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FK Howard and Northampton Saints go marching on

WITH the fans ready to start to cheer on Northampton Saints as they embark on a new season, the race to construct the new Barwell Stand at Franklin’s Gardens is just about over.

Having started work as soon as the final whistle went at the end of last season, FK Howard has managed the demolition of the old Sturtridge Pavilion, replacing it with the Barwell Stand and the new North West Corner Stand.

The seats in the new stands have been installed and the first phase will be completed in time to welcome fans to the first true home game of the season on 7 November.

WITH the fans ready to start to cheer on Northampton Saints as they embark on a new season, the race to construct the new Barwell Stand at Franklin’s Gardens is just about over.

Having started work as soon as the final whistle went at the end of last season, FK Howard has managed the demolition of the old Sturtridge Pavilion, replacing it with the Barwell Stand and the new North West Corner Stand.

The seats in the new stands have been installed and the first phase will be completed in time to welcome fans to the first true home game of the season on 7 November. Work will continue on hospitality areas, which will be complete by January 2016.

This project is the latest stage of an ongoing relationship between Northampton Saints and FK Howard, the Northampton-based construction managers, project managers and quantity surveyors.

Having successfully project managed the Tetley’s, Church’s and Burrda stands, FK Howard were honoured to be appointed to complete the redevelopment of Franklin’s Gardens.
Away from the world of sport, FK Howard is currently involved in a number of projects locally and across the UK, including a new sports centre at Pitsford School and a manufacturing facility for Torquemeters in Ravensthorpe.
Work has also begun on the Abington Christian Centre, to convert the offices of the former Pearce leather factory into conference and meeting rooms, a nursery, coffee house, kitchen and servery.

Darren Quincey, Managing Director of FK Howard, said: “Work is almost complete at Franklin’s Gardens, and we hope the fans will be impressed by the new stand when they turn up for the game against Saracens on 7 November.

“It has been a race against time to get the work done during the close season, but we’re well on target to get the stand and the control room ready to allow the fans back in.”
Director Matthew Gilkes added: “Over the past year, we’ve continued to see increased activity in the construction industry. With projects in a wide range of sectors, including education, commercial, industrial, leisure, residential and retail, there’s certainly evidence of an upturn.

“The construction industry still faces issues, following a very quiet six or seven years and there’s still a lack of both skilled workers and materials, but it’s all looking very much more positive.”

With every construction project, time, quality and cost are the key client deliverables and FK Howard are able to offer procurement methods to suit. The practice has seen an increase in construction management enquiries where they are employed to oversee the day-to-day operations on site.

“We’re seeing an increase in contracts, from multi-million pound projects through to smaller one-off jobs for local companies and it’s all good news for the local business community and the region as a whole.”

Companies mentioned in this article

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