Foremans' 8th Construction Project for Leeds City Council

The Requirement

Leeds City Council had a requirement for a training and enterprise centre in Seacroft, which would form part of a £20m regeneration initiative spearheaded by the Council.

It would accommodate a range of construction skills teaching facilities for local people, as part of the East and South East Leeds (EASEL) project.  It would also provide a valuable classroom resource and a drop-in enterprise centre.

It would be funded through the Government's Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, which aims to inspire enterprise and grow local businesses in some of the most deprived areas of England.


The Solution

The project is Foremans' eighth construction project for Leeds City Council and follows the completion of three projects at Parklands High School, and other schemes at schools in Scholes, Harehills and Wetherby.

The single storey 15,000sqft modular building was constructed using recycled and refurbished modular buildings.

The partially brick-clad building was completed by Foremans in less than two months, and comprises:

• a large workshop area
• two classrooms
• generous shower, WC and washroom facilities
• an open plan office to provide local entrepreneurs with accommodation for business support and networking.

The 37-module building was already 70 per cent complete when it was delivered to site, which reduced the programme time.  Power points, lighting, carpets and sanitary ware were pre-installed. 

Additional work carried out by Foremans included installation of brick cladding to the front elevation, a suspended ceiling with recessed air conditioning and a hardwearing but easily replaceable vinyl floor.


Comments from the Client Team

Mark Scott, Service Manager - Jobs and Skills Service at Leeds City Council:

"The boundless possibilities for re-use within the long life of the EASEL project was the driving force behind our choice of building type.  As the building is fully relocatable and can easily be reconfigured, it provides us with a cost-effective alternative to traditionally constructed, permanent accommodation."

"The main advantage of a second hand, refurbished modular building is that it can be occupied in a matter of weeks from delivery.  Regardless of the bad weather, the building was very quick to complete. We are very pleased with the finished building and are looking forward to using it to its full potential."

Lisa Smith, Programme Officer, East Area Regeneration Team - Leeds City Council:

"The new training and enterprise centre will give local people a greater opportunity to acquire practical skills to help them succeed.  It is a great facility."

"The workshop area can be split into four sections for teaching bricklaying, plastering, joinery and other building skills.  The classrooms will be used as a satellite learning facility for training providers and the catalyst centre is designed to encourage and support local entrepreneurs.  It will serve our partners with the extra resources they need to improve training, education and business support for local people."