Gateley Smithers Purslow delivers £1.2m insurance reinstatement works for Gotham Memorial Hall and GP surgery.
We have delivered a £1.2m rebuild project for Gotham Memorial Hall – a community centre and GP surgery in Nottinghamshire – which was gutted by a fire in February 2023 as a result of an electrical fault within the roof void above the former library.
The centre was originally established in 1922 as a memorial to the men of Gotham who died in the First World War. At the heart of the community, Gotham Memorial Hall is a space to bring people together through groups and functions, as well as being home to the village’s GP surgery. The devastating incident created difficulties for local patients, including elderly users, who were left needing to travel miles away to access vital appointments, medication and services.
Foundations to finishes: A full-service solution
In the days following the blaze, GSP was instructed to manage the reinstatement project. Led by commercial director and chartered building surveyor, Mike Boast, the multi-disciplinary surveying, engineering and architecture consultancy immediately provided emergency site attendance and assisted with make-safe and protection works.
As the fire had a large impact on the community, GSP had to manage media and public attention which required additional security measures to protect the public and secure the site.
The team delivered full project managed services to complete the reinstatement works over the course of the two-year duration, including architectural design to comply with legislative requirements such as planning and building regulations. GSP also provided expert advice on cost consultancy and programming, a full design package including mechanical and electrical services, contract administration and principal designer duties in line with The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, plus civil and structural engineering work too. The consultancy also supported with fire and party wall guidance between the main hall and the GP surgery where operations and ownership became separate.
A new era for the community
The reinstatement project saw GSP work with the Gotham Memorial Hall trustees, key stakeholders and the local community to engineer improvement works, introducing new features to upgrade the building and its facilities to better serve local users.
As well as managing the connection of new and upgraded utility services, such as gas, electricity and water, GSP also oversaw the implementation of modern energy systems for sustainability compliance, which has helped to improve the efficiency of the building and reduce running costs. This saw the installation of solar panels and battery storage, as well as air source heat pumps and a heat recovery system to replace the old electric heaters in the main hall. Additionally, a more modern injected beaded insulation system was used for the cavity walls, along with insulated plasterboard. The improvements all contributed to GSP being able to ensure that the reinstated building is thermally and sound efficient enough to comply with modern building regulation standards.
In the main hall, one of the existing storage rooms was transformed into a new meeting room to better serve the client’s needs, and a modern bar and kitchen area was installed to offer enhanced use for functions such as meetings and events.
As a sustainable first consultancy, GSP recycled materials where possible throughout the construction works, such as utilising hardcore from the demolition phase for reinstatement of external areas and restoring – rather than removing – materials where possible too.
A challenging but rewarding build
GSP’s role in the project saw the team needing to manage and overcome several challenges such as working with multiple stakeholders. This included liaising with the insurance provider and loss adjuster to manage expectations throughout the rebuild, as well as for the additional private works.Our role in the project saw the team needing to manage and overcome several challenges such as working with multiple stakeholders. This included liaising with the insurance provider and loss adjuster to manage expectations throughout the rebuild, as well as for the additional private works.
The involvement of several parties also required separate contracts and the handover of the project in multiple phases to account for different work being undertaken on site. GSP also managed the reopening of the GP surgery ahead of the main hall’s completion to ensure the public could be better served.
Reflecting on the rebuild project, Mike Boast said: “Being from Nottinghamshire, it was incredibly fulfilling to help reinstate Gotham Memorial Hall for the local community I grew up in. The project saw us working closely with the trustees, the GP surgery and the community to not only bring back vital services but also implement new and exciting features into the building. It’s brilliant to see Gotham Memorial Hall back in full action.”
