Bagnalls, the national painting and decorating contractor, added the final touches to an £80 million investment by the University of the West of England (UWE) in a new student accommodation complex.

The student village at Frenchay campus, constructed by Carillion Building opened in 2006 to house nearly 2000 students. The programme of painting works, valued at over £1million, was developed to complete areas in a phased sequence, to hand over finished units throughout the build phase to UWE.

Bagnalls set benchmark room samples displaying the type of finish, quality of workmanship and speed of delivery that could be achieved in a typical six bedroom flat scenario, using the material specification.

Following the award of the £1million plus painting package, Bagnalls was asked to mobilise and commence works on site within two weeks and from an initial site team of six personnel, they soon reached a peak of thirty-seven site based, directly employed painters.

Bagnalls liaised closely with Carillion to ensure that an effective, mutually agreed work sequence was implemented, which allowed the trades following the painting works adequate time to undertake their works to the agreed programme, these included, kitchen installation, bedroom furniture, suspended ceilings, floor finishes and doors.

In addition, Bagnalls worked with its main supply chain partner, ICI Dulux, under the Dulux Contract Partnership scheme. The local Dulux merchant accommodated the programme of works by holding stocks of the specified products and allowing Bagnalls to call off their requirements in manageable delivery loads.

Recognition for the complexity and overall quality of this project was acknowledged at the Painting & Decorating Association (PDA) annual awards ceremony in June 2006, when the project received a Commendation award.