Silverstone completed a major refurbishment project at Northumberland College in Ashington, after it received allocated funding from the Skills Funding Agency to improve the estate’s condition. 

The seven-storey, 10,000sqm tower block is believed to be the tallest building in Northumberland and was originally built in the 1950’s at a time when little consideration was given to energy performance.  The college also comprises a range of other smaller buildings on a 19.6 acre site. 

We were initially instructed to undertake a detailed building survey to look at the condition of the principal tower block.  We were subsequently appointed to design and manage a refurbishment project which included upgrading the college’s roof and lighting system throughout the common areas in order to; increase the building’s energy efficiency, improve appearance and provide long term cost savings for the college.

This project presented a number of challenges as it had to be completed within very tight timescales in order to meet operational demands and term start dates and also to fit with other campus developments.  The building continued to be in use while the project was ongoing and the roof, which has been refurbished, was also home to four large telephone masts.  Despite these challenges we appointed an excellent team of specialist contractors and the project was successfully completed within timescales and on budget.

Rob Miller, head of estates at Northumberland College said: “It was very important that this refurbishment was completed quickly and with minimal disruption to our students and staff.  Silverstone provided us with expert advice and delivered the project in a highly professional manner.  This is just a small part of a much larger investment programme we are rolling out to improve the facilities at our Ashington campus.”