Global consultancy Arup has secured a contract to deliver a sustainability strategy for the £100m Parkside logistics scheme in Liverpool city region. Tony McDonough reports
A former coal mine that is being converted into a £100m logistics complex will look to “raise the bar” in terms of its sustainability credentials.
Developer Parkside Regeneration has appointed global consultancy Arup to deliver a sustainability strategy for the £100m first phase of regeneration at the former Parkside Colliery in Merseyside.
Pre-construction work has started on the scheme in Newton-le-Willows which could eventually lead to the creation of 3,000 new jobs. Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove gave the green light to the scheme in November 2021.
Phase one of Parkside, to build 1m sq ft of logistics space, will see 450 people employed on its construction. This first phase will create space that could lead to up to 1,300 new jobs. However, LBN understands Parkside Regeneration has ambitions to build a a second phase which could lead to a total of 3,000 new jobs.
Parkside says political, economic and societal factors are driving rapid change in expectations of what constitutes responsible and sustainable development. Arup has been appointed to review its approach to all aspects of the scheme’s design and construction with the aim of ‘raising the bar’ for projects of this nature.
“Parkside will become an exemplar of how to future-proof a large, complex project of this type,” said John Downes, chairman of Parkside Regeneration and group chief executive of Langtree, which is developing the scheme in a joint venture with St Helens Council.
READ MORE: Parkside reaches out to local firms
“It is far from straightforward but Arup leads the field in this area and, with their help, we will deliver a project that matches economic and social value with environmental performance,” added Mr Downes.
Arup’s brief includes, but is not limited to: benchmarking, energy usage and generation, health and wellbeing, transport, ecology, zero carbon materials and innovation.
Andy Sheppard, sustainable buildings associate at Arup, added: “Working with Langtree and St Helens Council is a tremendous opportunity to help them turn their passion for sustainability into practical solutions for this important development.
“We’ll be using our expertise to help Parkside keep pace with increasing demand for sustainable design and operation from tenant organisations, employees and communities.”
Arup will now begin work alongside the project’s planning consultants, engineers, architects, landscape designers, transport engineers and energy providers to assess current plans and identify areas for improvement.
The first phase of the project is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2024. Work has already begun on the construction of the £38m Parkside Link Road by St Helens Council, which connects the site to Junction 22 of the M6. The link road is scheduled for completion at the end of December 2023 and is being built by Balfour Beatty.