Ashridge has been awarded the highways contract at Shinfield Rise by Reading Borough Council. The works comprise of the narrowing of Shinfield Road through a local centre and the introduction of two traffic signal controlled junctions including pedestrian crossings.
Works commence on 15th March 2010 and are scheduled to take 22 weeks. Peter Jones, Managing Director commented, "I am delighted that our expertise has been recognised with the award of this contract and that it enables us to continue our successful working relationship with Peter Brett Associates, the engineers for the project."   Read more about this contract here.

Feb'10 - Zero Accidents for 2009

Well done to all at Ashridge! We're delighted to announce that all of our contracts (265,000 hours of work) in 2009 were completed with no RIDDOR 95 reportable accidents to any of our staff or sub-contractors. This is the 4th consecutive year that we have achieved this level of performance. Have a look at our stats here.

This fantastic achievement proves that our continued investment in training is paying dividends.  Our performance in Health & Safety is a key consideration for potential clients and one that is becoming increasingly important so it's critical that we continue to perform at this exemplary level.  Dave Pearce, HSEQ Manager commented, "Our commitment to the highest standards of Health & Safety is clear with 3 consecutive RoSPA Gold Medals and 7 consecutive International Safety Awards from the British Safety Council giving us one of the best safety records in the construction sector. However, we can never be complacent and I will be continuing to encourage and promote further training for all staff and introducing a selection of new safety initiatives for 2010."

Jan'10 - Snow, snow and more snow!

More Heavy Snow As Cold Snap Bites Back. Up to 15 centimetres of snow blanketed Wales and southwest England in the early hours of Wednesday 13th January before moving on to smother the Midlands and the South East. With this the coldest winter in the UK for thirty years and temperatures on par with the South Pole these are challenging conditions for all businesses but particularly so in the construction sector. Ashridge's only activity in these 2 weeks has been snow clearance but we expect to be back to business as normal on all our sites by Monday 18th January at the very latest.

Ashridge is delighted to have been appointed by Tunnel Tech to build a second mushroom composting facility worth over £2 million in Leckford, Hampshire. The works will involve the construction of a steel frame building which will enclose 8 x phase II and III reinforced concerate composting tunnels each 42 metres long x 4 metres wide x 4.4 metres high. Tunnel Tech is recognised as the UK's leading producer of specialised compost for the commercial mushroom growing industry. Ashridge previously completed over £4 million worth of work for Tunnel Tech at their new phase I compost production facility in Bawtry, Yorkshire with the construction of an initial four tunnels, 8 metres high and 50 metres long followed by Phase 2 works which consisted of 3 additional tunnels, external works, a mixing area and boundary walls. These bunkers have provided a completely new compost production facility which has fundamentally changed the composting process, incorporating full enclosure of the materials in process. The new process allows the raw materials to be blended and then delivered into aerated tunnels that can be enclosed whilst the materials are being processed. Full aeration of the materials from the start of processing alters the odours being produced in the process. Peter Jones, Managing Director commented, “Ashridge is fully committed to our environmental responsibility and to good environmental procedures throughout our company. We are therefore delighted to continue our successful relationship with Tunnel Tech with yet another pioneering project to improve the environmental impact for the mushroom compost industry. ”

Nov'09 - Ashridge scoops safety award with Willmott Dixon

Ashridge's exemplary record for first class safety performance has once again been officially recognised, this time by main contractor, Willmott Dixon. Ashridge is currently working on the £2million contract for the construction of the groundworks; foundations, basement and intermediate flooring at the new Civic Hall at Guildford for Willmott Dixon. We are delighted that Malcolm Mitchell, a member of our team at the Guildford site, has been chosen by Willmott Dixon to receive the Excellent Safety Performance Award for October. Dave Pearce, Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality Manager for Ashridge commented, "At Ashridge we are fully commited to the highest standards of Health and Safety with one of the best safety records in the construction sector. We are particularly proud to have received this award on our first major contract with Willmott Dixon at Guildford."

 Sept'09 - Ashridge secures £2M contract at Guildford Civic Hall

Ashridge has recently been awarded the £2million contract for the construction of the groundworks; foundations, basement and intermediate flooring to the new Civic Hall in Guildford. This is yet another significant contract win for Ashridge in still difficult times for the construction sector and is further evidence of the quality, strength and resilience of the team at Ashridge. This contract was secured with main contractor, Willmott Dixon after developing a relationship with their procurement and estimating team over a period of 12 months. It follows a small enabling project at St Barthomolew's School in Newbury. Early enabling works at Guildford commenced in July 2009 and construction works commenced in late August / September 2009 with an overall programme of 50 weeks for the works. Peter Jones, Managing Director commented, "We are obviously delighted to be working with Willmott Dixon at Guildford and look forward to developing our relationship with them further."