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Howarth Litchfield wins deal to redevelop Middlesbrough marine fire station

Middlesbrough’s Ferry Road marine fire station is set to be transformed into a new harbour master’s office, after an £800k redevelopment proposal was given the green light.

The two storey building, which has stood empty since it was closed by Cleveland Fire Authority in March last year, is today owned by Middlesbrough shipping and logistics company PD Ports.

Turner & Townsend, the construction consultants and project managers for the scheme, has appointed Durham-based architecture practice Howarth Litchfield to undertake the work.

Designs for the harbour master’s office, which are fully BIM (Building Information Modelling) compliant, were submitted for planning approval at the end of May.

Neil Turner, director of Howarth Litchfield, said:“At Howarth Litchfield, we care for the physical context, the culture and the settings of our designs, so we were delighted to be appointed to this project, because the building sits in the lea of one of the region’s most memorable landmarks, the Transporter Bridge.

“I believe we submitted some innovative ideas for re-imagining the old marine fire station and injecting some new life into it, but at the same time, as a multi-disciplinary practice, we are also able to bring a wide range of skills backed by solid expertise. This has resulted in our appointment across a number of disciplines.”

Commenting on progress to date, Stephen Leyland, senior project manager at Turner & Townsend, said: “This is an important project for our client, PD Ports, as one of the UK’s major port groups.

“We are pleased with the way the project has progressed thus far and if all goes according to plan, we will be starting works with contractor Esh Construction, in September with the project expected to complete in January 2018.”

Mark Pearson, project director, PD Ports, added: “The redevelopment of this building reflects our long-term commitment to investment in our business and as Statutory Harbour Authority for the ports of Tees and Hartlepool (Teesport).

“In order to ensure safe navigation of the 14 miles of river that fall under our jurisdiction, this new harbour master’s facility has an essential role to play and we are looking forward to seeing construction work commence.”

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