Hayle Marine Renewables Business Park

Location
Hayle, Cornwall
Value
£23.8m
Completion
2016
Size
890m2 (office), 1,526m2 (industrial)
BREEAM Rating
Excellent

A sustainability assessment for a BREEAM Excellent business park, situated on a former coal-fired power station.

The aim of undertaking the BREEAM assessment for Hayle Marine Renewables Business Park was to increase the health and wellbeing of tenants and reduce operational costs.

The business park itself is situated on a site previously occupied by a coal-fired power station at North Quay in Hayle. This was an ideal location as Hayle is home to Wave Hub Ltd, the world’s largest marine energy test site, just a few miles from the Cornish coast.

Both of these aspects are important components of the Offshore Renewables Development Programme which aims to develop Cornwall’s potential for renewable energy.

Our assessment found that the new two storey office building and industrial units were successfully built to BREEAM Excellent requirements. This was one of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding requirements, ensuring the business park was in accord with the environmental sustainability cross cutting theme that underpinned the Convergence funding programme.

The Office and Industrial buildings achieved impressive energy results, primarily due to the PV array totalling over 1560m2 and generating over 200,000kWh/annum divided between both buildings.

Due to the proximity of the Hayle Marine Renewables Business Park to the coast, high performing resilient materials with high Green Guide ratings were specified. This not only improved resilience but reduced the life cycle carbon emissions associated with material procurement.

To enhance the site’s ecology, native flora was planted with species rich grasslands to offer foraging opportunities for a variety of wildlife. Sand dunes are also adjacent to the site so fences were put in place during construction to ensure no reptiles were harmed.

“It has been a pleasure to work on such an exciting project. This development cements not only Cornwall’s position in the marine renewables sector, but also the UK’s”

Caroline Railston-Brown, Stride Treglown

All photographs are courtesy of Graham Gaunt Photowork.