Paddock Wood Community Centre

Secured via competitive tender under the Kent County Council framework, Baxall won the contract to deliver a modern and environmentally sustainable community centre in Paddock Wood. The development includes a large hall (with capacity to be divided into three smaller rooms), toilets, kitchen, café area, meeting room and a two-classroom nursery with outside playground. It also includes a large car park and refurbished tennis courts.

Adopting a Pre-Construction Services Agreement (PCSA) enabled Baxall to develop and maintain collaborative working relationships from the outset with the client team, design team and supply chain. Early engagement also gave Baxall’s in-house Design Managers the opportunity to refine and improve the initial concept design to provide greater safeguarding for the community centre’s nursery.

Re-designing the scheme and incorporating best value solutions across all stages also enabled the team to successfully rework the entire community centre development to ensure it fully met the client’s budgetary constraints. Baxall’s Pre-Construction team re-submitted the revised design (which was accepted by the Town Council) and further developed during the PCSA.

Baxall employed Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a tried and tested collaborative tool with which to share design information with all parties and identify clash detection. The building lent itself to a Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) solution delivered via The Timber Frame Company TTFC), which in turn created significant programme savings and reduced the number of on-site trades.

Located on the busy B2160 Maidstone Road adjacent to the publicly-accessible Memorial Recreation Ground (and in close proximity to live housing developments) meant controlling site access and egress points was critical. The team implemented a robust traffic management plan with identified control measures to ensure public safety, along with clear signage on gates and precise delivery instructions for the supply chain.

Baxall initiated and maintained collaborative stakeholder engagement via weekly meetings between the Site Manager and Town Council’s Estates Manager in addition to monthly progress meetings, residents’ newsletters, community notice board and a vision gap in the hoarding enabling residents to view the MMC installation.

The delivery team faced a number of challenges on the project including ground conditions with a very high water table (which rendered rainwater attenuation tanks unsuitable). To overcome this, the entire car park was formed to store rainwater for discharge at a reduced flow into the drainage system. Meanwhile when tree protection zones prevented the foul drainage from exiting the site, the team redesigned the drainage to leave from the rear of the site via a pumped system.

To enhance the building’s sustainability credentials the team secured additional funding to install Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) and PVs; the full array of PV panels on the roof enables the building to generate its own power, reduce running costs and mitigate its operational carbon footprint.

Meanwhile the MMC solution delivered a superior quality (factory-controlled inspection) and energy-efficient building with higher Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and thermal ratings compared to that of a traditional build.

In addition to ASHPs for heating, the building also features NVHR (Natural Ventilation with Heat Recycling) to generate hot water and heating, wind catchers to aid natural ventilation and EV charging points in the car park.

Baxall delivered £22,614 worth of quantified (and local) social value/ CSR including refurbishing the nearby Sports Pavilion, school engagement activities (visits/ assemblies at Paddock Wood Primary School) and litter picking.

The team also achieved impressive environmental KPIs with 100% timber from sustainable source and 100% waste (offsite and onsite) diverted from landfill.

Baxall proudly handed over Paddock Wood Community Centre on time with zero defects, having achieved excellent Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) scores (42 out of 45 on the first inspection then 45/50 on the second visit). As testament to the successful project delivery the team has also secured the initial 12-month contract to deliver Facilities Management services for the community centre.