Buckland Developments is overseeing the creation of Welborne Garden Village, a new community of 6,000 homes, and turned to WCS to provide civil engineering services relating to the new substation that will bring power to Welborne.
New Garden Villages
Recently, the government provided funds for the development of 14 Garden Villages, with Welborne among the sites. Welborne Garden Village will be located between the South Downs National Park and the Hampshire coast, just north of the Isle of Wight.
Garden Villages are planned new settlements like New Towns, and trace their origins back to a proposal written in 1898. In this era, the phrase Garden City was used. Letchworth Garden City was initiated as a project a few years later, with Welwyn Garden City following before long. The post-war New Towns movement in fact grew out of these projects, but no other named Garden Cities were built, at least in the UK. Modern convention is to use the terms Garden Town (over 10,000 homes) or else Garden Village, even though locations like Welborne are much bigger than a true village.
Welborne Garden Village
Buckland Developments is overseeing the creation of this new community. Garden Villages and Towns are all-in-one communities, so power will be needed for shops, schools, factories and other places of work, as well as thousands of homes. The new community will also feature a science and technology park, as well as the green spaces that give rise to the term garden.
Powering all of this will be a new 132kV Primary Substation. Buckland are a new partner for WCS, but asked us to join the project after seeking advice from key partner Hitachi Energy, with whom we have worked on many occasions.
Bringing power to Welborne
Welborne Garden Village substation will house 132kV/11 kV modular GIS (gas insulated switchgear). Cable circuits will connect to the new 132kV double busbar switchboard. The substation will require two external 132kV/11kV transformers, plus connecting bus coupler and bus section circuit breaker.
The substation structure includes the main GIS hall, switchboards, LVAC and battery room, control room, relay room, plus office facilities.
Hitachi Energy’s scope of work includes the design, supply, assembly, installation and pre-commissioning of this 7-bay GIS and two 132/11kV transformers. Our own scope, as civil engineering design consultants, includes:
- Detailed structural and civil engineering for the substation building, including foundations and cable basement
- Drainage design
- Highways design
Each project may bring its own challenges; a difficulty in this case was the limited space available for the equipment required. To reduce the footprint of the substation, the transformers are to be located adjacent to one another. Detailed liaison with partners was needed, particularly in the area of fire safety, but ultimately a solution was found, with transformers to be separated by appropriate firewalling.
The building will require external cladding. Currently, we are working on the overall design submission for planning permission.
“It is very rewarding to be part of a project such as this,“ said WCS Engineering Manager Natalja Petkune. “The engineering challenges were interesting, but it’s also exciting to be helping to create a whole new community where families will live.”
Whether your next project involves a new urban development, a data centre, a wind farm or rail electrification, WCS has the in-house expertise to help. To learn more about us, please have a look at our portfolio page. To get in touch, use our contact page, or just call us on 020 3581 7847 or else email us at info@wcs-consult.co.uk.
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