Buzz Station, Whitehaven
20 years after the town's bus station closed it's doors, the derelict building has been transformed and reopened as a business hub offering office, hot-desking and meeting space, as well as a range of support and facilities to nurture start-up. It also features Peddler a cafe-bar on the ground floor. The redevelopment was led by BEC (Build Extraordinary Communities), with the help of partners including Copeland Council and the Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners. Sellafield put £5.7m of funding into the £8.2m project.

Complete Rebuild for BEC
The project comprised the complete refurbishment/re-build of the existing Bus Station and associated adjacent office building into a new Innovation Warehouse for BEC. The space has been transformed to provide modern, flexible office space with a café-bar on the ground floor.
Building Works:
- Substructure works.
- New steel framed structure.
- New upper floor construction and balustrading.
- Internal staircase.
- Demolitions and soft strip works/alterations.
- Remedial works to the existing rear retaining wall and retained front façade.
- New roof and rainwater goods.
- Curtain walling.
- External doors and window systems.
- Internal walls and partitions.
- Internal doors and glazed screens.
- Wall, floor and ceiling finishes.
- New mechanical, electrical and lift services.
- Site plot works and associated below ground drainage including culvert works will also be incorporated into the scheme.
- Solar panels will also be fitted to the new roof to provide power and lighting to the offices.
Mechanical Works:
- Hot and cold water services
- Gas services
- Electric heating system
- General ventilation system
- Comfort cooling installations
- Server room cooling system
- Thermal insulation works
- Above ground drainage
- Automatic controls and wiring
- Testing and commissioning
- Part rainwater installation
- Sanitary ware
Our Achievements:
- Compliance with BREEAM requirements to achieve a ‘very good’ rating.
- The project obtained a Considerate Constructors Performance Beyond Compliance Certificate.
- Introduction of renewable technologies & quality design.
- The project was delivered with zero prohibition notices or reportable Health & Safety / Environmental notices issued.
- Over 99% of waste was diverted from Landfill
- Close liaison and several meetings with Cumbria County Council Highways to discuss our works and manage traffic issues as there was also a major Highway Improvements project being completed simultaneously. This also required a lot of co-ordination between the Site Managers of the projects.
- High level of customer satisfaction, resulting in future opportunities with the Client.
- The amount of construction waste sent to landfill was minimal, with over 95% of the total waste being diverted from landfill.
- No environmental incidents and minimal H&S accidents occurred despite the very complex nature of this contract.
- Compliance with BREEAM requirements to achieve a ‘Very Good’ rating.
- The project achieved a Beyond Compliance score from the Considerate Constructors scheme.
Portfolio
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