Project Reflections : Westfield House

My latest project reflection takes us south of the border to the Northumberland town of Ashington to link up with a familiar client and contractor. Having previously worked with William Purves at their HQ in Edinburgh amongst other commissions, GLM were appointed to help realise the vision for the Ashington site.

Upon the retirement of the previous owner, William Purves added Peter Grenfell Funeral Directors to their portfolio in 2008. The Ashington site consisted of an original brick property which had had several disjointed extensions added over the years which had become not only dated but lacked the full range of amenities.

GLM were instructed to retain and refurbish the original portion of the building and in addition, design and procure a new extension to the side and rear which would provide modern front and back of house facilities. The proposals included for refurbishment of the office accommodation and construction of a new function and viewing rooms alongside back of house workshop, mortuary and embalming suite.

One pleasantly surprising aspect of the project was the client’s requirement for the building to not only meet but exceed the minimum building standards in several areas, something which in my experience is sadly rare.

Our award-winning Architect Neil McAllister headed up the design and consent process and once finalised, Prime Property Ventures were chosen as main contractor following on from their shared success at Oakvale. Once again, they delivered a first-rate product in spite of Covid-19 and to their credit completed the construction programme from setting foot onsite to handover in under 12 months.

William Purves Group have operated and been particularly busy as frontline workers throughout the pandemic. GLM have a reputation for the adaption of existing buildings, but I think this shows our range of skills and our ability to blend the old with the new in challenging circumstances. I feel a great sense of pride in the role I played to deliver what I believe to be a first-rate product for our client during the most important of times.

Look out for further images of this project over on our social media pages in the coming weeks.

Neil Dickson

Senior Building Surveyor