’s done everything we hoped of it,” he added, “and the
job is progressing very well. It sits in our compound during
the day and it can be moved into position within five
minutes. Compared with the alternative of erecting
scaffolding, it’s a much safer and better solution.”
Work on this phase of the project – applying cathodic
protection to six crossheads – started in July 2007 and
finished in October.
Further work on more M4 crossheads – there are 120 in total
– is expected in due course. Three have been done as part of
an earlier phase of work which finished in May.
Now that the scissor lift has proved its worth, we are
considering using it on a £1.7m scheme to upgrade a
concrete flyover on the A13 at Pitsea. Like the M4 at
Chiswick, it involes cathodic protection to the concrete
columns. In addition, it will require bridge jacking.
It was jacking - to Braiswick Bridge over the A12 northwest
of Colchester - that provided another opportunity for us to
apply a creative solution.
This £3m project, the biggest one we had done involving a
bridge under the HA’s structures framework in the South
East, involved demolishing the existing bridge, which had
structural problems, and replacing it with a temporary bridge
until a new bridge could be installed.
Removing the 200-tonne temporary bridge with its 70-metre
steel span was thought to require a weekend road closure.
However, an alternative solution meant the road needed to
be closed for only one night. This was because the bridge
was lifted in one by multi-wheeled bogeys which had jacks
in their axles. It was then moved to the side of the road and
dismantled there, enabling the A12 to be re-opened faster
than expected.

BIRSENEWS 13
Quay to success
How do you get an extra 40 years’ design life for a project absolutely free? Simple - ask Birse Civils to do an
alternative design for you.
It happened in North Shields where English Partnerships
appointed us to refurbish the Tyne Commission Quay, a
reinforced concrete jetty built in the 1920s that had seen
better days.
The original brief was to carry out repairs to the quay’s
beams and columns, which had started to break up, and to
put a new screed on the existing concrete deck, giving it a
lifespan of a further 20 years.
The Birse team, in conjunction with our supply chain
partners, proposed an alternative design, which would give
a life span of 60 years - at no extra cost.
Our solution involved installing about 300 new steel piles
through cores in the existing concrete deck. A new
reinforced concrete deck was then built on the existing
deck, supported by the new piles.
This safety-conscious approach avoided extensive repair
work being carried out beneath the deck in the tidal zone
as all the work could be carried out from above. It also
contributed towards the project winning a Birse Civils
Managing Director's Safety Award in late 2007.
The scheme was not without its challenges. Some of the
piles were up to 34 metres long - six metres longer than
the original ground investigation predicted - and they
arrived half a dozen at a time on a low loader.
The other big challenge was that the scheme had to be
finished in time for a visit from the QE2, which was due to
berth overnight at the quay in mid September as part of its
round-Britain tour to celebrate its fortieth year.
In the event, the quay, complete with new bollards and
fenders to allow a range of ships to berth, was ready in good
time. The £4m contract was completed, as promised, in
August.
The QE2, though, was three hours late owing to bad weather
but it eventually docked successfully and the captain was
welcomed to the quay by a band from the Royal Marines. In
a special ceremony he renamed it Northumberland Quay and
handed it over from English Partnerships to the Port of Tyne
Authority.
The QE2, which had sailed to North Shields from
Southampton, then continued her voyage, calling at
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Liverpool before returning to
Southampton.
Some of the piles were
up to 34 metres long
- six metres longer than
the original ground
investigation predicted
- and they arrived half a
dozen at a time on a
low loader.

14 BIRSENEWS
Digging deep in
Two separate projects on adjacent pieces of land in the Potteries have caused
us to dig deep – literally – into our green credentials.
The schemes, with a combined value of more than £10m, involve constructing a
northern bypass for Tunstall – one of the Potteries’ famous six towns –
and remediating land at nearby Clanway Farm, so it is ready for major
building development.
Two teams, who so far have put in 150,000 hours on both schemes without a
reportable accident, are working closely under the guidance of Phil Robinson, the
Project Manager, out of the same site offices. This helps to achieve efficiencies for
both customers – Stoke on Trent City Council on the bypass and Land Improvement
Holdings on Clanway Farm.
Both sites have involved stabilising old mine workings, several of which had never
been charted on official maps but were discovered by our team.
Building the single carriageway bypass, three roundabouts, an underpass as
well as new paths and cycleways, started in January 2007. It will be completed in
July 2008.
The scheme involves removing bricks and concrete from the site of an old
brickworks, which closed in the 1950s, and also bricks from a series of tunnels and
kilns. Rather than send the material to landfill, it is being crushed and graded on
site and re-used in the base layer for the new road. Some 250,000 cubic metres of
material is being relocated from the site but only 5,000 cubic metres of it is going
to landfill.
A similarly environmentally sensitive approach is being used at Clanway Farm
where 400,000 cubic metres of material – some of which involves digging to a
depth of 14 metres – is being moved within the site, which resembles a lunar
landscape at the moment. Of this, only 3,000 cubic metres will be taken to landfill,
leaving the rest to be redistributed, creating an area ready for almost 400 houses
and shops together with plenty of public space.
The biggest challenges are dealing not just with around 100 old mine shafts but
also an old marl pit more than 20 metres deep containing around 100 million litres
of water.
The pond in the marl pit was a favourite spot for fishermen and they helped us
recover and relocate thousands of fish that lived there. This involved dragging the
pond with 100-metre nets over two days and pumping the water through culverts
into the nearby Scotia Brook. All this work was approved and monitored by the
Environment Agency.
Like the bypass, this scheme started early in 2007. It will finish in spring 2008.
After that, the open space areas we have created will begin to green over and
again become a valuable resource for local residents with a network of ponds and
four miles of rural paths.

the Potteries
Two teams are working closely together, under
the guidance of Phil Robinson, the Project
Manager, out of the same site offices.
BIRSENEWS 15

00 BIRSENEWS
Safety first,
foremost and
always
At the time of going to press, Birse Civils has achieved an annual Accident
Frequency Rate (AFR) of zero, together with a rolling twelve-month AFR of
zero. This represents more than six million hours worked on our projects
without a reportable accident.
This is testament to the hard work, conviction and effort by all of our staff,
workforce, subcontractors, suppliers, designers and customers in keeping our
business safe.
How to contact us
Head Office
3 Grimston Grange
Sherburn Road
Tadcaster
North Yorkshire LS24 9BX
Tel: 01937 830091
North East Office
4 Grimston Grange
Sherburn Road
Tadcaster
North Yorkshire LS24 9BX
Tel: 01937 830091
North West Office
Alexander House
4 Station Road
Cheadle Hulme
Cheshire SK8 5AE
Tel: 0161 486 1156
Eastern Office
500 Pavilion Drive
Northampton Business Park
Northampton NN4 7YJ
Tel: 01604 664200
South East Office
Questor House
191 Hawley Road
Dartford DA1 1PU
Tel: 01322 289457
www.birsecl.co.uk
Birse Water
Alexander House
4 Station Road
Cheadle Hulme
Cheshire SK8 5AE
Tel: 0161 486 1156
Western Office
Stonehouse Businesss Park
Sperry Way
Stonehouse
Gloucestershire GL10 3UT
Tel: 01453 824561
Birse Coastal Office
Unit 1
Buckshaw Court
East Terrace Business Park
Euxton Lane
Chorley PR7 6TB
Tel: 01257 261723
Birse Nuclear
Alexander House
4 Station Road
Cheadle Hulme
Cheshire SK8 5AE
Tel: 0161 486 1156
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