Barr Construction was a major Scottish contracting organisation operating throughout the United Kingdom.
History
The company started in the late 19th century as a
joinery firm known as W & J Barr & Sons and gradually expanded into civil engineering projects. As Barr began to grow its operations out of its native
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...
and into larger
civil engineering developments, it decided to incorporate in 1976.
The company's stadia work included new facilities for
Southampton,
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
,
Celtic, and
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
football clubs as well as projects for lower league and rugby clubs. Clubs which got into financial difficulty because of mounting debts to the company included
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
and
Raith Rovers.
In 2001 the company won the contract to upgrade the
A830 road
The A830, also known as the Road to the Isles (though it forms only a part of the historic route) is a major road in Lochaber, Scottish Highlands. It connects the town of Fort William to the port of Mallaig.
Route
The A830 is 46 miles long. ...
between
Mallaig and
Fort William in the Scottish highlands. Barr were also involved in the renovation of
Home Park, the stadium home of
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
.
In 2006 Barr built the first "eco-store" for
Tesco at
Wick in
Scotland, using the unorthodox method of ship transport to deliver building materials to the site in order to save on carbon emissions.
In 2007 the company was bought by
McLaughlin & Harvey.
For the 2012 London Olympic games, Barr won the contract to construct the
Olympic Park Basketball arena.
In November 2014 McLaughlin & Harvey integrated Barr Construction into its business and Barr Construction ceased to exist as a separate business, although the Barr name continues to be used within the group for Barr Environmental.
References
External links
www.barr-construction.co.uk(Archive)
Barr Barr Environmental site
Construction and civil engineering companies of Scotland
Companies based in Paisley, Renfrewshire
Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1976
1976 establishments in Scotland
British companies established in 1976
British companies disestablished in 2014
2014 disestablishments in Scotland
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