Following a series of visits by the Heathrow Logistics Hub team to 65 sites up and down the UK a final shortlist of 18 has been announced including the long standing site in Shotton, North Wales. This is down from an initial 121 offsite construction bids made by organisations throughout the UK in early 2018.
Kamal Rajput, Business Development Manager for Tata Steel says:
“The Heathrow Expansion project presents an exciting opportunity for the Shotton site, and securing a position in the final shortlist is a fantastic achievement. Shotton’s logistical positioning provides a multitude of transport options to deliver product and material across the country. The hard work now begins to ensure we work with Heathrow and critical stakeholders, to secure this momentous opportunity.”
This offsite construction project comes as part of Heathrow’s commitment to providing job creation and economic growth to every corner of the UK by creating a Heathrow Logistics Hub at each of the final 4 sites spread around the country. This will also show how offsite construction can be applied to different projects across the country, boosting efficiency as well as economic benefits outside of the South East.
The Heathrow Expansion project presents an exciting opportunity for the Shotton site, and securing a position in the final shortlist is a fantastic achievement. Shotton’s logistical positioning provides a multitude of transport options to deliver product and material across the country.
Research from WPI Economics shows that, if adopted more widely, the approach could spur growth in offsite construction and lead to a productivity boost worth £30 billion for the construction industry outside of London by 2020.
During the site tour at Shotton some of the key elements considered were location, transport links, local skills, supply chain, size, regional expertise and business plans. With these considerations in mind Tata Steel hopes they can achieve a place in the final four and use their skills and experience within the construction industry to give Heathrow, the local community and the UK an excellent example of how offsite construction can raise construction efficiency, sustainability and revolutionise the future of construction.
Bill Duckworth, Tata Steel site manager at Shotton, North Wales, said:
“We are delighted that our Shotton site has been shortlisted as one of the proposed Heathrow expansion Logistics Hubs. This would present an ideal opportunity to work hand-in-hand with Heathrow not just as a hub, but possibly as a major supplier of construction materials too.”
Shotton, North Wales is an outstanding location for a logistics hub facility and with support from public / private partnerships and access to an excellent supply chain and skills base, Tata Steel are in no doubt that the region is ideally placed to deliver for Heathrow.
We acknowledge Heathrow’s desire to create a network of hubs across the UK to support the project, thus, expansion presents a unique opportunity to implement new methods of infrastructure delivery which can transform construction.
If you require any further information in regards to offsite construction or the Heathrow Expansion contact Kamal Rajput on +44 (0)1536 404184 or email: kamal.rajput@tatasteeleurope.com