Defence Online

Building work on Salford University’s new £55 million Adelphi Arts Centre has helped boost the local economy with more than 90 per cent of orders over £100,000 being awarded to north west construction firms.The 15,000 square metres building, which was handed over by Salford-based contractors BAM, has eight storeys and houses courses in art, design, fashion, photography, music, performance and dance – as well as the new architecture programme.During construction, 19 orders of more than £100,000 were placed within the north, with nine of these being in or around Manchester.Only eight orders of £100,000 were from outside the north of England, and all but one were within the UK.Four of the six million pound plus contracts went to firms in Stockport and Manchester, with a fifth from a Leeds-based supplier.Smaller companies also emerged as winners, with three quarters of the contracts valued between £50,000 and £100,000 going to local companies, as did two thirds of orders valued at over £10,000 and under £50,000.More than 1,000 tonnes of structural steel and 5,500 square metres of reinforced concrete were used. It contains a café, a bar, a rooftop terrace and wildlife attracting green roof. Its distinctive large walkway, cutting through the centre of the building, will lead visitors into the heart of the University’s Peel Park campus.