Challenge

Clarence Dock in central Leeds is the City’s largest mixed-use urban waterfront development, incorporating over 1.2 million sq. ft. of attractions including restaurants, café bars, shops, a hotel, casino, office space and residential apartments. The development for The Clarence Dock Company, has truly transformed the City’s waterfront area creating a modern, vibrant and innovative urban destination which hopes to receive 1.5 million visitors each year.

Marshalls was pleased to be involved with the project right from the start helping to create a seamless integration of design, product, material and processes which would eventually see the creation of a unique flagship development in the heart of bustling Leeds.

The challenge was to produce an elegant yet durable, modern landscape for this prestigious development that blended into Leeds’ cityscape.

Solution

Marshalls used a fusion of bespoke and standard products which were supplied over a two year period. Where non-standard items were insufficient in meeting the clients needs, bespoke propositions were developed providing innovative solutions. Marshalls not only supplied their market leading concrete, granite and Yorkstone paving and kerbing solutions to the scheme, they also installed bespoke granite seating, planters and litter bins to complete the look through Marshalls Street Furniture division. Marshalls’ technical experts also designed a bespoke slot drainage solution for the scheme which incorporated increased depth to cater for varying construction build up and detailing and schedule documents were created to assist efforts on-site.

Working closely with Shepherd Construction’s site team, Marshalls provided value engineering exercises, drainage design, installation advice and product schedules to aid the contractor’s efforts. With a lack of storage on site, Marshalls carefully planned material deliveries to suit the contractor using timed deliveries and stock-holding which proved critical in meeting the Contractor’s requirements. 

Chris Daykin, Key Contractor Manager at Marshalls believes that the project has provided an ideal opportunity to illustrate how Marshalls can add value to a contractor’s business and said:

“We have deployed a variety of resources from across our business to assist Shepherd’s efforts onsite at their Leeds office and Head Office in York. From value-engineering to site appraisals, we have assisted Shepherds in their efforts in meeting strict quality and time targets.”

Benefits

The development was finished ahead of schedule and is an excellent example of how Marshalls’ products can be used to stunning effect to create a cohesive and integrated landscape and drainage solution. The availability of advice and support at every stage of this project ensured suitable products were selected and installed to the client’s satisfaction creating an aesthetically pleasing and durable hard landscape.

Neil Clarke, Construction Manager at Shepherd Construction, commented:

“This prestigious development in the heart of Leeds was truly a test of team working. As part of our preferred supply chain, we worked together with Marshalls to deliver a development which has completely transformed the area into one of Leeds most vibrant destinations. Our partnership with Marshalls on this project was a successful one, and any problems were efficiently dealt with.”

The technical expertise throughout Marshalls’ many disciplines is evident throughout the Clarence Dock development, offering hard landscaping solutions which blend perfectly into its urban surroundings.

It was a testament to the high quality of the development and partnership working with the client, contractor and consulting engineers Buro Happold Leeds and Sanderson Associates that the project won the ‘Built in Quality’ award in the ‘New Build’ category at the West Yorkshire Built in Quality Awards which recognises and rewards good quality building practices across a wide range of categories.