Development Gallery

Opening the Bull Ring JLP01_08_068586

BULL RING CENTRE, BULL RING, BIRMINGHAM, WEST MIDLANDS. Senior staff in the construction of the Bull Ring Centre being presented to HRH Prince Philip on the day of the opening ceremony.
The staff members waiting to be presented to the Duke are as follows: (right to left) Reverend Canon Bryan S. W. Green, Rector of Birmingham; T. J. Hirst, architect, Laing Development; R. C. Tucker, architect. Construction Company; A. N. Jerrard, Contracts Manager, Birmingham; G. M. Evans, Project Manager for the Bull Ring construction; T. H. Jones, Construction Manager, who was latterly Project Manager; M. Brady, Project Manager, Laing Development; G. L. Ferguson, Bull Ring Letting Manager, J. A. S. Hepburn, Bull Ring Manager, Laing Development; P. W. H. Bradbrooke, concrete ganger and M. Chaffe, chargehand electrician

© Historic England Archive

Aylesbury Estate Walworth JLP01_09_761948

Aylesbury Estate, Walworth, Southwark, Greater London. Looking over low-rise blocks of flats and maisonettes during the topping out ceremony of the Southwark Whites contract on the Aylesbury Estate.
The Southwark Whites contract was carried out by Laing's South London Region. In an article published in October 1976 in Laing's monthly newsletter Team Spirit, the site is described as the last housing development to be built by Laing in the 10 year redevelopment of the Aylesbury Estate. It was also to be the last housing development to be built using the 12M Jespersen scheme as the John Laing Concrete factories had all closed and the trend in the country was now for much smaller estates to be built. The Whites scheme consisted of an extension to an existing 14-storey block, but the new buildings were grouped in seven low-rise blocks of flats and maisonettes with more landscaping than the previous schemes

© Historic England Archive

Delivery JLP01_08_083042

Aylesbury Estate, Walworth, Southwark, Greater London. A lorry delivering precast concrete panels from Laing's factory in Andover to a block of flats on the Aylesbury Estate, built using the 12M Jespersen system.
In 1963, John Laing and Son Ltd bought the rights to the Danish industrialised building system for flats known as Jespersen (sometimes referred to as Jesperson). The company built factories in Scotland, Hampshire and Lancashire producing Jespersen prefabricated parts and precast concrete panels, allowing the building of housing to be rationalised, saving time and money. Laing's Southern Region started building the Aylesbury Estate in 1967. At the time it was the largest industrialised housing scheme ever undertaken by a London Borough, providing homes for more than 7000 people, comprising of low and high-rise linear blocks from four to fourteen-storeys high containing flats and maisonettes

© Historic England Archive