CONSTRUCTION consultant Pick Everard has been appointed to project manage a £4.9m public woodland park project that will be part of the legacy remaining from next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The scheme is centred on a derelict site at the Cuningar Loop on the River Clyde and will transform the area into woodland at the heart of the city.
Pick Everard was appointed through the national Scape programme, project and cost management framework. Contractor Robertson Construction, also appointed through Scape, has just started enabling works.
The woodland idea was developed by the Forestry Commission Scotland, Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company and South Lanarkshire Council. The site has been used mainly for industrial purposes including quarrying, mining and landfill for the last 200 years. Derelict for more than half a century, the land is now colonised by wildlife, covered by scrub and trees.
Tom Wallace, Forestry Commission Scotland, explained: “The collaborative nature of Scape’s process and the streamlined approach it brings ensures that we are fully compliant with government procurement regulations, we achieve better value for money and, most importantly, we meet the tight timescales driven by the 2014 Games deadline. We were already working on three visitor centres with Pick Everard using Scape so decided give it serious consideration for this project too.”
Euan Matheson of Pick Everard added: “Using Scape has fast-tracked procurement and by using the New Engineering Contract, and Scape processes, the three client organisations, design team and contractor are brought together in collaborative project delivery.”
A new pedestrian bridge will link the 74-acre park with the Athletes Village for the 2014 Games and the National Indoor Sports Arena and Velodrome on the opposite bank of the river.
Pick Everard and Robertson are working on The David Marshall Lodge in Achray Forest, part of Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, and on visitor centres in Galloway Forest Park, all due to be completed this year.
