A North East civil engineering firm has completed work on a substantial contract to breathe new life into the former Swan Hunter shipyard, Wallsend.
The Owen Pugh Group carried out a £980,000 contract to install a new central access road, drainage and retaining walls at the site. This forms part of a wider plan to develop the Swans Enterprise Zone as an advanced manufacturing park for the subsea and offshore sector.
Owen Pugh Civil Engineering secured the contract from Kier Group. Kier Property is North Tyneside Council’s development partner for the Swans Enterprise Zone, delivering onsite infrastructure and marketing the site to occupiers. Kier Construction is leading on the infrastructure works and subcontracted Owen Pugh.
Around 20 Owen Pugh staff, including sub-contractors, were involved during its peak.
The construction of the access road includes drainage works, laying kerbs and bituminous surfacing and associated work has included the demolition of disused workshops and buildings. Owen Pugh has also been responsible for site clearance to increase potential development areas, paving the way to house more on-site engineering plots.
Owen Pugh Civil Engineering specialises in delivering innovative civil engineering construction and infrastructure services to government agencies, local authorities, private developers, industrial facilities, and utility companies, among others. Lee Buchanan, operations manager at Owen Pugh Civil Engineering, said: “We are delighted to have been involved in this project to breathe new life into the Swan Hunter site, which played a significant role in Tyneside’s shipbuilding and marine engineering heritage. The central road installation along with demolition work will help to open up new plots for development by businesses in the offshore and subsea sector.”
Neil Hosie, contracts manager, Kier Construction, said: “It’s been a pleasure working with Owen Pugh on the first phase of these works. Their hard work has helped to deliver the access road that will be vital to the site’s regeneration.”
In addition to the work at Swan Hunter, Owen Pugh has secured work on a string of high-profile projects in recent months, including work on housing developments for Gentoo, Miller Homes and Cussins Homes and major highway infrastructure schemes in North Tyneside on behalf of Capita and Kier.
The scope of work delivered by Owen Pugh ranges from road and bridge construction, ports, harbours and sea defences, industrial facilities and office parks to urban renewal and environmental improvements, land reclamation, remediation and environmentally sensitive schemes. The company employs 420 people and operates across five sites at Dudley, Blaydon, Middlesbrough, Bassington Lane in Cramlington and at Marsden Quarry near Sunderland.
To find out more about the Owen Pugh Group visit www.owenpugh.com.