Latest news

Scottish Power are upgrading their wind farm at Carlnd Cross in mid-Cornwall. The existing turbines are to be replaced with larger and more efficient generators. Turnkey contractor Balfour Beatty appointed Kemp to produce a topographic survey and digital ground model of the 500 acre site to enable their design team to develop the scheme. Quad mounted GPS systems and robotic instruments were employed to provide a quick and accurate turn around for the client. Kemp had been responsible for setting out the original turbine foundations in 1992 following their work setting out the A30 Mitchell & Summercourt By-Pass which includes the Carland Cross roundabout that the wind farm is accessed from.

The former Debenhams at Sidwell Street owned by Land Securities is currently undergoing a major refurbishment and extension by Midas Retail to facilitate new tennant John Lewis. The building, which has ten floors, is being extended from the first to fourth floors. Internally mezzanine floors are being replaced whilst externally elevations are being re-clad. Constructed oringinally in the early 1960s the steel frame was surrounded with concrete to provide fire protection. This has led to extensive concrete cutting and drilling to expose the steelwork to enable the new frame to connect. At each connection Kemp have conducted detailed engineering surveys to enable the design and fabrication teams to progess. In addition the survey team are providing setting out for the construction team. John Lewis are due to open in 2012

A 1.4MW solar farm at the former Wheal Jane Mine site near Truro was connected into the National Grid last week. The £4m project covers 7 acres of brownfield land and will produce enough energy for 400 homes. Surveyors at Kemp undertook a contoured topographic survey tied into the other "National Grid" to enable the design team to optimise the panel arrangement for maximum energy collection. With the commencemnt of construction on site the setting out team at Kemp set out almost 1000 piles within 20mm to enable each panel to be accuratly located.

Derry Newman, chief executive of Solarcentury, said: "Solarcentury designed and constructed this site, powering over 400 homes, in less than two months. Solar is not to be underestimated – it is the fastest growing energy technology in the world, simply because it is clean, reliable and a readily available alternative to fossil fuels."

As the Children’s Hospice South West’s third hospice, Little Harbour near St Austell, nears completion the charity is soon to benefit from Marathon fund raising efforts by members of the local construction industry. First off the mark was Rob Judge, Sales Director at Phoenix Survey & Safety. Rob ran his first Marathon in London on April the 17th with the aim to add £1500 to the £10,000 the firm have already raised. “The Judge” went under 4 hours although if there had been the chance of a sale at the finishing line he may have made the elite group!  

In July Midas Construction’s Quantity Surveyors are setting off on a marathon cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats. Steve Holt, Mike Rees, Alan Fryer and Jason Walker are giving the Tour de France a miss this summer and are aiming to raise £15,000 when their 9 day trek is completed. Midas are main contractors for the Little Harbour scheme designed by the David Wilson Partnership. To sponsor Team Midas contact them at http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Rees 

Our team provided earthworks quantities during the planning of the works whilst more recently our setting out department have been visiting the site to provide line and level for the external works

But instead of Newquay, it's Bristol Airport we're talking about, where plans for expansion are gathering pace, meaning plenty of work for us. We previously carried out topographical surveys on behalf of the main contractor, Capita Symonds, but last week it was the job of the Seeka team to carry out extensive detection and mapping of the buried utility services associated with the site.

It's not every day the chaps work in an environment like this and it's a good thing we already have experience of airport surveying - the nature of the site means that night work is unavoidable and dodging jumbos is part and parcel of what the boys have to do. Still, it's a welcome change from normal, day-to-day utility surveying and we look forward to more time spent at Bristol Airport where needed.

A special platform has been erected at the top of the Eden Project's rainforest biome, and we're happy to announce that we were involved in the plans. Kemp carried out the specialist three-dimensional survey needed to orientate the new structure, obviously using non-contact measurements!

The platform, called the 'Rainforest Lookout', is positioned at the top of the 165-foot biome, a distance higher than the Tower of London. Launched by TV adventurer Bear Grylls, it allows visitors a unique bird's eye view of the tropical canopy, something which only the lucky few to have ventured up in the tree-trimming helium balloon will have seen before.

We've been really excited about the start of the Heartlands project in Cornwall, which will transform what has been a post-mining industrial wasteland in the Camborne and Redruth area for decades.

The £35 million scheme, led by Cornwall Council, will create new residential and business areas across the 8 hectare site, interspersed with parks, artists' studios, cafes and even a concert venue.

We've conducted setting out and proving surveys on behalf of Midas, along with some essential deformation monitoring on the historic buildings that will be celebrated as cultural focal points for the scheme. This includes the Grade II listed Robinson's mine shaft, which will be sympathetically restored and adapted into an exhibition centre celebrating Cornish mining history.

Heartlands is scheduled to open in Autumn 2011.

We've just come back from Fort Nelson in Fareham, Hampshire where we've been conducting topographical and utility surveys for a brand new visitor centre, designed to better educate the public about the artillery showcased there.

Fort Nelson was once Portsmouth's protective barrier to French invasion in Victorian times and air attack during World War Two, and is now home to the national collection of artillery and cannon. Between 2000 and 2005 it saw visitor numbers more than double, so with this in mind, the need to bring the fort, which was built in the 1860s, storming into the 21st century with the help of some sparkling new facilities became ever more pressing.

The project has been especially interesting for Kemp; it isn't often we get to carry out surveys on historic buildings like this.

Photo: One of our surveyors Richard Wherry hard at work! And what a fantastic backdrop.

The team here at Kemp have just been carrying out work for a fascinating project being undertaken for Cornish theatre company Kneehigh.

Plans for a large tent with geodesic domes, which will function as a touring venue capable of relocation depending on Kneehigh's productions, meant that we were asked to conduct a topographical survey on land near Blackwater, Truro.

Andrew Staples, our survey manager said: "We have conducted an initial topographical land survey which will help Kneehigh to determine the best place to locate and orientate their structure. The next step is to set out the location of the anchors which will hold it in place. The field itself is a nice, reasonably regular site with good drainage, perfect for an outdoor theatre production."

We look forward to seeing the project take shape and what kind of productions the building will house.

Photo: Gil Gillilan from The Dome Company, our very own survey manager Andrew Staples and David Harraway, freelance production manager for Kneehigh.