Morgan Sindall follows on at Old Trafford

CONSTRUCTION company Morgan Sindall has landed a £12.3m contract to complete the redevelopment of Lancashire County Cricket Club’s Old Trafford stadium.

The company, based in Rugby, has been awarded the contract following a long delay to the scheme caused by the legal challenge from entrepreneur Albert Gubay’s property company, Derwent Holdings, which was finally dismissed at a Court of Appeal hearing in July.

Morgan Sindall completed an earlier phase, featuring the £12m conference and events venue The Point, in 2010.

The next phase involves the construction of two new grandstands, containing more than 7,000 seats, and a state-of-the-art, four-storey player and media centre.

Ground clearance work is already under way and the first foundations are now being laid.

Work to this phase will be complete next summer, in time for the return of The Ashes to Old Trafford in 2013.

The contract is part of a wider £43m stadium redevelopment designed by BDP and a total investment of £70m in the surrounding area which also includes a 150,000 sq ft Tesco food store.

Dave Smith, managing director for Morgan Sindall, said: “This job presents some interesting challenges, particularly as we can only access one of the new stands from one particular end of the site.

“In addition, construction works are restricted by the pitch itself which is located to the front of the stand and the live Metrolink railway immediately to the rear.

“We’ve developed a very tight schedule of works to maximise the time available and minimise disruption for visitors to the ground.”