Walsall Council is leading the way with its forward thinking and investing in the town centre to construct a £5.8m premier shopping destination after procuring the services of Pick Everard through the Scape National Project Management and Quantity Surveying Framework.

Creating jobs

The local authority committed nearly £7.8m from its own cash reserves to cover the overall cost of the project – set to create more than 150 direct jobs in two new retail units.

Pick Everard has provided key services including project management, quantity surveying and health and safety advisory services on the Old Square Shopping Centre development. UK fashion giant Primark and the Midcounties Co-Operative food store are now preparing to move in.

From start to completion the project took 26 months delivered to tight timescales.

Alastair Hamilton, Partner at Pick Everard, said: “We worked closely with the council to configure an approach to help regenerate and transform the town centre.

“This new scheme will help to attract major retailers to Walsall, creating a thriving hub in the centre. Already the improvements made to the shopping centre has created a 20 per cent increase in footfall.

“By acting now the council is investing in Walsall’s future employment opportunities and securing its place in the West Midlands as a great place for major retailers to come to.”

Delivering key services

Pick Everard project managed the part-demolition of a former Tesco store to allow for the development of Primark and the Co-op food store. Work on the centre also saw the formation of a new service access tunnel.

The development posed many challenges which were overcome by the team. The consultancy’s management of the project allowed it to work closely with the contractor, Morgan Sindall, and the council to review risks and develop solutions each week.

Alastair added: “We were met with some significant challenges along the way but our team of experts quickly overcame these to meet the council’s need for strict timescales to ensure the new shopping centre’s success.

“We also provided a liaison role with the new tenants to ensure any issues were addressed quickly. We pride ourselves on our ability to understand our clients’ visions and feel we have gone above and beyond what the council outlined.”

Smooth process for the client

Pick Everard supervised the work on site to ensure a smooth process for the client throughout.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, Walsall Council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for economy, infrastructure and development, said: “Pick Everard’s approach to collaborative working and robust project management ensured a challenging public sector led regeneration project was delivered on time and within budget.

“The development has been funded by the council’s cash reserves and will have a very positive impact on people in the local community – boosting the economy through the direct creation of jobs and acting as a catalyst for further investment and jobs in the town centre.

“Furthermore, having been involved in this project, with the leader of the council Cllr Bird, for a number of years we are delighted with the progress.”

Delivering across sectors and services

Pick Everard operates across a broad range of sectors including retail, blue light, education, healthcare, defence, custodial, industrial & manufacturing and workplace.

Services include project management, cost management, architecture, building surveying, building services engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering and management advice.

When clients work with Pick Everard, they are working with a company which has an award-winning project portfolio covering major retail development, city centre and urban regeneration, commercial and leisure projects.

Established in 1866, Pick Everard is a multi-professional practice with an integrated in-house team of more than 450 architects, engineers, surveyors and project managers with offices throughout the UK in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Bury St Edmunds, Cardiff, Inverness and Taunton.