Speed of Construction Borders On Ridiculous!

The UK’s first operationally complete new Border Control Post (BCP) at Tilbury2 port in Essex has been finished in record time following a top priority engineering brief.

The need for this facility became increasingly important following Brexit and the UK’s departure from the European Union.

But HBPW Senior Partner, Paul Withers, did not realise that one of his more unusual past work experiences would play a key part in bringing the project to fruition: many years ago he authored the International Association for Cold Storage Construction’s (IACSC) specifications for the design and construction of coldstore floors.

This knowledge enabled him to steal a march on many peers because the 26m span, 163m long portal frame structure had to encompass ambient, chill and freezer inspection rooms, each requiring core knowledge from his time working with the IACSC.

“Early on it was made clear that ‘speed of construction’ was paramount to meet initial Government deadlines and so the structure was designed with rapid construction in mind, achieving 28-day strength in just four days, by utilising a ‘jointless’ concrete floor.

“The slab now sits 1200mm above ground level enabling lorries to dock against it and off-load directly into the building where, inside, there is now a ‘building within a building’ formed out of hygienic insulation panels and featuring the ambient, chill and freezer inspection rooms.”

The structure – started in December and only recently completed – houses both the Border Force – the agency responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports – and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), a division of DEFRA charged with safeguarding animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy.

“The idea is that lorries will be picked at random,” added Paul, “sealed against the face of the building with a ‘dock pod’ so that when their contents are opened up nothing can escape into the UK atmosphere….theoretically, even a plague of locusts!”

HBPW designed the civil engineering / building elements of the project whilst FJB designed the mechanical and engineering along with the refrigeration. Cadman Construction lead the build.