Britcon Wins £3m Contract

Britcon has won a £3 million contract to build a new furniture store in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

The company is delivering the new Russell Dean store on behalf of furniture retailer Stokers after the previous 16,000 sq ft store was irreversibly damaged by severe floods on Boxing Day in 2015.

Demolition and groundworks at the site are now underway, with completion scheduled for spring 2018.

Managing Director of Stokes, Jonathan Stoker, said: "Since Russell Dean is located adjacent to the River Calder the probability of further floods will always remain and so we had to consider relocating. However, given the heritage of the store and our loyal customer based we decided to buy the freehold and build a new store that could withstand future incidents.


"We appointed Britcon to design and build a flood resistant structure and they came back with a concept that was effectively a store on stilts with car parking in the under croft of two display floors. With the new design, we were able to almost double display capacity to 30,000 sq ft making our investment more viable and also providing a new light and airy customer experience."

Britcon is working closely with the Canals & River Trust as the project is being developed on piled foundations due to the variability of the ground and backs onto the canal which effectively sits at the first-floor level of the store.

Company MD, Paul Clarkson, said: "We are working closely with the environment agency and various local groups to avoid any disruption to the high street and adjacent canal side towpaths.

"This involves working within very tight parameters to prepare the site and ground anchoring the existing stone built retaining wall to Midgely Road whilst the building is being demolished. We are building a new retaining wall to Midgley Road which climbs steeply to the North-West boundary of the site with the new building elevation right against the rear of the existing footpath and thereafter constructing a new building on three levels.

"We have applied value engineering techniques to keep the project within budget and expect to complete the project for trading in Spring 2018."

(LM)