About the Project

Castlefield Campus, Manchester

Client satisfaction is pretty well guaranteed from Neil Branchflower, who has achieved a 95% minimum customer experience score on every single one of his projects, including previous schemes for this particular client. 

For Neil, rigorous preparation delivers success, and he drove the preconstruction surveys of this city centre site. While the discovery of a Victorian drainage system was an unpleasant surprise, he was able to shift the build two metres before works began, avoiding expensive clashes with the new-build’s foundations and drainage.  

He worked closely with the design team to deliver their ideas on an innovative development. He offered straightforward but significant value engineering options for the steelwork, roofing material and boarding systems. His early incorporation of structural metal decking allowed him to dispense with columns almost entirely as well as eliminate internal blockwork. 

The resulting time and cost savings were key client gains, but they weren’t the only ones. Neil also focused on enhanced quality, upgrading the underfloor build-up to boost the building’s insulation levels. 

Quality, budget and programme are the supreme metrics of project success. Neil not only achieved all three on this single-storey block for a special needs school, he also left the community as happy as the client. He donated 8,000 new plants to a local park and set up a community waste removal and garden clearing service for vulnerable people.