AGENDA ITEMS 8, 9 & 10
BOROUGH of POOLE
PROPERTY SERVICES
UPTON COUNTRY PARK LIAISON COMMITTEE
25 APRIL 2007
UPDATE ON ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS, PROPOSED REPAIRS TO THE DOMED LANTERN and GREENHOUSES
1. ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS
PEACOCK TEAROOMS
Improvements to Courtyard Area
In order to improve access to the Peacock Tearooms from the main Courtyard entrance, and to meet the requirements of the Building Regulations it was necessary to create a level platform immediately outside the main door. The work involved raising up an area of the courtyard surface with gentle gradients created leading away from this to the main surface of the Courtyard. Work commenced earlier in the year and was fully completed during March 07.
Improvements to Access Lift
To complete the lift installation carried out last year a number of improvements to the vicinity of the lift entrances were required. These included modifications to the floor coverings to draw attention to the door swings, the provision of a safety barrier at first floor level together with the re-positioning of the first floor call button. Most of these works are fully complete with the floor coverings due to be laid week commencing 23rd April 07.
For safety reasons, regulations require access lifts to be fitted with constant pressure controls. Unfortunately some disabled people experience difficulty with standard control buttons. Following observations by the Friends of Upton Country Park (FUCP) it was decided to change the originally supplied lift control buttons. These will be replaced with an alternative constant pressure toggle system. The new system is due to be installed during the week commencing 23rd April 07.
UPTON HOUSE
Accessible Lavatory / Gents Lavatory
During January it became apparent that dampness was affecting both the accessible lavatory in the east wing of the building and the gents lavatory adjacent to it.
Investigations were carried out and it was found that each lavatory was being affected by a different cause. In the case of the accessible lavatory the cause of the leak was traced to a weeping joint on an old water feed. This fault was rectified and the decorations restored. In the case of the gents it was discovered that the water ingress was attributable to a blocked overhead gulley at a time of very heavy rainfall. This gulley was cleared and in due course the decorations were restored. This area is however prone to condensation problems and instructions have been given to cleaners to minimise the likelihood of mould build-up.
2. DOMED LANTERN
Following on from a site meeting in January between representatives of Property Services and The FUCP, John Kerley of Property Services has held discussions with the company that carried out the first phase of the restoration to the lantern last year. It was decided that no work would be carried out until the spring to avoid the worst of the weather. John Kerley is currently in further discussions with the intention that the company carries out an initial operation involving the removal of some of the existing cladding to ascertain what additions may have been made to the structure at the time of the earlier temporary cladding works and if and how this may affect the structural integrity of the lantern. At this stage the company will provide a detailed estimate of the cost of the remedial works.
It is intended that this work will be carried out during early May. Safety regulations however require that a full safety scaffold be erected for this initial stage. The operational needs of the House will be taken into account and discussions have been held with Steven Booth to this end (the required scaffolding will be put into position before the end of April).
Ideally of course the next stage of the works would run directly on from this initial stage avoiding the requirement to scaffold twice, however in reality a number of factors, including the possibility of a requirement to fabricate items after the initial inspection, will probably cause this to be impractical
At all times a balance must be struck between the need to minimise disruption at the House particularly in the busy wedding season and the requirement to carry out this work with the best chance of favourable weather conditions.
3. GREENHOUSES
A site meeting was held between John Kerley and representatives of the FUCP to clarify requirements for the greenhouses. Following this a revised quotation for the proposed roofing work had been obtained. This quotation was in turn passed to the Friends for consideration. Unfortunately the cost of the works was prohibitive and a decision was taken by the Friends not to proceed with the project at this stage.
At the Friends request, as a separate issue, John Kerley has investigated the costs of providing an electricity supply to the vicinity of the greenhouses and the quotation is currently with the Friends for their consideration.
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JC April 07
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