Brownfield Redevelopment Wins Gold At Industry Awards

July 28, 2009 - PRLog -- Places for People’s Wolverton Park scheme, near Milton Keynes, recently won the National Home Improvement Council’s (NHIC) ‘Best Brownfield or Recycled Building Project’.

The scheme involved the careful redevelopment of several listed buildings, including the structure that was home to the Royal Train between 1889 and 1991. Now known simply as The Royal, a collection of elegant townhouses have been constructed within the shell of this historic building, and it was here that ProTen Services’ expertise was called upon during the redevelopment.

From the outset, it was the designers’ intention to retain original features wherever possible, and incorporate these into the appeal of the new properties. On closer inspection, however, it was discovered that many of the imposing timber beams in the construction were suffering from severe decay.

The solution proffered by ProTen Services allowed the majority of the timber to be retained, and repairs were carried out using timber off-cuts reclaimed from elsewhere on the site.

Using special resins, sections of reclaimed timber were bonded onto the remaining sound parts, and the structural integrity was further strengthened by encapsulating reinforcing steel bars inside the beams.

Speaking about the development, ProTen Services’ Managing Director, Martin Freeman said, “The timber repairs carried out in the Royal Train Shed ticked all the boxes for the NHIC award. Not only did our methods allow the majority of the historic beams to be retained, but we carried out the restoration and repairs using waste materials recycled from elsewhere on the site. This former industrial building has been converted into something quite different internally, however its external appearance is much the same as in its heyday. Wolverton Park is an excellent example of how a brownfield site can be transformed, and I’m pleased that ProTen Services were able to play such a key part in its success.”

A case study of the project can be found at www.protenservices.co.uk/case_studies.

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Formerly known as Protim Services, ProTen Services Ltd offers a wide range of property preservation and environmental services including damp proofing, timber treatment, basement waterproofing, radon testing & remediation and structural wall stabilisation