NWP have this week joined Watkin Jones on the Birmingham Fire Station Student Accommodation Scheme. The 463 bed development will be the first we have completed within the city. Originally opened in 1935 the fire station was home to the West Midlands Fire Service for 73 years. The grade II listed premises will be redeveloped in time for next year’s intake of students from Aston University.

Managing Director Tim Keyes said – ‘The opportunity to work on another grade II listed building is increasing our experience & portfolio. It is an area we would like to progress further into. We have a strong belief in restoring these exceptional buildings as can be seen through previous projects such as Wrexham Museum, Sugarhouse Close & Merthyr Tydfil Old Town Hall.’

Contracts Director Roger Foston shared Tim’s opinion adding – It’s always exciting when starting a new project, especially in a new city. Having previously completed Logie Green Student Accommodation in Edinburgh we received a further 3 schemes within the city after impressing the client. We not only see Birmingham Fire Station as an opportunity to restore a special building with a vast history but also see an opportunity to win more projects within Birmingham.’

Student accommodation schemes are a very important part of our operations. In fact over the last 3 years we have completed 4 projects & currently have 2 at design stage, all 6 schemes have a combined Mechanical & Electrical Value of £10m. The student accommodation sector had been growing steadily over the last decade until the coalition government introduced the new tuition fee structure, allowing universities to charge up to £9,000 a year. Since this new structure was introduced in 2012 the student accommodation sector has witness a huge leap in proposed projects right across the country. We anticipated this progression and subsequently increased our presence in Scotland. We have since completed 3 projects in Edinburgh with a fourth due for hand over next month.

Running concurrently with the Birmingham Student Accommodation development is the Finsbury Park Student Accommodation scheme. Again working alongside main contractors Watkin Jones, we are currently at design stage with this 475 bed scheme. This new build project is part of the recently completed John Jones Art Gallery. We were awarded this contract as way of repeat business after a strong performance on the gallery. This project marks the 2^nd we have undertaken within the capital after opening our satellite office 12 months ago.

Recently two student accommodation schemes in Edinburgh have been acknowledged for their outstanding development. In late 2013 Sugarhouse Close was nominated for the quality in planning & Regeneration Awards respectively, the scheme went on to win both awards before adding the Civic Trust Special Commendation Award recently. The sugarhouse Close Scheme consists of 8 separate blocks housing a total of 302 student bedrooms. The development was opened to students of Edinburgh University in September 2013.

Although we have experienced great success with student accommodation & educational facilities over the last three years we are also encouraged by recent grade II listed regeneration projects. As Tim Keyes stated earlier, there is a certain excitement surrounding such projects, a sense you are helping to save a piece of history. We are slowly beginning to win more projects within this specialist sector. We believe this is down to excellent performances at projects such as Wrexham Museum, Sugarhouse Close & Merthyr Tydfil old Town Hall.

Our live portfolio currently consists of 8 projects with a Mechanical & Electrical value of  £11.2m. We have ongoing projects in Birmingham, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh & Strathclyde.

Information on all of our live projects can be seen on our new website – www.nwp-ltd.com

Introduction

Welcome to the all-new weekly blog from NWP Electrical, Mechanical & Utility Services Limited. The blog will allow NWP to update all on our exciting project work.

Firstly let me introduce the company and what we do; NWP initially begun with 5 employees back in 1996 covering High voltage & Mechanical & Electrical Contracting projects across the North Wales coast. The workforce steadily increased giving NWP the opportunity to look for projects further afield. 2007 saw the two divisions of NWP split with current Managing Director Tim Keyes taking full control of the Contacting section. Although still based in Kinmel Bay, North Wales the vast majority of NWP developments now lie across the border after identifying key growth location such as Edinburgh, London & the North West of England.

NWP now have offices located across the United Kingdom, with hubs opening in Edinburgh, Cardiff & London. Client services is important for any business to continue to grow year on year, however this has further importance within the construction industry. NWP have quickly progressed into the biggest Mechanical & Electrical Contractor in North Wales. We believe one of the main reasons for this progression is repeat business, here at NWP we rely heavily on our excellent client services & communications as well as the quality of our installation & forward thinking designs. Repeat business has ensured NWP still thrives in the tough economic condition everybody is currently experiencing. We hope our growth continues at its current pace, and to further increase our local workforce and apprenticeship program.

New Website

NWP’s fresh new website has now gone `live’. We tasked Toolkit Website with updating the old text based site into the new image based interactive site. The new page now includes information on all projects undertaken by NWP Electrical, Mechanical & utility Services Limited.

To coincide with the launch you can now follow us on Twitter, or like our Facebook or Linkedin pages. All of NWP’s latest project news will be posted onto our social media sites, as well as the new weekly blog.

Project News

NWP currently have a varied list of projects at installation stage, ranging from student accommodation schemes in Edinburgh & London to the Old Trafford Supporters Club & Hotel in Manchester. Recently NWP were awarded the prestigious National Graphene Institute project for Manchester University. Graphene is a two dimensional material consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb formation. It is the thinnest material known yet is one of the strongest. It can conduct electricity as effectively as copper & outperforms all materials as a conductor of heat. Graphene is completely transparent, yet so dense that even the smallest helium atom cannot pass through it. The full benefits of Graphene may never truly be known however it is believed that in as little as 15 years we could see Graphene monolayers integrated into plastics to produce a material stronger than steel. Scientists are currently working with NASA to produce an aluminium material with Graphene monolayers in the hope of producing a material stronger yet lighter than standard aluminium. It is also believed that Graphene could one day be used in biological engineering.

Old Trafford Supporters Club

Onsite installation is progressing well, with some encouraging signs for finishing ahead of schedule. NWP held a promotional day alongside main contractors Galliford Try & members of the class of ’92. Gary Neville was joined by Brother Phil as well as Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and ex Manchester United Interim Manager Ryan Giggs.

Site installation for the 138 bedroom hotel started in January 2014 with completion due in time for the start of the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season. Also included within the scheme are a Canal level supporters bar, conference facilities, gymnasium & roof level football pitch.

Finsbury Park Student Accommodation

Following on from NWP Electrical, Mechanical & utility Services successful completion of the Centre of Art Excellence in Finsbury Park, London, We have been awarded our 2^nd London project after identifying the capital as a key growth area. Located next to the John Jones Art Gallery NWP were awarded the design, installation, testing & commissioning by way of repeat business through main contractors Watkin Jones. All services for the 475 bed development will be designed in house. Also included within the complex are 15 apartments.

Information on all of our projects can be found on our website:- www.nwp-ltd.com

Follow us on twitter or like our Facebook page and be one of the first to hear of our exciting developments.