Royal seal of approval for £60m development with more than 900 EYG Commercial windows

A new £60million development for which EYG Commercial suppled and installed more than 900 windows has been given the Royal seal of approval after being officially opened by Princess Anne.

Bristol-based charity the St Monica Trust has created, The Chocolate Quarter in Keynsham, transforming the former J.S. Fry and Sons and then Cadbury’s chocolate factory into a luxury retirement village. The development includes 136 apartments, a state-of-the-art 93-bed care home and office space, alongside a cinema, restaurants and health spa.

EYG teams, who were on site throughout much of 2016 and 2017 on a contract which initially doubled the size of the firm’s order book when secured a £5.13 million glazing contract in 2015 with the St Monica Trust, creating one of UK’s biggest care homes at the former Fry’s Chocolate buildings in Bristol, which has been given the Royal seal of approval after being officially opened by Princess Anne, also installed over £500,000 worth of curtain walling, along with a number of automatic doors and a ventilation system.

To mark the Grand Opening, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, who attended as Honorary Member of the Society of Merchant Venturers, was given a tour of the site by Chief Executive of the St Monica Trust, David Williams and Master of the Society of Merchant Venturers, Charles Griffiths.

Significant milestone for glazing expertise

EYG Commercial Director Steve Swallow says securing the contract, which was project managed by the Andrew Wilson Partnership along with architects KWL and AWW, proved a significant milestone for the firm.

He says its completion is now a stunning showcase of EYG Commercial’s products, expertise and ability to complete stunning installations for the country’s premier developments.

“Our commitment to delivering the highest quality on products secured this prestigious contract for us and helped us achieve further growth and a 30% order book increase in 2017,” he said.

“It was a contract we secured after heavy investment into our manufacturing processes in Hull, enabling us to produce windows four times quicker than we were previously, making us capable of meeting large contracts such as this one.

“It was a contract which certainly helped us win further significant work.”

The Princess Royal joined residents and staff for an afternoon tea and unveiling of a commemorative plaque. She then switched on a unique art installation to mark the start of the Grand Opening.

Commitment to product development and accreditations

Mr Swallow says the firm is confident of securing similar contracts given its ability to produce bespoke products which meet the most stringent of requirements over security, energy, and noise.

The firm has been chosen on a number of prestigious developments in London over the past two years, including contracts for hotels at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4 - a £1.2m contract to supply high-performance acoustic windows for a new Premier Inn and a £1.74m deal to provide triple-glazing window systems for two connecting hotels – the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express Hotel.

“Our commitment to securing leading industry accreditations, which are now a must for project managers looking to appoint specialist contractors, has proved beneficial,” he said.

“We are proud not only to have the Home Office approved Secured By Design (SBD) accreditation, recognising the security performance of our windows and doors help reduce crime, but that this accreditation is independently verified by the British Standards Institution (BSI) across the thousands of windows and doors we make each year.

“Contractors working on such large developments, where meeting budgets and deadlines to avoid penalties are key, can be assured that we don’t simply collect accreditations, but always meet the standards. That is key, particularly in the current environment.

“Particularly important with this regard is that our products all meet the PAS 24:2012 UK standard, which has been required on all new developments under the Part Q building regulations of 2015, standards we are only now beginning to have full impact of as schemes come through the planning stages to physical development.

“The regulations are clear, and if developers could find their projects coming to a halt if they are not meeting standards. Our commitment to continued development of our business, manufacturing processes, products and service, providing a hassle free solution for developers and contractors, is driving growth. Our work at The Chocolate Quarter is a clear example of that.”

The Chocolate Quarter offers luxury retirement living for a new generation of retirees, with communal facilities built not just for the people living there, but also people from Keynsham and the surrounding area.

The intergenerational development is gaining national interest as it combines luxury retirement living with a range of facilities which are open to the public, including a pizzeria, restaurant, health spa, cinema, hairdressers and nail bar. It also uniquely includes office space for local businesses.

The former Fry’s and Cadbury’s factory produced some of the nation’s favourite products from Crunchies and Picnics to Turkish Delight and Curly Wurly bars, making 57,000 tonnes of chocolate every year.