Seagrave Training Centre - Construction updates

[ajthefox]

I'll be very surprised if they actually finish on time. Contractors not properly declaring delays is not new, and don't forget there may well be contractual politics at play here too.

 

The site I work on in Glasgow has shut and we've heard plenty about supply chain issues.

I imagine the majority of external works and landscaping will probably be less affected but I'd be amazed if they manage to keep on track when they start doing the internal fit out.

 

 

[UHDrive]

On 02/04/2020 at 21:22, mikelcfc said:

Walked along the training ground yesterday and full steam ahead and looks truly awesome....  Trees and decor are sat waiting to go in..  car park barriers going up .. . No turf yet though on the most easterly pitches and the golf course looks like it will be a side project for when the main facility is done...   I know they had issues with Tarmac deliveries this week as it was deemed non essential work ...  Assume they got around that. 

With all of your new found leisure time could you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take some snaps.....

 

I beg................

 

Give me a dozen and I'll like every post you ever put...

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/leicester-city-training-ground-construction-4000828

 

Leicester City training ground construction continuing despite coronavirus lockdown
The club and construction firm have explained why

ByMaia Snow
05:00, 4 APR 2020

Construction employees working on the new Leicester City FC training ground development have expressed concerns over the continuation of work despite the government's guidelines around social distancing.

All non-essential work, including restaurants, bars and cinemas, has been closed down to try and curb the spread of the coronavirus, but construction on the new ground is continuing.

The new training ground on the site of the former 185 acre Park Hill golf course, off the A46 near Seagrave, is due for completion in June 2020.

The club says work is continuing with workers adhering to social distancing advice.

The roof is on the indoor training centre at Leicester City's new state-of-the-art facility in Seagrave (Image: Plumb Images)
The construction is being overseen and operated by building company McLaren. One employee of the firm, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "After Boris Johnson made his announcement about non-essential work, I thought the site would close.

"I am unsure how construction work falls under 'essential work', and yet we are required to carry out construction on a building that is not essential."

The employee went on to say that it is 'impossible' to remain two metres apart, as per Public Health England's guidance on social distancing.

They added: "We are being told that it is fine."

Although, the worker did say that some steps were being taken to ensure social distancing, they did not believe enough was being done.

They said: "I feel fine at the moment, but I could go in tomorrow and contract it quite easily, there are so many people there."

A spokesperson for Leicester City FC said: "All contractors working on-site continue to adhere to the most up-to-date government guidance and recommended working practices on social distancing."

The McLaren Group, the project contractors, were contacted for a comment multiple times, but LeicestershireLive did not receive one in time for publication.

On the group's website, a statement from March 13 reads: "The health, safety and wellbeing of our customers, colleagues, supply chain partners and the wider public is our top priority.

"In response to the coronavirus, we have implemented our business continuity procedures to safeguard our people and operations. We will operate our projects as usual, in compliance with government advice.

"Business continuity procedures established within our business units, projects, and supply chain to ensure the supply of labour resource and materials have been enacted, ensuring focus is on critical elements.

"As the impact upon the construction industry from Covid-19 develops, we will continue to evolve our mitigation plans as much as possible. This way we can ensure we continue making progress on our projects by looking for alternative materials, management and labour resources.

 

"Within the individual project contingency strategies, we are planning for all possibilities, which include the minimum level of resource required to operate our sites and project offices safely.

"We continue to advise colleagues on government guidance and are actively promoting preventative measures to minimise the risk of infection. These include continued focus upon hygiene and cleaning, encouraging video conferencing and remote working, as well as flexible working hours and short-term succession planning.

"Our focus is the safe continuity of business during this period and we will continue to review our solutions as the situation evolves."

A later statement from March 23 says the group has a three scenario business procedures strategy.

The three scenarios are normal site operation, social distancing and remote working protocols, and closure of projects.

However, the group does not state which scenario the the training ground is operating on, or which of their other sites are operating with the scenarios - and which ones they might be using.

[The Fox Covert]

I have no idea how social distancing can be imposed on a building site without some really serious re-organisation of the work, which is bound to impact on productivity.

The Post Office has sensibly imposed a rule of only one person in a vehicle. A building site would have to do the same and any other workers needing to make the journey would have to follow in another vehicle.

The greatest difficulty is likely to occur with simple fetching and carrying of something which is too large for one person to carry, which happens all the time on a building site.

I had a small taste of that the other day when the garden shredder I ordered online arrived.

It was too heavy for the driver to carry down the steep flight of steps from the street above on his own.

We discussed it and agreed to carry the heavy box together, each holding it by the bottom corners and looking slightly away from each other, me to the right, the driver to the left.

While carrying the box we were not two metres apart but if one of us accidentally coughed the likelihood of a virus making contact with the other person would be minimal.

He scribbled on his electronic pad to confirm delivery. No physical contact from start to finish.

On a building site you would have to be making this sort of decision all the time.

Now to annoy the neighbours with my noisy new toy. They were very pleased when I told them I was going to set to work to turn the jungle at the back of my garden back into a normal garden.

[leicesterseddon]

That article is awful. 
 

The government has not closed down “non-essential” work - it has asked people to work from home where possible, which is different. 
 

If you read the government guidance, it in fact specifically mentions construction as a sector that requires people to travel to their place of work. 

[Collymore]

7 hours ago, davieG said:

"I am unsure how construction work falls under 'essential work', and yet we are required to carry out construction on a building that is not essential."

Oh yes it is!

[Fox in the North]

One of the latest photos I’ve seen on Twitter 

[StanSP]

Is that the play area for players or their kids? Looks a bit basic.

[FoyleFox]

53 minutes ago, StanSP said:

Is that the play area for players or their kids? Looks a bit basic.

It's the activity centre for the newts...

[sylofox]

23 hours ago, Fox in the North said:

One of the latest photos I’ve seen on Twitter 

I can see a few injury problems ahead.

[Vlad the Fox]

On 04/04/2020 at 17:00, leicesterseddon said:

That article is awful. 
 

The government has not closed down “non-essential” work - it has asked people to work from home where possible, which is different. 
 

If you read the government guidance, it in fact specifically mentions construction as a sector that requires people to travel to their place of work. 

True. The government website states; ‘the government is not saying only people doing essential work can go to work. Anyone who cannot work from home can still go to work.’  
 

This has been so misunderstood by so many people, even the bbc were getting it wrong the other night yet it is clear to understand. 

[Guest SO1]

On 04/04/2020 at 18:32, Fox in the North said:

One of the latest photos I’ve seen on Twitter 

By the look of that I'm going to have to sharpen up my bushwhacking abilities to get a look at Brendan and the squad in training.

[Spudulike]

Brentford have announced they can no longer guarantee the opening date for their new stadium. Back to Griffin Park for a while? 

[mozartfox]

3 hours ago, Spudulike said:

Brentford have announced they can no longer guarantee the opening date for their new stadium. Back to Griffin Park for a while? 

Our Cup game commentary may now need serious editing?

[Bayfox]

Apparently the neighbours are up in arms they are still working.

Unless the government close building down, they won't stop.

They need to make the handover date and the only out is if the government shut it down.

[StriderHiryu]

I wonder if the work is continuing because of pressure from LCFC, or from the contractors? There may well be a contract in place guaranteeing a specific finishing date which legally is not covered by the outbreak of a pandemic (because lets face it who would have put that in a contract until now), that will mean missed payments if not adhered to. Given that the entire football calendar is going to be thrown into disarray anyway, having it ready for the summer seems largely pointless now anyway so work should not really be continuing. Of course as a fan it makes me very excited and I am sure when it's completed it will be incredible, but I feel bad for those that have to keep working there in the mean time.

[Jattdogg]

16 hours ago, SO1 said:

By the look of that I'm going to have to sharpen up my bushwhacking abilities to get a look at Brendan and the squad in training.

If leeds get promoted,  lots of hiding spots for Biesla

[Jace]

On 04/04/2020 at 23:32, Fox in the North said:

One of the latest photos I’ve seen on Twitter 

I could imagine Chilwell and Maddison going to meet Grealish there on their lunch break 

[Guest SO1]

17 minutes ago, Jace said:

I could imagine Chilwell and Maddison going to meet Grealish there on their lunch break 

Bong Hits? I spent most of High School in the woods.

[Jace]

2 minutes ago, SO1 said:

Bong Hits? I spent most of High School in the woods.

Depends if Grealish is driving or not 

[Spudulike]

Perhaps they've been lucky so far with no confirmed cases. An outbreak will surely put it on hold.

 

Must be a lot of outdoor work going on now so social distancing may be achievable? 

[Bayfox]

5 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

I wonder if the work is continuing because of pressure from LCFC, or from the contractors? There may well be a contract in place guaranteeing a specific finishing date which legally is not covered by the outbreak of a pandemic (because lets face it who would have put that in a contract until now), that will mean missed payments if not adhered to. Given that the entire football calendar is going to be thrown into disarray anyway, having it ready for the summer seems largely pointless now anyway so work should not really be continuing. Of course as a fan it makes me very excited and I am sure when it's completed it will be incredible, but I feel bad for those that have to keep working there in the mean time.

Its exactly this.

 

The penalty clauses inserted for not meeting the date, see McLaren's lose a lot of the profit margin.

 

And there's clauses for adverse weather etc but obviously not for a global pandemic rocking up 6 months before completion.

 

So they will keep working unless the government shut them down. 

[Bayfox]

2 hours ago, Spudulike said:

Perhaps they've been lucky so far with no confirmed cases. An outbreak will surely put it on hold.

 

Must be a lot of outdoor work going on now so social distancing may be achievable? 

Outdoor work on course and pitches yes, it's the final fix of electrics etc that are gonna prove tricky when you cant work in gangs of sparkys, plumbers etc. 

[StriderHiryu]

10 hours ago, Bayfox said:

Its exactly this.

 

The penalty clauses inserted for not meeting the date, see McLaren's lose a lot of the profit margin.

 

And there's clauses for adverse weather etc but obviously not for a global pandemic rocking up 6 months before completion.

 

So they will keep working unless the government shut them down. 

Thanks, that was my assumption too. It explains why nationwide construction continues, even though it is clearly a huge risk to do so.

[Spudulike]

12 hours ago, Bayfox said:

Outdoor work on course and pitches yes, it's the final fix of electrics etc that are gonna prove tricky when you cant work in gangs of sparkys, plumbers etc. 

Don't know how far they have got with road laying, paths and walkways, car parks etc. That will also involve gangs, I assume.