The Heart Shopping Centre

Our De Specialist Works division was commissioned to work on this Government-funded scheme at the Heart Shopping Centre in Walton-on-Thames. The project involved the removal of ACM (aluminium composite material) cladding, timber balconies, and privacy screens on external façades, as well as fencing and timber infill wall panels, followed by the design and manufacture of all replacement elements.

A major challenge faced during this project was the presence of 364 occupied residential apartments above and surrounding the shopping centre, which itself also remained live and fully operational.

There was also a need to be sympathetic to the shopping centre’s town centre location, surrounding neighbours and environment. As the building required access around approximately 90% of its internal and external perimeters, it was decided that the scaffold works would be phased. Accordingly, minimal sets of scaffolds were delivered, moved and re-used around the building, reducing not only expenditure on scaffold hire, but also the impact on tenants. As a result, issues with loss of light, privacy and security were successfully mitigated. Moreover, a palpable sense of progress was generated and maintained and potential project downtime reduced.