News - Focus Consultants

Posted: 8 Feb, 2019

Focus Consultants has been appointed to project manage the transformation of a Cambridgeshire museum after supporting the museum’s successful bid for a National Lottery grant. Focus provided Ely Museum with project management and business planning support during the development phase, which led to the recent news that the museum had been awarded a £1.66 million National Lottery grant. Now the Nottingham-based office has been retained to provide project management services for the delivery stage of the Unlocking the Potential of the Old Gaol: Ely Museum Redevelopment Project. Focus associate Mike Lee said: “This is a fascinating project at Ely Museum...

Posted: 24 Jan, 2019

Focus Consultants is celebrating the news that Portsmouth’s D-Day Story has been nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) 2019. Focus was the project manager, quantity surveyor, business planner, and employer’s agent for a £5m revamp at the museum which was completed last year ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings in 2019. Work included conserving items such as its 83m-long (272ft) Overlord Embroidery, which tells the story of D-Day in 34 hand-stitched panels, and the creation of three new exhibition galleries, a café and a shop. Now it has been announced that 40 museums...

Posted: 17 Jan, 2019

Following commissions for the Natural History Museum that have included work to the Conservation Centre, and the Whales: Beneath the Surface Exhibition, Focus is pleased to announce our success in securing an appointment to provide both Quantity Surveying and Principal Designer Services for their forthcoming project The Earth Galleries Ground Floor.

Posted: 8 Jan, 2019

Ambitious plans for a Grade I-listed museum, art gallery and library redevelopment scheme – project managed by Focus Consultants – have received initial National Lottery support. Re-Imagining the Harris project at the Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library in Preston, Lancashire, has been awarded development funding of £180,900 by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). This will help Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council to progress their plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant in 2020. Focus partner Steven Fletcher said: “It’s great to hear that the Re-Imagining the Harris project has been successful in its bid for...

Posted: 18 Dec, 2018

A Grade I Listed Jacobean manor house will close in the New Year for a refurbishment after securing a £3,734,200 National Lottery grant. Focus Consultants provided business planning and quantity surveying services for Boston Manor House in Brentford as part of the early stages of the redevelopment plans. The heritage restoration project entitled Boston Manor: Engaging with the 21st Century aims to fully restore the manor house, currently on the ‘Heritage at Risk’ Register, to its former glory, while equipping it to meet the needs of the modern day. The work will include structural and building repairs and the installation of...

Posted: 13 Dec, 2018

A £1.4m programme of fire safety improvement work in which Focus Consultants undertook the building surveying, design and contract administrator responsibilities has been completed on a ward at Lincoln County Hospital. The third floor Branston Ward (gynaecology) at Lincoln County Hospital has just undergone a major refurbishment, as part of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s (ULHT) ongoing fire safety upgrades. The 18-bed ward has benefited from new ceilings, flooring and patient bathrooms, in addition to a full set of new fire doors and new lighting throughout. The third-floor revamp is part of an extensive programme of work at Lincoln to...

Posted: 29 Nov, 2018

Focus Consultants has been appointed to deliver sustainability services for a new East Coast Hub for the global leader in offshore wind, Ørsted, which is currently building the biggest offshore wind farms in the world. Currently in construction on the Royal Docks at Grimsby, Lincolnshire, the building will represent a state-of-the-art operations and maintenance hub to support both the construction and operation of Ørsted’s offshore wind farms, from which they currently operate more than 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of capacity with a further 2.6GW under construction. “The construction, operation and maintenance of such a large off-shore wind capacity necessarily requires a...

Posted: 12 Nov, 2018

Having played a key role in the definition, creation and funding of the project for the redevelopment of Nottingham Castle, Focus Consultants is very pleased to see work now starting on site to transform the castle into a world-class visitor destination. Focus was the lead consultant working on the successful bid which secured a First Round Pass of almost £13m from the Heritage Lottery Fund – providing project management, bid writing, business planning and cost advice services to develop the successful bid. Partner at Focus Consultants, Steven Fletcher, said: “Focus was proud to be involved in helping to develop this...

Posted: 12 Nov, 2018

An eight-year redevelopment at St Fagans National Museum of History, project managed by Focus Consultants, has successfully completed and been topped with a highly commended accolade at the RICS 2018 Grand Final Awards. Focus first began working with the Welsh museum in 2010 when Focus was appointed for the preparation of a Heritage Lottery Fund bid. The bid was successful – securing £11.5m in HLF grant funding for the museum on the outskirts of Cardiff. At the time, in 2012, it was the largest HLF grant ever awarded in Wales. Focus was subsequently retained to provide business planning, quantity surveying...

Posted: 23 Oct, 2018

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Posted: 26 Sep, 2018

Great to see Trent Basin in Nottingham named as a finalist in three different award categories at the East Midlands Property Dinner Awards 2018. Focus Consultants is project manager, employer’s agent and sustainability advisor (HQM) for phase two of the scheme, having previously acted in a similar capacity for phase one. The Blueprint development – which when completed will have created 500 low energy homes as part of the 250-acre Waterside Regeneration area in Nottingham beside the River Trent – has been shortlisted in the Design Excellence, Sustainable Development of the Year, and Regeneration and Restoration Project of the Year...

Posted: 24 Sep, 2018

Focus Consultants and architects Guy Taylor Associates have been appointed to draw up ideas to improve the foreshore of one of the UK’s popular seaside towns. Skegness has a long tradition as a holiday resort, not least as the first location for the Butlins chain, built in 1936. Now the seafront is looking forward to improvements which aim to boost Skegness’s appeal as an all year-round visitor destination, thanks to concepts being drawn up by economic development consultants at Focus Consultants and heritage architects, Guy Taylor Associates. In late 2017, areas of Skegness foreshore were awarded 'Registered Park and Garden...

Posted: 10 Sep, 2018

Focus Consultants are proud to be an approved supplier on the ESPO National Framework 664-17 and 2664-18 for consultancy services. Check out ESPO’S Promotional Flyer to illustrate the benefits of using an ESPO Framework. Click Here

Posted: 6 Sep, 2018

Focus Consultants has completed two key contracts for Huntingdonshire District Council. Focus project managed the recent refurbishment and improvements of the swimming pool and changing village at One Leisure St Neots. Focus was also contract administrator, principal designer and CDM advisor for the £260,000, nine-week scheme at the leisure centre. In addition, Focus Consultants has recently completed the project management of a £250,000 redevelopment scheme for the council to create a one-stop-shop Customer Service Centre at Pathfinder House, Huntingdon. Also acting as contract administrator, principal designer and CDM advisor, Focus oversaw the fast-track refurbishment and alterations project which was split...

Posted: 13 Aug, 2018

A £2.8 million redevelopment scheme at Gilbert White and The Oates Collections, the former home of pioneering naturalist Gilbert White – projected managed by Focus Consultants – has now been completed. The renovation of the museum and estate in Selborne, Hampshire, includes restoration of the stable yard and brew house, providing a new entrance, a shop and a café for visitors, as well as the conversion of the upstairs into an apartment. Work also includes general refurbishment and reconfiguration of the layout of the main house to allow the creation of a new gallery celebrating the life and work of...

Posted: 1 Aug, 2018

Focus Consultants are project managing the biggest exhibition about the Sun that has ever been staged. Focus has been appointed as project manager, contract administrator, quantity surveyor and principal designer for the exhibition, which will open on 6th October at the Science Museum in London. The Sun: Living With Our Star will include spectacular interactive experiences and unique artefacts that explore our relationship with the Sun. The exhibition, which runs until 6th May 2019, is the third exhibition opening that Focus has been involved in at the Science Museum, which welcomes more than 3 million visitors every year. Partner at...

Posted: 20 Jul, 2018

Focus Consultants hosted another of the company’s annual charity golf days at the Belton Park Golf Club near Grantham in Lincolnshire - raising £200 for The Thera Trust, a local East Midlands charity who is raising money for a sensory garden in Boston. Attended by 16 different organisations, 18 players took part in the golf day, with first prize being presented to Simon Elkington. A number of prizes for achievements were also presented including longest drive and nearest the pin. In addition, a fundraising raffle was also held. Focus partner Trevor Newton, who organised the annual tournament, said: “The Charity...

Posted: 2 Jul, 2018

Focus have gained certification to the 2015 standards for both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Having previously been certificated to the ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 standards, we were successful in achieving the transition to the 2015 standards in our Nottingham, Leicester and Lincolnshire offices. Our certification further underpins our existing quality and environmental systems, processes and procedures which have proven very effective in ensuring we deliver the quality of service expected by our Clients and conduct our operations in an environmentally sustainable manner. Of added value and benefit, both to our Customers and our own operation, is the expertise...

Posted: 27 Jun, 2018

Focus Consultants has opened an additional office after winning a raft of new contracts in the area. Focus has launched a new branch office in Newark, Nottinghamshire, next door to our sister firm Midland Energy Services Ltd (MES Building Solutions). The move will allow closer co-operation between the two organisations, particularly on compliance work in the construction and building sector. It will also provide a base for the Focus team working on a number of recently won contracts in the Newark and Lincolnshire area. Focus has been appointed as quantity surveyor for the proposed conservation and repair work to be...

Posted: 19 Jun, 2018

The first museum exhibition of its kind dedicated to a global business that attracts more than 2.2 billion players worldwide is being project managed by Focus Consultants. Focus is also the quantity surveyor on the videogames exhibition at the world-famous V&A Museum. When it opens in September, the exhibition will be the first of its kind dedicated to the videogames sector. It will be the 11th exhibition that Focus has been involved in at the V&A. Florence Andrews, senior consultant at Focus Consultants, said: “As a company, Focus has project managed a wide range of exhibitions at the V&A and...

Posted: 18 Jun, 2018

A recently completed heritage scheme at Tatton Park in Cheshire, which Focus Consultants helped to project manage, has been named as a finalist in three categories of the North West Regional Construction Awards 2018. Tatton Dale Farm was shortlisted in the Preservation and Rejuvenation Award, as well as the Cheshire Project of the Year Award and the overall Building Project of the Year Award. The project tells the story of food production for a large country estate from the late 18th century to the 1950s, and has brought alive the agricultural, architectural, technological, social and cultural heritage of Tatton Dale Farm...

Posted: 7 Jun, 2018

Celebrations at Focus Consultants, as museum project wins key award The team at Focus Consultants is celebrating the news that St Fagans National Museum of History in Wales has won a top award. Focus is the project manager and quantity surveyor for a wide-ranging redevelopment currently on-going at the site in Cardiff. The company also provided business planning and funding advice for the preparation of the Heritage Lottery Fund bid, which, at £11.55 million, was the HLF’s largest grant award in Wales when it was awarded in 2012. Now the museum has won the Tourism and Leisure Category in the...

Posted: 29 May, 2018

Focus Consultants is pleased to hear that nearly 50 per cent of the homes in the second phase at Trent Basin, Nottingham, have already been reserved by keen homebuyers following a highly anticipated and successful open day at the unique waterside development. Focus is project manager, employer’s agent and sustainability advisor (HQM) on the second phase of the scheme, having previously carried out the same roles on the first phase of Trent Basin. More than 80 people attended the Phase Two launch event at the multi award-winning development on the banks of the River Trent, which will ultimately see some...

Posted: 16 May, 2018

Work is underway on the refurbishment of the Grade II listed Winter Garden in Eastbourne as part of the £44 million transformation of Devonshire Quarter in the town. Focus Consultants is the project manager and contract administrator for the whole scheme, and also undertook the economic impact analysis of the development. The latest phase will restore and improve one of Eastbourne’s key buildings – the Winter Garden. Preparation work has begun on the new lift shaft, while toilets have been gutted and carpets stripped in preparation for the restoration of the original parquet flooring in the Floral Hall. The top...

Posted: 11 May, 2018

Arts and heritage experts at Focus Consultants are celebrating the news that one of the museums the company has worked with has been named a finalist in the world’s biggest museum award. Focus was project manager for the recent redevelopment at Brooklands Museum – one of the UK’s most historically significant sites for motoring, aviation and engineering. Now it has been revealed that the museum is one of five finalists in the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2018 – the biggest museum prize in the world. The news has delighted the team at Focus, which has also worked with...

Posted: 8 May, 2018

Developers, contractors and architects are being urged to incorporate sustainability into the very earliest designs of commercial buildings following the launch of the updated BREEAM UK New Construction scheme. Sustainability experts at Focus Consultants have studied the revision of the key sustainability assessment method for real estate and are advising the best way forward. “BREEAM New Construction 2018 is taking bold steps to encourage the construction industry to better integrate sustainability into the design process,” said Focus partner Jason Redfearn. “As the BRE’s overarching aim, early and thorough integration of sustainability into the design and construction of commercial buildings takes...

Posted: 23 Apr, 2018

Focus Consultants partner Kevin Osbon has successfully completed the hottest London Marathon on record – raising more than £2,000 for charity. But he has vowed that his first marathon will also be his last. “It was absolute carnage,” said Kevin. “Nearly everyone had to walk or run in spurts after Canary Wharf, which seemed to be littered with bodies seeking attention. My feet blistered, my running shoes melted and stuck to the pavement – I have never run in such hot, tough conditions. “I trained in the ice and ran in the Sahara. That was the first and last marathon...

Posted: 20 Apr, 2018

Focus Consultants has been appointed to the NHS SBS Framework for a second term to provide construction consultancy services. The agreement runs until 31 March 2022. Focus is currently on seven framework agreements, including the ESPO 2664_18 framework to supply consultancy services for property & building advice and management services, and the ESPO 664-17 framework to supply consultancy services in leisure, culture and tourism, as well as asset management and delivery – all to public sector clients and social housing providers. The NHS SBS Framework provides ease of access and offers a compliant route to market for NHS and public...

Posted: 17 Apr, 2018

One of the founding Partners of Focus Consultants will be pounding the streets of the capital on Sunday (22nd April) when he takes part in the London Marathon. Despite having six knee operations over the past 15 years – including two total knee reconstructions – Kevin Osbon is aiming to conquer more than 26 miles and raise over £2,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. “As a teenager, I had a mole on the back of my leg which had to be cut out,” said Kevin. “I spent three weeks on an adult cancer ward, because the children’s cancer ward was...

Posted: 22 Mar, 2018

Three museums, which have recently undergone major redevelopment with support from Focus Consultants, have been shortlisted for awards. The National Army Museum, the Brooklands Museum and Aerospace Bristol are all finalists in this year’s prestigious 2018 Museum and Heritage Awards. The National Army Museum, shortlisted in the best permanent exhibition category, re-opened in 2017 following a £23.75m refurbishment, including £11.5m from The National Lottery. Focus Consultants were project managers, quantity surveyors and CDM co-ordinators during the three-year project, which dramatically transformed the building maximising access and engagement with the Collection and providing a 21st century visitor experience. The team at...

Posted: 20 Feb, 2018

Focus Consultants has played a key role in project managing a £4.7 million scheme to redevelop an historic site based around a Grade I listed manor house and 16th Century great barn. Headstone Manor & Museum in Harrow dates back to 825AD and was once owned by Henry VIII. Now, following a four-year redevelopment programme, which was project managed by Focus, the buildings and grounds have been transformed into a museum, with a dedicated learning centre. Steven Fletcher, partner at Focus Consultants said: “Focus is delighted to have been able to work on such an interesting and historic project. As...

Posted: 7 Feb, 2018

Focus Consultants has been awarded a position on a major national framework to supply consultancy services for property & building advice and management services. The position on the ESPO 2664_18 framework will run until December 2020 with an option to extend for a further year until December 2021. It means that public-sector clients and social housing providers in the UK can procure services from Focus in the knowledge that the procurement process has already been carried out in a professional manner, avoiding the need for a full tender process when searching for suppliers - saving them time and money. The...

Posted: 29 Jan, 2018

Focus Consultants has been appointed to project manage the second phase of the Trent Basin development in Nottingham. The company was project manager, energy and sustainability advisor, and employer’s agent for phase one of the scheme, which was completed at the end of 2016 and featured 45 low energy homes, including eight apartments. Now Focus has been appointed as project manager, employer’s agent and sustainability advisor (HQM) for phase two, with work by builders Willmott Dixon now underway on the next 31 homes. When the whole scheme is finished, the £100 million residential development will have created 500 low energy...

Posted: 22 Jan, 2018

Focus Consultants is playing a key role in improving leisure facilities in Cambridgeshire. The company was appointed to provide construction consultancy services for the fast-track refurbishment and alteration project to Burgess Hall Events and Conference Centre in St Ives. The centre, run by One Leisure, the in-house leisure provider for Huntingdonshire District Council, has undergone a replacement of the bar, floor and toilets as part of a wider rebranding and redevelopment programme to provide modern leisure facilities. Huntingdonshire District Council has invested more than £10 million at a number of centres, including St Ives, in the past five years to provide...

Posted: 4 Dec, 2017

Focus Consultants has welcomed three new members of staff to its professional teams. Sana Arif joins the Energy Team as a graduate sustainability consultant and is based in the company’s Nottingham head office. Sana’s interests and qualifications lie within the energy sector, focusing on renewable technologies with specific skills in wind, solar power and hydrogen fuel cell technology. She graduated from the University of Nottingham with a BEng (Hons) in Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy Systems and she completed her Masters during an internship with Blueprint. “Focus works with both the University of Nottingham and Blueprint and we are therefore...

Posted: 27 Nov, 2017

A previously inaccessible area of a Grade I listed hall is being opened to the public following a conservation project which has been managed by Focus Consultants. The scheme at Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens in Northamptonshire - entitled ‘Tunnelling through the Past’ - has conserved the former stable yard, laundries and the servants’ areas in the basement of the house. Thanks to a £1.3 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and funding from Daventry District Council grant scheme, along with the charity’s own fundraising efforts, the history of the lives of the servants at the hall will now...

Posted: 29 Sep, 2017

Focus is delighted to hear news that the renovation and refurbishment scheme at Bridgford Hall has been named as a finalist in this year’s East Midlands fbe Awards. The scheme was supported by Focus Consultants with funding advice, project management and quantity surveying services. Completed earlier this year, the redevelopment involved renovating the Grade II listed mansion in West Bridgford, near Nottingham, to create luxury aparthotel accommodation as well as a civil wedding venue. The £2.3million project received a £1.5million Heritage Enterprise grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and became the first completed project in the East Midlands to...

Posted: 8 Sep, 2017

Trent Basin, a new development in Nottingham, is about to set the bar for community energy schemes as it prepares to install Europe’s largest community battery (2MWh), and solar photovoltaics that will generate, store and distribute energy at a neighbourhood level, and launch a unique energy company for residents. A trailblazing consortium of business, government and academia has come together, supported by Innovate UK, to pilot state-of-the-art technologies and unique business models. The pilot will demonstrate how to lower cost and reduce carbon whilst allowing residents to better engage with the energy they consume. Homeowners at Trent Basin will be...

Posted: 24 Aug, 2017

Funding and business planning experts, Focus Consultants, have been appointed to work on an exciting project which will result in the building and launching of a full-size replica of the Lenox, a 17th century sailing ship and which will be a major new tourist attraction based at Convoys Wharf, Lewisham, London. Convoys Wharf, originally known as the Deptford Dockyard, opened in 1513 and was first used by Henry VIII to build his naval fleet. The HMS Lenox was commissioned under Charles II in 1678 as the first of 30 ships built during his reign to expand the Royal Navy into...

Posted: 16 Aug, 2017

Focus Consultants once again showed a willingness to help the next generation progress by hosting a student for two weeks’ work experience. Callum Hunt, 15, a pupil at the William Lovell Church of England Academy in Stickney, spent a fortnight at Focus’ Boston office this summer. The Boston office, which is based at Endeavour Park, has won two Investors in Education Awards for its commitment to providing top quality work experience for young people and Callum was the latest student to join the team to find out more about the industry. Partner at Focus Consultants, Trevor Newton, said: “At Focus...

Posted: 2 Aug, 2017

The National Museum Wales has recently unveiled the redeveloped main building at its St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff. The Grade II-listed main building now provides a new entrance, reception area, shop and café. The Weston Centre for Learning includes activity spaces and a lecture theatre. Also due to complete soon is Gweithdy, a brand new sustainable building celebrating the skills of makers past and present, which encourages visitors of all ages to experience traditional skills first-hand. Focus Consultants are the project managers and quantity surveyors for the wide-ranging redevelopment at the site, and also provided business planning and...

Posted: 2 Aug, 2017

The eagerly-awaited redevelopment of the iconic Cheltenham Town Hall has moved a step closer following the appointment of Focus Consultants to undertake a full feasibility study for the project. In 2016, the Town Hall project was named top of the town’s “wish list” in a public consultation on key projects. And earlier this summer, Cheltenham Trust issued a three-year vision for the strategic development of the town’s key cultural, heritage and leisure assets. Elements of the feasibility study, which will take around six months to complete, will include benchmarking, consultation and an options review, contribution to a funding strategy and...

Posted: 27 Jul, 2017

Mrs Smith’s Cottage in the village of Navenby, in Lincolnshire, is a rare example of a typical home built in the mid 1800s. North Kesteven District Council hopes to receive Heritage Lottery Funding toward the project ‘Rescuing Mrs Smith’s Cottage: a unique slice of bygone Lincolnshire life’ which will bring it back into operation as a visitor attraction. Focus Consultants has been appointed to undertake a governance options review for the future management of the site, including recommendations as to the most viable model moving forward. The Cottage was home to Mrs Hilda Smith who was born is Navenby in...

Posted: 25 Jul, 2017

Focus Consultants has been appointed to project manage a plan for a major restoration at one of London’s historic churches. The Parish Church of St Marylebone, home to the internationally respected Healing and Counselling Centre and innovative NHS Marylebone Health Centre, has been awarded initial support of £700,000 from The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop proposals for the £8.6m restoration of the church and the renewal of community facilities. The historical Grade I listed London landmark has appointed Focus Consultants as project directors and project managers. The scheme is set to include new building work adjoined to the current...

Posted: 18 Jul, 2017

Work has begun on site to build 22 new affordable homes in Lincolnshire – the latest project that Focus Consultants has undertaken for Waterloo Housing Group. The team in the Boston office of Focus Consultants has been appointed to carry out a multi-disciplinary construction consultancy role on the development in Church Road in Old Leake. It follows the completion ahead of schedule earlier this year of Phase Two of Broadfield Lane, Boston, when Focus Consultants acted as employer’s agent, principal designer, client CDM advisor and party wall surveyor on a scheme to build 123 houses for Waterloo Housing Group. Also...

Posted: 12 Jul, 2017

Focus Consultants has been appointed on a major national framework to supply consultancy services in leisure, culture and tourism, as well as asset management and delivery. The position on the ESPO 664-17 framework will run until April 2019 with an option to extend for a further two years until April 2021. It means that public-sector clients, registered charities and social housing providers in the UK can procure services from Focus in the knowledge that the procurement process has already been carried out in a professional manner, avoiding the need for a full tender process when searching for suppliers - saving...

Posted: 6 Jul, 2017

The official opening of Lincolnshire’s first Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) has taken place. Focus Consultants undertook several roles in the development, including project manager, designer, principal designer, quantity surveyor and contract administrator. The brand new ten-bedded male only unit, which is known as the Hartsholme Centre, has redeveloped an existing unused ward with considerate use of extensions and external spaces on the St George’s Hospital site in Lincoln. It comes following discussions with local commissioners to offer additional provision in Lincolnshire for adults who require intensive psychiatric care, and means that patients will no longer need to travel outside...

Posted: 27 Jun, 2017

A new, world class players’ village has opened at Devonshire Park to provide topflight facilities for women’s and men’s tennis. The impressive glass-fronted two-storey building was opened by the Mayor of Eastbourne, Pat Hearn, ahead of this year’s Aegon International which runs from June 23rd to July 1st. Eastbourne Borough Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) jointly funded the building, which is part of the £44million Devonshire Quarter scheme. Focus Consultants is the project manager and contract administrator for the whole scheme, and also undertook the economic impact analysis of the development. Focus partner, Eleanor Clarke, said: “The team...

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