A handover event to celebrate the successful completion of the conservation and repair of Newark Castle Walls took place in Newark Castle grounds on Tuesday 16 July 2013 at midday. The celebration, with invited guests from Newark and Sherwood District Council, Friends of Newark Castle, WREN (part funders of the project), Councillor Tony Roberts, members of the project team from Woodhead Heritage and local authority controlled organisation Scape. The celebration included the planting of a Floribunda Iceberg Rose Bush and the presentation of a commemorative plaque carved by an Apprentice Mason who is serving a six month Apprenticeship with Woodhead Heritage.
The celebrations also included speeches from Andy Statham of Newark and Sherwood District Council, Director of Community, Allan Towler from the Friends of Newark Castle as well as Glenn Slater, Business Development Director of Robert Woodhead Limited.
The event marked the successful partnership between Newark and Sherwood District Council and Woodhead Heritage who have completed the conservation and repair project to Newark Castle Walls. The project was awarded to Woodhead Heritage in late 2012 through the EMPA Minor Works framework. The Heritage specialist was chosen having proven experience in Heritage and following the successful completion of previous projects with Newark & Sherwood District Council including the five phase conservation project at Kelham Hall.
The latest project at the Castle took four months to complete with an investment of approximately £270,000. Woodhead Heritage, a local heritage specialist based in Newark, ensured the project was completed with 100% of local labour sourced within a 20 mile radius of the site. Even with minimal intervention as a key to the project, Woodhead Heritage still needed 10,941 feet of scaffolding poles and five miles of scaffolding planks! The project was completed in time for the Elemental Force event held at the Castle in March.
Andy Statham of Newark & Sherwood District Council speaking at the event said, “we are here today to celebrate an intense two year relationship with contractors Woodhead Heritage and to mark and commemorate the most resent project to conserve Newark Castle Walls.”
Councillor Tony Roberts responded, “Newark Castle such an important part of our nation’s history. Newark Castle has been known as the Key to the North. It is magnificent to see the Castle preserved for our nation and future generations for another 900 years.”
Glenn Slater on behalf of Robert Woodhead Limited explained to the invited guests, “It is an absolute privilege to work on projects like this. I would like to take this opportunity to praise Newark & Sherwood District Council for making an investment in the magnificent historic buildings in Newark. I would also like to thank the Site Manager, Mervyn Bollard for his exceptional work and dedication to deliver the project on time and to such high standards. We are delighted to continue our relationship with Newark and Sherwood District Council on the restoration and refurbishment of the Old Magnus Buildings to create a new National Civil War Museum in Newark.”
Alan Coole, Director at Scape commented on the project
“As managers of the east midlands property alliance it is always a pleasure to be involved in projects that not only enhance the local economy but preserve valuable pieces of east midlands history. This has been a fantastic example of how projects procured via the empa framework maximise use of the local supply chain, achieve great working relationships between contractor and client and obtain excellent results for local authorities“
Woodhead Heritage, with Robert Woodhead Ltd, will continue to work with Newark & Sherwood District Council having just been awarded the project to conserve, restore and refurbish the old Magnus Buildings on Appleton Gate in Newark.
Pictured Right: Cllr. Tony Roberts planting the commemorative Rose Bush.
About Scape – Scape is a local authority controlled company, based in Nottingham, whose shareholders are Derby City, Derbyshire County, Gateshead, Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire County and Warwickshire County Councils. The company’s objectives are to bring economy and efficiency to the whole building process – including for new buildings and refurbishment projects – and it achieves this through the development of standard designs and strategic procurement arrangements www.scapebuild.co.uk
About EMPA – The East Midlands Property Alliance (EMPA) was formed in 2008 by Local authorities in the East Midlands to improve the delivery of property services to their communities. EMPA gives local authorities a single voice in speaking to the market, enabling them to bring economies of scale into procurement processes, increase efficiency in project delivery, manage assets more effectively, work smarter with the supply chain, and share knowledge to develop solutions to common issues. 40 of the 46 local authorities in the East Midlands are currently participating in EMPA/Scape’s services. www.empa.org.uk