Beautifully executed “Design and Build” at Raglan Main Beach.
A TRICKY SITE, A RELOCATABLE STRUCTURE IN THE HARSH BEACH FRONT LOCATION OF NGARUNUI BEACH DELIVERED TO A HAPPY COMMUNITY.
Raglan's Ngarunui Beach was in urgent need of facilities to manage the influx of visitors to the area.
It had become apparent that Raglan's popularity had increased and was attracting more and more people. The Raglan community was happy for the influx of visitors and keen to share the natural beauty of their home but was concerned that the lack of sufficient facilities could potentially be a major inconvenience to visitors.
The Raglan Community Board had raised their concerns to the local Council and the cogs started to turn. With improvements of this nature, a thorough consultation process is required to ensure that all parties concerned are heard and their needs taken into consideration before a final decision is made and also who going to pay for it.
The Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF) is a dedicated Government fund designed to assist communities and Councils with the upgrade and ongoing maintenance of tourist attractions and locations of interest. The Ngaranui Beach Toilet Facilities upgrade ticked all the boxes and in 2018, this project was submitted by the Waikato District Council to the TIF and approved shortly thereafter.
With funds secured and the community on board, it was decided that the best solution would be to design and construct a new Toilet and Shower Facility to replace the two fibreglass
toilet units and showers that was situated at the entrance to Ngarunui Beach near the Lifeguard Tower. But that was not all, the existing car park toilets were also to receive a refresh and a revitalised lease on life with an increase in capacity and some finishing touches.
Lobell Construction was happy to put their hand up to be part of a worthwhile project like this. Lobell had an existing relationship with the WDC due to the successful projects completed in the past, so it was an easy decision for the Council to appoint Lobell as the company to build the new toilets.
Reuben Rink, the Project Manager had this to say: "The design and construct proposal presented to us by Lobell was of high quality and we were happy to award this project to them. They considered all the potential issues and took the community's requests to heart and incorporated what they had proposed."
The site was quite tricky and required some detailed planning, specialist fittings and fixtures and had to cater for a wide variety of visitors, which Lobell had completely in hand.
The site sits adjacent to the Ngarunui Main Beach entrance and is a busy public place. The steep access road was the only way for emergency vehicles and deliveries to arrive safely to the site.
Local councils set high standards in health and safety. Lobell's trained managers efficiently work within the bounds of the district's unique guidelines and have remained on the preferred contractors list every time we apply.
The design included four vaulted toilets, which we thought was the most environmentally friendly way to remove waste from the oceanfront. The sealed tanks are emptied by local contractors and fitted with roof turbine ventilators to eliminate any odour.
The four showers drain to the ground. The ever-changing coastal zone the facility is located in is often subject to erosion. With this in mind, the toilet was designed to be moved if required. The salt air is tremendously harsh on metals, so all materials, fixings and exposed elements are the highest grade stainless steel to withstand a lifetime of corrosive conditions.
The finished build was complete with wheelchair access, timber seating, an integrated timber panel screen and a surfboard rack. The response from the community was positive and was lauded as "a good example of a design and build contract that ticks all the boxes".
“Lobell's detailed design meets all the parameters the Council was looking for. But also the fact that they were easy to communicate with, the Council as well as the Raglan Community Board were kept in the loop at all times. Lobell assisted the Resource Consent by providing design. WDC and Consultancy firm BECA handled the application.”
"As part of Council work programme, it is common that we take on students or interns to show them the ropes. On this project, the site manager from Lobell, John Niewenhuizen, took the intern under his wing and showed him in detail what a project like this entails. This was above and beyond what we expect and the intern was extremely grateful for the learning experience."
"Regarding the quality of the build - we achieved what we wanted - really good and very happy with the final outcome. In the end, all the paperwork was good and in order. A definite 9 out of 10. Lobell is a very professional outfit and I would recommend working with them."
Reuben Rink - Project Delivery Team Leader, Community Projects
Waikato District Council