The sky’s the limit for Dorey Court refurbishment in Guernsey

The £1.8 million refurbishment works by Brockton Capital at Dorey Court, Les Banques, St Peter Port, generated a rare sight over the skyline of Guernsey on Saturday 28th April, with two air conditioning chillers being replaced on the office building by helicopter.

Paul Watts, associate director at Savills, the appointed project managers for the scheme, comments: “Due to logistical restrictions we were unable to get a mobile crane of the required lifting capacity to the island so a helicopter was our only option to replace the chillers. The helicopter also allowed us to ensure the works could take place quickly and with minimal disruption to neighbouring businesses and residents, as well as building tenants.”

The refurbishment of Dorey Court, a 45,000 sq ft (4,180sq m) office building arranged over four floors, began on 25^thApril this year and is scheduled to be completed in phases by March 2019. New tenants will move into the building once the first phases of works are completed. The entire project includes life cycle refurbishment of two floors of office space, central core and communal spaces, heating and cooling plant.  

Jason Evans at Brockton Capital, says: “The refurbishment project at Dorey Court gave us the ideal opportunity to replace the cooling plant that is reaching the end of its service life, whilst also minimising disruption to tenants. We are very pleased with how smoothly the chillers were able to be removed with the help of the helicopter, particularly as it is not a method that we are aware has been used on the Island previously.” 

Amalgamated Facilities Management Ltd (AFM) is the appointed contractor for the refurbishment at Dorey Court and sourced the industry leading helicopters for the lifting. 

AFM project manager, Nick Young, adds: ‘Our priority was to ensure public safety and minimise any disruption from the installation on neighbouring businesses and the general public. The helicopter approach was not only faster than using a crane but also more efficient and avoided a build-up of traffic. We are very pleased with how the installation went and would certainly consider employing this approach again.’