Kier in the community
PAUL STEPHEN discovers how Kier’s work on the Sussex Power Supply Upgrade has provided fringe benefits to society in general
The Sussex Power Supply Upgrade (PSU) does not necessarily garner the same number of headlines or column inches as other major schemes within Network Rail’s electrification portfolio, such as those on the Great Western Main Line, in northwest England, and between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
But by providing upgraded power delivery, power distribution, and mechanical and electrical systems to the county’s 33kV third rail system, the Sussex PSU is no less important in operational terms.
New sub-station feeder cables, track isolation switches, earth farms, and positive and negative track power cables installed by Kier since June 2016 will all help in meeting the increased power demands required by longer trains and a new higher-frequency timetable on the expanded Thameslink network from next May.
Away from the railway, the PSU will also have generated a number of impressive social benefits, following the delivery of several community projects by more than 90 volunteers, including Kier, McNicholas (which was acquired by Kier in 2017), and Network Rail employees along with various sub-contractors.
The first community project was Brighton’s Bike Regeneration Scheme, which refurbishes pushbikes that have been left abandoned around the city and then feeds them back into local communities for the benefit of unemployed people or low-income families.
Kier Operations Manager Paul Welch explains: “There were hundreds of bikes left discarded at Brighton station which were slowly being stripped of all their parts. We liaised with the station, and went down on a monthly basis to take them away to local charities which, in turn, refurbished them and put them back into the local community. “We salvaged so many bikes that six extra people had to be recruited by the charities to refurbish
them, while the bikes themselves enabled several individuals to set up their own Deliveroo businesses.”
Infrastructure Project Manager Paul Medcraft adds: “This scheme benefited lots of people who previously couldn’t afford a bike, including less privileged children who have now been taught how to ride a bike and maintain it. Our main commitment has been in transporting the bikes - which we continue to do - and on the back of that success we’ve gone on to get the Kier team involved in lots of other things.”
The next community project undertaken by Kier was to enhance a 1.5-mile stretch of disused railway within Combe Valley Countryside Park, for local walkers.
Located between Bexhill and Hastings, the railway had been part of the Bexhill West branch line prior to its closure in 1964. The land had been acquired by the not-for-profit Combe Valley Countryside Park Community Interest Company (CIC), but was seldom used by ramblers or cyclists due to its overgrown state and its propensity to flood in wet weather.
Medcraft adds: “Once we’d started doing the bikes, we thought ‘what else can we do?’ And the Countryside Park seemed very appropriate, given that it’s an old railway. [Environmental charity] Groundwork UK put us in touch with the Combe Valley Countryside Park CIC, which had bought the land but were stuck without very much funding.”
After consulting with Natural England, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and other environmental charities, the team from Kier carried out an environmental survey with a local expert and devised a safe working system.
More than 90 volunteers then completed approximately 190 volunteer days on a range of on- and off-site tasks to make the walking route fit-for-purpose.
This included erecting improved signage and notice boards, and installing an access ramp and staircase to the footpath located at
The message that I’ve always tried to instil in my staff is ‘work hard and try and make a difference’. Paul Medcraft, Infrastructure Project Manager, Kier
the top of a steep embankment. The existing access path could be extremely slippery underfoot, and was of no use whatsoever to wheelchair users.
Mass vegetation clearance revealed a number of original railway structures, while also restoring views from the railway embankment across the surrounding countryside. New picnic areas and safety fencing were also constructed, using surplus materials from the PSU.
Medcraft adds: “Inclement weather restricted its use by the community, so we buried perforated pipes to create new drains that made the walkway usable all year round. We also created tables and chairs using hundreds of old sleepers and cable drums which were left after the power upgrade.
“We also had trucks and plant which was being hired week-in week-out for the PSU, but which sat idle for a lot of the time because a lot of our work was weekend possessions, providing us with an ideal opportunity and the resources to give the community somewhere nice to walk.”
In other community initiatives completed by Kier, flowerbeds have been provided next to a number of worksites using old wooden pallets. ‘Bee hotels’ have been build adjacent to these so that bees can store their food locally, thus helping to halt the important species’ nationwide decline in numbers.
Information boards were then erected, to educate construction staff on what had been achieved using materials that would otherwise have been discarded.
Kier employees have also visited local schools in Leatherhead to explain the PSU works, while children were encouraged to create drawings that visualised their views on health and safety and the environmental effects of human activity. The drawings were then laminated and displayed over the entrance to the main works site at Leatherhead, in full view of the town’s busy station.
A local rehabilitation centre for former soldiers, where veterans engage in woodworking as part of their treatment, was also visited. Waste timber was donated to provide materials for their projects.
According to Welch, these projects not only demonstrate Kier’s commitment to creating a positive and lasting legacy in the communities in which it works, it also helped strengthen relationships on the PSU between the company, its sub-contractors, and the client Network Rail.
He says: “There was absolutely no contractual obligation to do any of this, but on a project this size it’s important to give something back to the community. It was also good collaboration, as we asked subcontractors and NR to volunteer human resources and materials, so it benefited the inter-team relationship as well as giving something back to the environment.”
Medcraft adds: “I’m a big believer that if someone is passionate about doing something good for society, then that should be endorsed. Most of our ideas came from the team itself, which included an ex-gardener who recommended the bee hotels and an ex-soldier who was aware of the rehabilitation centre.
“Hopefully some people will take away lessons from this. The message that I’ve always tried to instil in my staff is ‘work hard and try and make a difference’.”
On a project this size it’s important to give something back to the community. Paul Welch, Operations Manager, Kier