Aldi

CLIENT: LANGLEY PARK COMMERCIAL

CONTRACT VALUE: £2.5M

ARCHITECT: LANGLEY PARK COMMERCIAL

SECTOR: COMMERCIAL

EXPERTISE: NEW BUILD, HIGHWAYS IMPROVEMENTS, LANDSCAPING

Vale Southern Construction constructed a new Aldi store in Kent plus five separate retail units and associated roads and car parking.

The Brief

Forming part of Taylor Wimpey's 600 home Langley Park development, this new Aldi store was planned for a brownfield site. The client required a contractor which could construct the external shell quickly and efficiently, enabling the fit out to be completed in time for the Christmas period.

The project also required five separate retail units to be built alongside the new 1,250 sq m Aldi store, as well as significant external works to support the new buildings.

Taking shape

Vale Southern constructed a steel portal frame structure to house the new Aldi store along with a Sarnafil single-ply flat roofing system. To meet the retailer’s design requirements, extensive glazing was then fitted around the building’s entrance which was complemented by flint walling.

Internally, Vale Southern installed a powder-coated concrete floor, providing a smooth and even surface ready for the fit out.

To create the additional retail units, a second steel frame structure was then built and divided into five.

Stringent co-ordination

The new buildings required more than 110 car parking spaces across an area spanning over 2,000 sq m, which all had to be levelled to ensure rainwater would drain correctly. This required several months of careful planning and close liaison with specialist groundworks contractors and engineers to co-ordinate and complete the works.

The project also required Vale Southern to create new access roads and landscaping to support and complement the new development. As these roads adjoined a busy main road, the team worked closely with the highways authority to minimise any disruption for local road users.

A step ahead

Thanks to highly effective programming and co-ordination of different contractors, Vale Southern completed the project two weeks ahead of schedule. This meant the fit-out contractors were also able to finish ahead of time and the store could open earlier than scheduled.