Western Power Distribution Limited have opened the doors on their new office and depot in Long Acre road Aston Birmingham.
The former bus and coach facility operated by Diamond was little more than a shell warehouse structure and very poor yard.
The £8.45 million Breeam Very Good scheme has transformed the site into their latest depot and office facility. The open warehouses have had new cladding and insulation with PV installed on the roof to provide power back into the nation grid.
The roadside three storey building have been converted into meeting rooms and offices with a new lift and stair tower built at the rear. The buildings incorporates a call centre, design centre, storage, fuel store, changing and welfare facilities, vehicle repair and testing garage and a weighbridge. The concrete ramp to the lower yard was extensively repaired due to water ingress into the structure.
New mezzanine floors were installed within the existing sheds to provide first class office facility.
The contractors Speller Metcalfe along with structural engineers Nolan Associates had overcome the discovery of and old railway engine turntable below ground as well as old tunnels and bases on the former railways sidings and engine shed. The site plan below indicates the layout of the former yard.
Historic pictures from warwickshirerailways.com indicate the scale of the former engine yard.
http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwra3276.htm
http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwra1492.htm
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