HLF - We've been framed!

The trouble with writing this note is that things change almost as quickly as I write and certainly by the time it appears in print. Anyhow, by the last week in September all the steelwork for the Power Hall was in place and the cladding of both roof and walls was due to commence.

Watching work progress has been fascinating. As predicted in the last 'Omnibus' the construction of the new access road between the yard and the Scania Hall was the first job and this was completed in August. In parallel with this the new access between the car park and the yard in front of the Shire Hall was dug out and stoned, allowing a temporary, if uneven, way in and out of the site. Once this new access was useable, work on excavating for the new hall began in earnest using a sizeable digger and a stream of lorries to take the spoil away. At this stage the biggest question was what would be found underground next. Apart from the usual services, a substantial reinforced concrete tank - presumably dating from the site's RAF days - was found and it extended under the Scania Hall. New supporting blockwork has now been provided to ensure the Scania Hall is safe!

With the excavation work complete, our builders turned to doing the perimeter foundation and setting out where the steelwork uprights would go. Good weather helped with this and it was completed on time although some equipment failures meant it was a close run thing. The steelwork itself arrived on the Tuesday after the August Bank Holiday together with a large crane and erection started the same day. Less than a fortnight was required to get all the steelwork in place, although a return visit was needed to correct the height of the toilet block. Since then the underpinning of the Scania and Electric Vehicles halls has been completed and other foundations created. A team of bricklayers is now on site, so far doing the bits that will be underground but soon to commence the brick frontage, which will resemble a Midland Red garage when viewed from the main entrance.

Meanwhile, we must not forget the new hall is not just another place to park buses, but will have a properly laid out interpretative display and include many of the associated artefacts accumulated over the years. Malcolm Keeley is taking the lead on this and has been liasing with the professional designer who has been engaged to help with this part of the project. Our HLF application had initial proposals for how this would look and these are currently being fleshed out so that the displays can be commissioned and installed, hopefully by Easter.

The foregoing activity relates directly to our HLF grant. Other things are going on which will improve the site for visitors or are associated with the AIM Sustainability Grant to upgrade the café. In fact the café and shop building is getting a bit of a makeover. Following on from the improvements to the shop made possible by the new racking, a dividing wall and door has been installed by Pete Murphy and is now being painted by Maurice Collignon. This will allow the café and shop to be operated independently - something that will be useful if parties want access to the café but we do not want to be manning the shop. In the café, the first of the windows to be reinstated is now complete, again thanks to Pete's carpentry skills. Most of the units in the old kitchen have been stripped out ready for one of the walls to be moved to make a larger kitchen. In the process major rot was found in the floor and wall and this will also be replaced. Overall the aim is to make the café easier to staff and to separate the food preparation area from the washing up area.

Elsewhere on the site, the foyer of the Electric Vehicles Hall has been demolished. This was no longer required as with the new hall in place the current entrance will be bricked up and a new fire exit provided. Some associated changes to the electrical installation in that area have also been made.

Phil Ireland

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