Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES) has completed a sustainable m&e installation as part of the £11.6 million refurbishment and remodelling of Greater Manchester Police's divisional headquarters in Rochdale.
Working under a continued framework agreement with main contractor Mansell, a Balfour Beatty Company, and Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the redevelopment has transformed the ageing 1960s concrete building into a state-of-the-art divisional headquarters.

BBES helped the project to achieve a BREEAM rating of 'very good' and save around 230 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. It is expected that annual gas and electricity costs will also be reduced by £13,500 per annum.

The project took 18 months and was completed in October this year. It included the creation of a glazed atrium and new external lighting. Internal areas were fitted-out to include open plan offices, meeting rooms, kitchen and toilet facilities, plus informal meeting areas and social spaces.

BBES had to devise a comprehensive m&e package that would meet the restrictive demands of the structure and that would also ensure that service diversions - including heating, communication, drainage, alarms and security systems - would protect the integrity of the building. The headquarters remained operational while the work was carried out.

Sustainable initiatives used included the introduction of high performance insulation to the building fabric, installation of solar heating panels and absence detection to lighting and ventilation systems to minimise unnecessary use and reduce energy costs.

Other work included the installation of all equipment, pipework and ductwork to accommodate the new air conditioning system as well as electrical, CCTV, fire alarm and security systems. In addition, new water and waste systems were installed.

With security paramount, BBES implemented a phased installation using careful planning and liaising closely with Mansell and Greater Manchester Police.