Case Study
Castle Boulevard
Providing multi utility supply for canalside student accommodation in Nottingham
A brand new development for student accommodation on Castle Boulevard in Nottingham is due to open in time for the 2020/21 academic year. Built by leading regional contractor Stepnell, it is a substantial development that will consist of 68 studio apartments across three buildings providing views over the canal and towards the city. Needing to procure electric, gas and water infrastructure connections that had to cross a major city road, Stepnell were looking for one company to undertake the installation of all three utilities causing as little disruption as possible.
“This was a challenging project due to its location. Harlaxton’s expertise in multi utility supply was exactly what we needed to give us a workable solution in a short timeframe. The team successfully navigated through some complex issues and saved us time and cost too.” Liam Chapman, Contracts Manager, Stepnell
The challenges
- Location – 11 metre wide side next to the city’s canal, with electric point of connection located in third party land
- Logistics – Castle Boulevard is a major city ‘A’ road with bicycle routes
- Complex design – the layout and lack of spare space on this development meant the main road had to be crossed 4 times as all utilities could not be installed in one common trench
- Timescales – 2 weeks onsite
- COVID-19 – 90% of the works completed within the Covid pandemic
Solution
Though early discussions with Western Power (WPD), the Harlaxton project engineers were able suggest a solution that enabled them to connect with their existing easement by bringing a cable out into the Highway, avoiding the need to enter third party land, and save significant time and legal costs.
In addition, the layout and lack of spare space on this development made grouping utilities together and installing in one common trench impossible. To overcome this the Harlaxton team worked collaboratively with Stepnell to make all four crossings within the same bracket of time reducing disruption.
Services provided
- Gas – 2x 63mm
- Electricity – 1x 400amp 3 phase cut-out (mains & services)
- Water – 1x 63mm services • Collaborative working – regular communication with customer and third parties
- Experienced design and project management team to cope with complex engineering challenges
Results
- 90% of the works completed within the COVID-19 pandemic period. The upstream DNO final connection works followed as soon as WPD were able to commit
- Excellent relationship with the local Highways enabling the complex offsite works being programmed and delivered within the pandemic period
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