All fencing and gates for a brand-new school: St Mark’s, Southampton

All perimeter, pedestrian, sports and acoustic fencing with pedestrian and vehicle gates.

• 900 lm of 868 Duo mesh 2.4m fencing
• 400m flat-bar fabricated railings incl. 175m fabricated to gradient
• 100 lm 3.6m high sports rebound
• 50 lm 4.0m high reflective acoustic
• 50 lm steel knee rail fencing
• 1 pair vehicle gates, automated
• 13 Pedestrian/single gates
• 3 pairs of gates

A one-stop-shop for the completion of a brand-new school in Southampton. New Forest Fencing thoroughly enjoyed this end-to-end project which spanned from foliage removal and tree clearance, to the in-house manufacture and installation of a wide range of fencing and gates across multiple gradients.

The challenge

Specify, manufacture, fabricate, galvanise and install nearly 2km of fencing and railings – all on huge time pressures.

As the last trade in the chain of most works, fencing companies are used to an element of delays and pressures to bring the completion of projects ‘home’. St Mark’s was no different, but with a 4-week delay in starting installation, and a pre-Christmas deadline for phase 1, the pressure was on to hit specified targets.

The solution

We worked arm-in-arm with the core drilling company to rapidly make up time, while maintaining a high-quality finish. As we marked out the holes for the railings, they drilled them, and we worked directly behind them on installation – 175m of which were to bespoke gradient.  For the sports pitches, the NFF team dug all holes and installed the posts, before the groundworkers laid the tarmac & 4G Astro. NFF then went back to install the panels, enabling the groundworkers to access all ‘sides’ of the site, without complication.

The outcome

Despite a late start, the NFF team completed the installation on time, even getting stuck in on ‘Christmas party day’ to get the job done! Phases 2 and 3 of the project were completed ahead of schedule.

St Mark’s school, Shirley, opened its doors to students in October 2022 and it’s great to see its pupils enjoying the facilities installed by all contractors.

“We found NFF competitive when it came to pricing, but most importantly they were flexible and always happy to accommodate inevitable Principal Contractor delays and changes. I look forward to working with NFF on our next project”.

Dean Lancaster, Managing Quantity Surveyor, Morgan Sindall.