In April 2019, we commenced work as main contractor on Bradford Council’s exciting new Hard Ings Road improvement scheme in Keighley. Upon completion, these improvement works will see the existing road widened into a dual carriageway and the implementation of an extra lane on Beechcliffe Roundabout to ensure a reduction in congestion and an increase in road safety.
We are nearing the final phases of work at Hard Ings Road, and thought it would be a great idea to show the progress made over the past 12 months. Below are images taken in July 2019 compared with images taken in July 2020 to highlight the fantastic improvements that are taking shape along Hard Ings Road and Beechcliffe Roundabout.
Beechcliffe Roundabout
Howard Civil Engineering have significantly reduced the diameter of Beechcliffe Roundabout, undertaking earthworks to remove the existing roundabout kerb line and subsequently increase the carriageway width. The roundabout is currently top soiled, but residents and commuters can expect it to be beautifully landscaped by Bradford Council once planting season commences.
The traffic islands and central reservations have been remodelled to complement the new roundabout whilst maintaining the same manoeuvres and capacity as before. Motorists entering the roundabout from the A629 will notice that there also are now two dedicated left-turn lanes!
Below ground, we have installed a new drainage system for the roundabout including gullies, chambers, and an attenuation tank.
Beechcliffe Roundabout has also been given a fresh new look with the installation of new kerbing, asphalt surfacing completion, new road markings, traffic signs, and street lighting.
Bradford Road Roundabout
Although the main kerb line leading from Hard Ings Road to Bradford Road Roundabout has remained in a similar position to the original alignment, we have reshaped the footpath, installed footpath drainage channels and introduced a new storm water sewer below ground to serve the new features. During our time on site, Howard Civil Engineering have also undertaken extensive diversion works to the utility companies’ apparatus which were located in this area.
Hard Ings Road
In the images above, you can see the fantastic improvements made to the width of Hard Ings Road leading from Beechcliffe Roundabout to Keighley Ambulance Station.
This is particularly evident outside the Fibreline manufacturing facility. All properties and buildings along this strip will have been/will be subject to accommodation works before the scheme is complete.
The improvement works have included the construction of sheet piled retaining walls faced with natural stone walls, stone boundary walls, a new carriageway and new footways. Howard Civil Engineering also carried out earthworks to remove the existing kerb line, assisted multiple utility diversions and established a new drainage system (including large diameter attenuation pipework) in addition to providing new traffic signs and street lighting.
The scheme for the Hard Ings Road is being developed by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (CBMDC). The scheme has received investment through the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund as part of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of government investment to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.
Members of the Howard Civil Engineering and Erris Homes team took part in the #QuaranTEN challenge last week, raising a whopping £3,414 for the property charity LandAid!
In lieu of the 23rd annual LandAid 10k challenge, professionals in the property industry across the nation were instead challenged to walk, run or cycle 10,000 steps, 10km or 10 miles by themselves in their local areas. Howard Civil Engineering and Erris Homes team members faced this challenge head on, with people of all ages and fitness levels getting involved to raise money for LandAid.
Left to right: Sophie Henderson, Pre-Construction Coordinator; Michael Howard, Managing Director; Gerard Howard, Finance Director.
Our target was originally set at £500, but we quickly surpassed this and managed to raise a fantastic total of £3,414 – placing us fifth on the nationwide leaderboard!
Our fundraising efforts will help LandAid to assist charities delivering life-changing services for young people who are or have been homeless, or who are at risk of homelessness in the future. Young homeless people have disproportionately affected by COVID-19 pandemic and are most in need of urgent help to survive this crisis.
Left to right: Oliver Brown, Trainee Quantity Surveyor; Emma Brier, Procurement Administrator; Abbie Harrop, Marketing Executive.
We’d like to extend a huge congratulations to all of the team members who took part, and a massive thank you to our families, friends, colleagues, suppliers, and subcontractors who supported us!
Read more about how we’re helping the ex-homeless in Yorkshire here.
We would like to extend a huge congratulations to Sophie Henderson on having recently being promoted to Pre-Construction Coordinator!
Sophie joined Howard Civil Engineering six years ago at the age of nineteen as an apprentice. Initially pursuing a career in Health and Safety, Sophie began her journey with Howard Civil Engineering on-site before taking a sideways step into Estimating, but soon realised this wasn’t the avenue she wanted to pursue.
‘Although I gained a lot of experience during my time working in Health and Safety and Estimating, I increasingly felt drawn to the idea of a client-facing role in which I could become more involved in business development,’ she said. ‘I spoke to my line manager, Peter Howard (Pre-Construction Director), who was really supportive in creating a new position for me in the business that would be more suitable.
‘In my new role, I’m looking forward to spearheading Howard Civil Engineering’s pledge to increase the sustainability of the company and helping us secure positions on various frameworks across the region. Community liaison will also be a key element of the role and I will be engaging with local communities during various schemes, particularly those on which Howard Civil Engineering are the main contractor. This includes the highly anticipated Greengates Junction Improvement Scheme for Bradford Council which will commence later this month.’
Along with her new title, Sophie will also be taking an apprentice under her wing. Daniel Heffernan joined us as a Trainee Site Engineer earlier this year before becoming a member of the Estimating team under Sophie’s tutorage. In time, Daniel will assume Sophie’s previous role as Trainee Estimator.
Reflecting on her journey from apprentice to Pre-Construction Coordinator, Sophie praised Howard Civil Engineering’s apprenticeship scheme for giving her a platform to succeed: ‘Although I’ve been given a lot of responsibility from an early age, senior members of the team always take time out to make sure I understand what I’m doing and offer further support where it’s needed.
‘Howard Civil Engineering are definitely a company who nurture their apprentices whilst also giving them breathing space to learn and grow at their own pace. Compared to my peers at college, I feel like I was offered more opportunities as an apprentice at Howard Civil Engineering, and my work experience definitely exceeds that of university graduates.’
Sophie also discussed her commitment to broadening the minds of young girls considering their future career options. Supported by HCE, Sophie trained to become a STEM ambassador and has been invited into secondary schools to chat with pre-GCSE students about their career goals. ‘A lot of girls think working in construction has to be working on-site, getting dirty and doing a lot of hands-on work, when in reality construction has a variety of other areas that girls may not be aware of. I’ve always had really positive feedback from events such as these, and it’s empowering to be enlightening young girls of the options available to them in construction.’
Follow the journeys of our other apprentices as they train their way to full-time employment here!
Howard Civil Engineering are thrilled to have been awarded a contract to undertake road improvement works to a major junction in Bradford. We were selected as the main contractor by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council for the highly anticipated Harrogate Road and New Line junction (Greengates junction) improvement scheme in Greengates following our successful work on the Hard Ings Road improvement scheme in Keighley. Our team is currently gearing up ready to commence work on Monday 27th July.
The scheme’s community liaison officer, Sophie Henderson, commented: “This is a complex scheme that needs to be managed sympathetically with regards to the many interfaces with residents, businesses and local service providers. As successfully achieved on the Hard Ings Road improvement scheme, liaising with our stakeholders throughout the contract will remain our number one priority.
“We are working closely with City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council to ensure members of the local community remain well-informed of how the scheme and how it will develop. This will include fortnightly e-newsletters from Howard Civil Engineering, updating local residents and businesses on anticipated roadworks, traffic management and potential delays.”
Harrogate Road is a key commuter route between Bradford, Rawdon and Harrogate, and is also the primary access between Bradford and Leeds Bradford Airport in Yeadon. New Line is a main route between Keighley, Bingley, Shipley, and Leeds.
The project will see Howard Civil Engineering undertake major improvements to the existing junction in Greengates including widening the existing highway on all four arms of the junction, signal upgrades and a P-loop. Cyclists and pedestrians will also benefit from the scheme with the addition of new cycle lanes, pedestrian islands, and more controlled crossings.
The Harrogate Road and New Line junction improvement scheme has received investment through the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of government investment to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region. Alongside the funding from the Leeds City Region LEP Growth Deal, the scheme has also been funded by developer contributions.
Works are scheduled to last a total of 64 weeks. Head to www.howardcivileng.co.uk/greengates-junction to subscribe to Howard Civil Engineering’s fortnightly newsletter.
Howard Civil Engineering have demonstrated our commitment to developing our workforce by joining The 5% Club, an industry-led initiative focussed on driving momentum into the recruitment of apprentices, graduates and sponsored students.
The 5% Club is committed to raising the number of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates on formal programmes to 5% of total workforces within five years, however we are pleased to say that Howard Civil Engineering already exceeds this figure with a spectacular 6.5% of our workforce studying for apprenticeships or formal graduate programmes!
Managing Director, Michael Howard, commented: ‘As an SME, not only achieving but exceeding a target of 5% is phenomenal. I am extremely proud of the talent, drive, and brilliance we are nurturing in our apprentices and graduates and I look forward to increasing this figure over the years to come. The 5% Club is an excellenct scheme, and we wholeheartedly encourage other businesses to participate in shaping the workforce of tomorrow.’
Last summer, Howard Civil Engineering pledged our support to local charity The Howarth Foundation’s Business Building Futures initiative, and we are pleased to say we have since employed two of The Howarth Foundation‘s previously homeless clients.
The Howarth Foundation is an esteemed local charity actively partnering those who have lived chaotic lifestyles and experienced homelessness and addiction with training opportunities and jobs to help them get back on their feet.
Over the past nine months, Howard Civil Engineering have worked with The Howarth Foundation to offer Emma Brier and Dominic Bourke permanent positions in our office and on-site.
Michael Howard, Managing Director at Howard Civil Engineering, explained our approach to employing people who have previously led a more chaotic lifestyle: “We are firm believers in giving people second chances and judging others based on your own personal experiences with them. We don’t believe the stereotype that everyone with a chaotic background will be a bad employee. Instead, we have always endeavoured to create a company culture that is accepting of people from all walks of life.”
“We certainly intend to provide further opportunities to clients of The Howarth Foundation who possess the relevant skills and ambition to work in the construction industry, whether that be on-site or in our offices,” he continued. “The scheme has worked well for Howard Civil Engineering as it supports our recruitment needs whilst providing people from chaotic backgrounds with a sense of stability and a platform to kick start their careers in construction.”
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Emma Brier accepted a permanent office-based role as Procurement Administrator in September 2019 and in March 2020, we were also pleased to extend a permanent position as a site operative to Dominic Bourke, another client of The Howarth Foundation.
Andy Howarth, CEO at The Howarth Foundation, explained: “After getting to know Dominic we realised he had an interest in civil engineering, so teaming him up with Howard Civil Engineering was the perfect match. We assisted him to gain his CSCS card and purchased work clothing for him to be site ready.”
Commenting on Emma and Dominic’s journey so far, Managing Director Michael Howard was highly complementary: “Dominic and Emma have made a hugely positive impact since joining the company. Not only is their work ethic admirable, but they have also proven their ability to integrate seamlessly into their respective teams and adopt our company culture and values.”
“We would strongly advise any employers in Yorkshire to approach The Howarth Foundation and learn how they can help businesses meet their recruitment needs in the same way Howard Civil Engineering did,” he continued. “It is not only extremely rewarding but we have found it mutually beneficial to both parties.”
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