Spotlight on... Eastern England

Regeneration game

Regeneration is the buzzword of the moment across Eastern England, reports ECA East regional manager Angie Turner. The Sunrise Scheme in particular, a £14.4 million initiative to increase business development, career opportunities and tourism in the Lowestoft Docks area, means that openings are rife, not only for companies relocating to the area but also for contractors already operating in the region.

Plans to regenerate the Great Yarmouth district, a total land area of around 48 kilometres (mainly e-industrial) are also good news for our members. The area is set to undergo significant building development in the coming years, from commercial premises to new housing and apartment units.

Cambridge is also seeing a dramatic upsurge in development. Already a commuter haven for many working in London throughout the week, Cambridge has always boasted a healthy city centre development scene. But with demand for housing on the up, this trend is progressing to fringe areas and beyond. An excellent example is the Belvedere Tower project reported on in this feature. Demand for contractors experienced in housing developments of all specifications is high.

The 2012 Olympics are also beginning to impact on the region’s electrical industry. Although London does not fall within the boundaries of ECA East, many locally-based contractors regularly work on projects in the capital. The tendering process is already in operation for developments relating to the Games, from sporting venues to media centres, transportation routes to accommodation projects. This means that many in the region are gearing up for a busy period of new business pursuit.

Full of Eastern promise

The ECA’s East regional head office, originally based in Diss but now in Bury St Edmunds, has been run by Angie Turner, the first full time female regional manager of the ECA, for the past ten years. Since this time, regional membership has risen from 150 to over 260.

The region has an active branch network, with offices in Ipswich, Central Essex, Colchester, Norfolk and Waveney, Beds and Herts and Cambridgeshire. Geographically, it runs along the A1/M1 under the M25 East, across to Canvey Island.

The ECA’s East division has strong relationships with other organisations in the area, including the HVCA, RICS, local authorities and CIBSE. It is also dedicated to fundraising for the Electrical and Electronics Industries’ Benevolent Association (EEIBA).

Angie runs the ECA’s East office alongside deputy manager Vic Fagence and regional secretary Elizabeth Gingell.

Project file

1 - Belvedere pride

The new Belvedere Tower in Cambridge, a Highland development, is the highest grade apartment building in the city’s history, boasting 137 high-spec luxury flats, a leisure complex and even its own shops. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that Ipswich-based ECA member Lion Barn Electrical is proud to highlight its £2.2 million involvement.

Responsible for all electrical installation work on the site, the contractor commenced work on the Belvedere Tower a little over two years ago.

Lion Barn fitted each and every apartment with the latest in electrical technology, from specialist underfloor electric heating and Smart Chassis data hub units to integrated Bang & Olufsen wiring for multiple-room audio options. The firm was also responsible for the tower’s extensive communal features, including state-of-the-art gym facilities.

Phil Coleman, director of Lion Barn Electrical, said: “We have been trading for 30 years, but this is the biggest project we’ve ever worked on.

“At the height of works we had a 25-strong team on site, meaning effective co-ordination was was essential,” said Coleman. “Such resource commitment meant it was important that the end result was a project to be proud of.”

2 - Fleet Street fix

The former Reuters headquarters in London, 85 Fleet Street, has received an electrical makeover thanks to Suffolk-based contractor Wiremek in a project worth around half a million pounds.

Wiremek was specified by AWA Consultants to design, manufacture and install a new MV/LV distribution system comprising of MV circuit breakers and transformers, LV switchboard, battery tripping units, powerfactor correction units, busbar system and mccb/mcb panels. A new hvac system was also needed.

The project was a challenge for Wiremek. Director Ian Gleed said: “The busbar system we installed was selected to negate the need for large cables running from roof to basement as, given the complexity of exiting routes and the lack of space available to accommodate the bending radius of any cables installed, this wouldn’t have been viable.”

The building also now boasts a Cylon web-enabled ddc bms system, which monitors energy consumption, and controls the new hvac system.

3 - In the driving seat

Boggis Electrical, based in Wrentham near Beccles, has completed work on a flagship Peugeot and Suzuki garage in Lowestoft in a project worth over £100 000.

The new build MR King & Sons garage is a key development in the area and required extensive electrical installation work for both the showroom and general workshop areas, utilising Targetti architectural interior lighting to dramatic effect.

Boggis was nominated for the work having previously proven high service standards on other projects undertaken for M R King & Sons.

Alastair King, general manager of M R King & Sons, said: “Lighting is one of the most crucial features of any car showroom, as it can highlight specific features and show the cars to maximum effect.”

The work on M R King & Sons is the latest in a line of significant projects for the Wrentham firm, which last year celebrated its 60th anniversary with the news that it had reached a £1 million turnover level.

4 - Turbine takes AIM

AIM Electrical Services, part of the Ipswich based AIM Group, is completing work on a £2.3 million project to relocate a QuinetiQ gas turbine combustion test rig from Farnborough to its new home at Port Talbot. It is set to become the central facility in the New Cardiff University, funded by the European Union Objective 1 Programme, Centre of Excellence for Combustion Technology.

The test rig is used to analyse how gas turbine engines burn fuels and behave. It is a world-leading piece of equipment, used by some of the leading names in gas turbines such as Siemens and Rolls Royce.

The AIM Group was responsible for dismantling this intricate piece of technology, which incorporates an 11 kV, 2·2 MW compressor, transporting it to the new site and reconfiguring it. The job took almost a year in total.

The project is typical of the large-scale industrial relocation work that AIM Electrical carries out alongside sister companies AIM Industrial Movements and AIM Supply Chain, but is one of the highest in profile.

Godfrey Pearson, managing director of AIM Electrical commented: “Our work in relocating this incredibly valuable piece of equipment will play a direct role in the future of aviation fuel testing worldwide.”

A bite of the cherry

As a woman on a mission, Joanna Francis, a sole female contractor operating in Norfolk, has been spending a lot of time in church recently. But while most churchgoers are busy praising on high, this particular ECA member has been working on high, using her own cherry picker to update the lighting at St Margaret’s church in the village of Burnham, Norton, in an electrical project worth almost £2000.

The church now boasts modern spotlighting to illuminate the nave, organ and pulpit. Commenting on the job, Francis said: “I’ve been involved with quite a lot of church restoration work and find it really interesting. Reaching the electrical work is often a challenge, but having invested in a cherry picker, I don’t have a problem.”

Francis set up her business back in 1998 with the help of the Prince’s Trust and has since built a strong reputation locally for taking on unusual projects.