Supporting sustainable journeys with the completion of Manchester EV charging oasis

Project value: £1.5m+

Programme duration: 26 weeks (November 2024 – April 2025) 

Situation: 

We were tasked with establishing a new flagship electric vehicle (EV) charging oasis for our client, Be.EV.

The site, located at the corner of Reliance Street and Oldham Road, had been derelict for over 15 years. The goal was to deliver the charge hub of the future, featuring 10 new 150 kW dual chargers, serving 12 parking bays, and a Café Nero.

Following an original design which would take the project over time scale and budget, M Group Energy appointed by the client under a Preconstruction Services Agreement to collaborate with the design team to develop a ‘end to end’ solution that could be delivered on time and within budget.

Task:

Our team undertook responsibility for CDM and all permits, licenses and closures.

Key tasks included:

·       The construction of an EV charging hub including all groundworks

·        Project management

·       Constructing a single storey retail unit

·       Building and installing the EV hub

·       Ensuring the solution was comprehensive and integrated.

Action:

Several challenges arose during the project, including:

·       The concept design was over budget and could not be delivered on time. We worked closely and collaboratively with the client and designers to value engineer a scheme to achieve the budget and timelines without diluting the sustainability objectives.

·       The site was contaminated and required remediation before the main works could start.

·       The site is located on a corner of a major road into Manchester city centre. We co-ordinated all the statutory connection works so that they were undertaken under one licence.

·       As an extremely tight site, we undertook daily meetings to co-ordinate contractor activity, deliveries and client visits, while maintaining a safe site.

To address these challenges, we used our experienced in-house team to ensure alignment with health and safety requirements. We coordinated with local authorities and stakeholders to ensure that all works adhered to regulatory requirements.

Our team efficiently managed offsite civil permits and traffic management to facilitate smooth project excavation. Key tasks included offsite civil excavations, sourcing and installing equipment, managing the point of connection excavation, backfilling, and reinstatement.

We also had to coordinate our works with the tenant’s fit-out contractor, agreeing on separate CDM areas to streamline the process. We completed the construction and installation with minimal disruption to the local community and surrounding businesses. This included overseeing the delivery and installation of the substation GRP and supplying, installing, and terminating LV cables to the client’s LV panel.

In alignment with our client’s and our own sustainability and environmental responsibilities, the Café Nero Express was constructed using sustainably sourced timber for the cladding and featured a rainwater harvesting tank that supplied recycled water to the toilets. The site’s retaining wall incorporated 8,000 locally sourced reclaimed bricks. Additionally, over 2,000 plants and shrubs were planted with a self-watering irrigation system, and the asphalt for the car park was made from 104 recycled tires.

Result:

Upon completion of the project, we successfully delivered 10 150 kW dual chargers, significantly enhancing Manchester’s EV charging capacity and ensuring reliable and efficient charging as the adoption of electric vehicles continues to grow.

David Waring, Construction Manager at M Group Energy EV, remarked: “It has been a pleasure to complete this Be.EV flagship site safely, on programme, to budget, and to a high standard of quality. The success of the Charging Oasis wouldn’t have been possible without good collaborative working relationships between Be.EV, M Group, and our supply chain.”

Mark Williamson, Head of Asset Delivery at Be.EV, said: “This project is the largest and most complex site we have delivered to date.  M Group steered us through all stages of the development from feasibility through to completion including co-ordinating their works with those of our tenant’s fit out contractor.  This included driving innovation in the design and construction to meet our Budget & Programme, whilst maintaining our objectives of delivering a unique and leading charging site with sustainability at its core.

“We could not be happier with the end product, which has been delivered on programme and has showcasing M Group’s commitment to safety and delivering high quality sites.”