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News Release from: Chartered Institute of Building [CIOB] | Subject: Crossrail
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 March 2006
Centre Point ringed with construction
sites
Centre Point ringed with construction sites when work starts on building Crossrail
As Government counsel Tim Mould explained to the House of Commons Select Committee on the Crossrail Bill, the Confederation of British Industry is the leasehold owner of the first and second floors of the Centre Point tower, where Charing Cross Road and Oxford Street meet That is also the location of the Tottenham Court Road Underground station where Crossrail is intending to add one of its Central London stations to the extensive Tube railway works presently below ground
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 29 Jul 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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This will involve major civil engineering operations: the present London Underground ticket hall at Tottenham Court Road is to be replaced with a new ticket hall, and new entrances for Crossrail are to be built close to Centre Point itself.
As Mr.Mould explained to the committee, the area just to the east of Charing Cross Road and to the west of Centre Point is going to be subject to substantial works, providing much improved access to the Tube station and permitting comprehensive landscaping at ground level.
If work on these massive contracts commences in 2008, assuming that the Bill is passed and the work is funded - on which still no word - they are not likely to be completed much before 2014, which means that the CBI headquarters will be ringed around with contracting operations almost from the day that work on the railway begins.
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The CBI is not very happy about that prospect, though pleased with the eventual outcome promised by all this hard labour.
As the confereration's director-general Sir Digby Jones put it, the CBI sees Crossrail as hugely important and vital to the long-term interests of British industry.
He said that the issue of who bears the cost has not yet been resolved among the CBI membership, but they are keen to see completion of the enabling legislation for its construction.
Explaining why the CBI was petitioning on the Crossrail Bill, Sir Digby said they feared that the construction work is going to impact seriously on its main headquarters.
That was the sole issue they wanted to bring before the committee, though as often happens, this sole issue turned out to have extensive ramifications.
In his view, the first and second floors of Centre Point house more than an ordinary office where people come and go from work every day.
The Prince of Wales was at lunch thereon Thursday the 16th, the day before Sir Digby appeared before the committee.
Every week, he said, dignitaries would visit the CBI building - Prime Ministers, Chancellors, Presidents, European Commissioners to name a few - usually with the press in attendance.
That, he said, was all in the day's work for the CBI.
He also pointed out that the confederation has attracted numbers of talented people, specialists in their field, so that the headquarters building has become a place of research, a place that needs quiet.
"It is a place that needs considered reflection", he said, "and frankly what is being proposed is absolutely the antithesis of that." Deep consultation with Crossrail.
The CBI, he said, is currently in deep consultation with the Crossrail promoter over its concerns about access, noise and vibration, settlement and environmental protection, plus what it is going to do financially if it is left to face up to these problems without compensation.
Number one issue is safe and convenient access during the period of the works; Sir Digby was apprehensive of a repetition of what they endured three or four years ago when the CBI headquarters underwent substantial refurbishment.
"The drilling, the vibration, the dust, the muck were dreadful, absolutely appalling.
You could not concentrate.
You certainly could not hold meetings.
The only reason we held it together was that it was a relatively short period, months, not years.
It was awful".
On the question of settlement, Sir Digby said they thought that damage to the building would probably be more serious than was envisaged by the promoter.
"This is normally a landlord's concern, but we are unusually exposed as a tenant because under the terms of our lease we do have a repairing responsibility for the glazing on the bridge (known as the Link building which bridges St.
Giles High Street).
"Every bit of that glass is down to our bottom line, so we do look at that with some concern when we hear there is going to be settlement occurring, which I guess means we are going to pay for the replacement of that glass.
"Secondly, it is essential for the special nature of our conference business that we maintain the building to a very high standard.
It is not going to be acceptable if, because of settlement, we are going to have constant regular repair of the building".
Under examination by Richard Harwood for the CBI, Simon Handy, managing director of Waterman Environmental, indicated to the committee the alignment of the two Crossrail tunnels, one passing just to the south of Centre Point House and the other to the south of Centre Point tower, and the location of the large worksite within which the demolition of the existing plaza is proposed, and where there will be a major piling operation adjacent to the Centre Point building.
A new retaining wall is also to be built to enable construction of the new ticket hall, and there will be significant works to connect down into the London Underground tunnels and the proposed Crossrail scheme.
Mr.Handy forecast that access to the CBI headquarters will be affected quite severely.
"Vehicular access is going to be affected by changing the configuration of the streets around Centre Point, particularly Andrew Borde Street which will be stopped up for some time.
For a period of time, access would also be denied to a number of vehicles through St.Giles High Street.
Pedestrian access through these areas will be difficult for a period of time".
Mr.Mould for the Government had earlier produced a 'seven-point report' indicating a number of options that might be adopted to resolve the problems over access.
Mr.Harwood asked Mr.Handy to give his view on these proposals.
He said that the first item was about maintaining access to Centre Point throughout construction.
"I think it is still unclear as to whether that is Centre Point Tower or somewhere else in the building complex and I do think that needs to be clarified".
This report has promised however to use 'reasonable endeavours' to provide convenient vehicle access.
"I think", said Mr.Handy, "that does indicate that there is an intent to try and consider the CBI's requirements for access to the building".
As to noise and vibration, Mr.Handy believes that the biggest impact on the building will be from the worksite.
"There will be a very large worksite", he said, "and the depth of construction within that worksite is something of the order of 13.5 metres, so major excavation work, major breaking out of concrete and foundations and so forth; construction of a new piled wall, probably down to a depth of about 20 metres below ground, along the frontage of the western face of them Centre Point Tower.
"So there are some very major works that are going to be done there, and at the moment there is not a mechanism for dealing with the impact of that noise on the Centre Point business and the CBI's business".
At the close of the hearing, Government counsel Tim Mould accepted that Mr.Handy as technical consultant for the CBI should attempt to find an acceptable resolution to the access problem.
To Sir Digby Jones he said in confirmation of the confederation's position, "Your concern is that during the construction phase there should be pedestrian and vehicular access to Centre Point of a quality which fulfils what you have explained to be your needs and the needs of those who visit you".
On that basis it seems most likely that acceptable proposals will be brought forward before long.
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