The days may be getting shorter and the weather colder, but the pace of work shows no sign of abating at the site for the town's new community stadium in north Colchester.

With the erection of steelwork now entering its final stages with the North and South stand currently being put up, efforts will soon turn to providing some internal structure to the four sides of the 10,000 all-seater facility.

That work is already getting underway on the West Stand, with brickwork and flooring work due to start in earnest this week as the stand which will house the U's offices and the corporate facilities continues to take shape.

"It's going well and I would say that we have had the benefit of some good weather," Site Safety Coordinator John Gibson told us.

"With that good weather, it means that we are on time with the project and, apart from a couple of bad days, we've not had any really bad weather to worry about. Everything seems to be going well, touch wood."

Visiting the site last week, there is a tangible sense that things are stepping up a gear with more workers moving around the site to get the steelwork and concrete bleachers in place.

And whilst more men have been put into action in recent weeks, there will be plenty more to come between now and the end of November.

"It is going up very well and there are maybe thirty or forty guys on site right now. In the next couple of months, that's likely to double so that we can get everything up and running.

"The new guys currently working on site are finishing off the roofing on the West and the East Stands, and the flooring guys are coming in during the next week or two and it's all ready for them to get underway.

"Essentially it is the skin going up at the moment, the brickwork and wallwork, to provide the exterior frame and shell, ready for the main build.

"The intention is to get the outer shell up before the weather gets worse and before you get restricted with the time because of the natural light and the days getting shorter. If we can get it up and sealed off, it means the work can be carried on inside with lighting."

John is one member of the Barr staff on site responsible for ensuring the men working on the Cuckoo Farm project are safe whilst doing so.

The company are keen to promote the 'boots, vest and hat' mantra that is often seen on building sites around the country and John has been pleased with how the builders working on the Colchester project have got the job done without any major problems.

Regarding the various health and safety policies that are in place to protect the workers, he explained: "They are all in place in order to protect the worker on site. It is important to make them aware of the potential hazards around them and our policy is to ensure they are as safe as possible whilst working for us.

"It is surprising the amount of minor cuts people can get on site, and we ensure the guys wear gloves which cuts those down by half. I did a survey with one of the jobs we did with Tesco and the gloves did reduce problems significantly.

"Health and safety is a key factor now - it is not a case of restricting the workers, it is a case of helping them."

With the shape of the site becoming more evident on a daily basis, attentions will soon start to turn in earnest to what is happening inside the four stands. That could see in excess of one hundred people working on getting the new stadium up and ready for next season.

"The plan is that the South Stand should be completed by the end of this week and in the next day or two, the flooring boys should be on site doing the floors at the different levels of the West Stand," John continued.

"After that you are talking about six or seven squads of brickies coming on site and getting the external and internal walls set up. The drainage is already being worked on for the West Stand and you will see a big difference in the next two to three weeks in terms of the number of people on site.

"There will be an influx of workers in the coming weeks and then when we start the actual fit-out, then there will be more workers after that. It will be a busy time, but everything is going to plan so far."