Delivering Innovation

The first two phases of the eight-stage project had a specific focus on improving the accessibility and long-term performance of the roads surrounding Camberwell Town Centre, upgrading the existing footway with York stone paving, as well as upgrading the quality of kerbs and resurfacing the carriageway on Orpheus Street and Daneville Road. 

Working with CONWAY AECOM, concrete paving slabs have been removed and replaced by nearly 3000m2 of York stone. Plus, many metres of original granite kerbing have been re-laid and new kerbs supplied.

The team then resurfaced 5500m2 of carriageway, altering the levels and ensuring the ironwork was raised to accommodate the changes. On top of this, footways have been widened, two pedestrian crossings were installed, and a major junction altered.

The scheme included the installation of a new pedestrian crossing at Love Walk and the relocation of an existing pelican crossing near Orpheus Street to a location outside Butterfly Walk. This carried the dual purpose of improving the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

The team then planed a new raised table on Orpheus Street, at the junction with Denmark Hill, to reduce turning speeds of road users, thus improving their safety. By introducing this new street furniture across the project, it satisfies the needs of cyclists, creating a more accessible and safer route.

Attention to detail was also paramount during the work by CONWAY AECOM, particularly when following a structural condition survey of all the cellars of all the Camberwell properties adjacent to the road improvements, two ancient bread ovens were discovered.

The two ovens were well preserved, however stretched 3.6m out under the pavement and carriageway of Daneville Road.

FM Conway Contracts Manager, Jon Russell, said:

“The ovens are a small but valuable and delicate piece of history, and our resurfacing plant is extremely heavy. We made special efforts to evaluate the loadings that would be imposed by our activity and the bread ovens’ ability to withstand these.”

This attention to detail exemplified the care taken by Southwark Council and CONWAY AECOM.

Challenges and Solutions

Due to the location of the scheme, cautious planning was critical to ensuring the works were delivered with minimal disruption to residents, local businesses and the wider community.

To reduce the impact we had on external stakeholders, the works were carried out in phases, using our in-house Traffic Management division to facilitate the flow of traffic with clear signs and traffic management solutions within each phase. A majority of the works were also completed out of regular working hours to minimise disturbance to local residents.

Utilising FM Conway’s Public Liaison Officer, Helen McConnell, we were able to achieve close collaboration with businesses and members of the public throughout the scheme, identifying their specific requirements at the beginning of the scheme and providing continuous updates of the works to avoid disruption.

FM Conway’s Public Liaison Officer, Helen McConnell, said:

“Everyone got to know me and knew that, if they had problems, I would listen and try to get matters resolved.”

As well as this, Helen also operated as the go-between for the site team, Southwark, Camberwell and King’s College, with a main challenge being that access had to be provided to most businesses and buildings during the works.

Regular communication with TfL was critical to ensuring bus routes remained accessible, as well as keeping the emergency services updated so that they were alerted of road changes ahead of time.

Jon explained: “We had to provide access to Kings College, to bus garages, the shops, even a 24-hour McDonald’s. Foremost in our minds has been keeping pedestrians, cyclists and – importantly – our workforce safe.”

By keeping everyone informed, the team ensured a happy public with nobody making a complaint about the works.

Richard Wells, Southwark Highways’ Transport Project Team Manager, said:

“I don’t think we had any adverse comments about the works. To receive zero complaints about such a high-profile location over the period of its enhancement is literally unheard of.”

As well as managing the businesses, the workforce’s safety was paramount. Over the course of the project’s phases, FM Conway put considerable effort in the planning and programming of the works to ensure that nobody was at risk, disruption was minimised, and that it was still completed to a high-quality for the client.

Jon added: “We logged up to 29 significant changes during the six phases of activity – not including surfacing – to ensure the work got done in a safe manner.

“This contract was seriously orientated towards what Southwark wanted – as their term maintenance contractor, we are very client focused. Southwark required the optimum way of working to ensure impact on the public and stakeholders was minimised.”

Outcomes

Thanks to the FM Conway team’s effective communication, combined with their excellent construction practice, a successful delivery of an improved public realm was achieved.

Working with CONWAY AECOM and the London Borough of Southwark, the widening of pathways, as well as the extensive upgrades to the street furniture and the overall upgrade of the area’s road network, has greatly improved the health and safety with regard to cyclists and pedestrians.

Richard added: “The relationship between ourselves and CONWAY AECOM is a longstanding one and we collaborate well on project delivery. The public realm activity in Camberwell is a good case in point: it’s gone well, and the improvements look really good.”