NORTHERN REGIONAL COLLEGE BALLYMENA PROJECT PROFILE
throughout the works, which involved a team of up to 200 led by Heron Bros Project Manager Colin Michael. Colin maintained daily coordination with the client team and facilities manager to align planned works with the academic calendar, ensuring that college events were accommodated by the construction team. Heron Bros also coordinated the installation of service and drainage connections as part of the wider St Patrick’s regeneration, which included a new £7.5m road. Complex phased construction included site-wide demolition, major earthworks, piled foundations, precast hollow core slabs and a fully serviced reinforced- concrete and steel-framed building. Notable elements included use of curtain walling and SFS with high-performance cladding, a single-ply membrane roof with siphonic drainage and roof lights, and prefabricated IPS panels. Hosting intensive 3D design review workshops with college department heads, Heron Bros optimised room layouts and building services access and addressed bespoke requirements across 13 advanced technology workshops for specialist trades. “The impressive thing about the college is its extensive curriculum,” says Colin. “You’re going from a very raw environment with concrete floors and block walls
housing car lifts and laser machines to hair and beauty salons and a catering department with a full commercial kitchen on one side and a training kitchen on the other.” Efficient sequencing was vital to the success of the project and included the relocation of large machinery to its new Engineering Centre of Excellence. Each department specified technical requirements from compressed air and dust extract to sub breakers for electrical testing rigs. Heron Bros delivered innovative solutions including the design of a drainage silt trap for recycling mortar mixes used in the brickwork department. “Given the wide range of construction- related subjects taught at the college, there was a great deal of interest in the project,” says Colin. “We were very aware that both students and staff were observing our progress closely.” Achieving a Considerate Constructors Scheme score of 45/50, HBL more than doubled its social value target to provide 2,840 weeks of training or employment. Forty-six apprentices were employed across a range of trades and professions. The project also reached over 500 students and visitors, averaging one education visit every month of construction. The project is on track to achieve BREEAM
Excellent certification and BIM Level 2 compliance, demonstrating Heron Bros’ commitment to sustainable construction and digital delivery excellence. One of the campus’s most significant legacies was hosting the August 2024 launch of Construction Futures, an initiative by the Construction Employers Federation and trade unions. In just 12 months, it has attracted nearly 7,000 young followers with almost 2 million online impressions and welcomed over 500 visitors to construction sites. Karl McKillop, Deputy Managing Director, says, “Delivering this second state-of-the- art facility for NRC has been a privilege for everyone at Heron Bros. These projects stand as a testament to collaborative working, innovative construction, and provide a legacy for the communities we have supported. We are very proud to have been part of them.”
2 St Patrick’s Street, Draperstown, Magherafelt BT45 7AL T: +44 (0)28 7962 8505 E: info@heronbros.com www.heronbros.com
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