Leicester CCF - St Margaret's Bus Station

The city of Leicester has seen major changes over the years as it boosts its appeal with greater connectivity to the city centre and, aspiring to reach their carbon neutral target by 2030 or sooner - the new bus station is an important stepping-stone forward.

Key Stats

£6.9m Social Value generated
Redevelopment of the former Bus Station
Leicester City Council framework
Number of bays increased from 18 to 24
Electric bus charging points installed, and features secure storage for up to 150 bikes
Carbon Neural Bus Station
99% waste diverted from landfill

At a Glance

Client

Leicester City Council

Budget

£11.9 million

Completion

June 2022

Location

Leicester

Sector

Community, Bus / Coach Stations

Our Approach

The Leicester City Council Climate Emergency Strategy was declared in 2019, and part of the initial steps included the refurbishment of the iconic St Margaret’s Bus Station (SMBS), which has been a landmark in the city since 1940. By reimagining the Leicester SMBS, it has gone on to become a carbon neutral bus station.

The new bus station has been completely transformed with a refreshed, slick, and modern look largely down to the new fully glazed envelope in the concourse and the curved aluminium roof. It boasts a spacious layout with a new café and newsagents on the ground floor; whilst new council offices are located on the first floor. The station also provides, modern toilets with a changing facility, an improved digital passenger information board and increased capacity with 24 available bays.

SMBS 7 old — The previous Leicester St Margaret's Bus Station

Carbon Neutral

Every element of the bus station had been carefully designed to ensure the bus station is as carbon efficient as possible. The strategy was to completely strip back the bus station to its skeletal steel frame and reuse existing elements including its concrete on the main parts of the building. As a result of this, the embodied carbon cost of constructing the bus station substantially decreased by an equivalent of 575 tonnes.

By incorporating the fully glazed envelope in the concourse, this promoted natural lighting throughout the whole building. The design feature ensures overall energy usage in the building is reduced, and a substantial cost saving was made.

The integration of a solar farm on the curved roof which includes 390 photovoltaic panels, meant renewable and green energy will be pumped throughout the building. Due to all these design features, the building has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with the highest possible rating of A+ and will operate as a fully net zero carbon building.

The new building encompasses electric bus charging points, and a new bike storage has been installed which accommodates over 100 bicycles. As part of Leicester’s e-bike share scheme, there have also been docking stations installed at the station.

Greater Connectivity

Greater connectivity throughout the city was a key component for the council’s wider strategy. As such, the infrastructure around the SMBS and the main arterial ring road of Leicester was redesigned with extensive and complex Section 278 works. With an already stringent programme, the team consulted with Highways England regarding the impact of road closures, diversions, and all necessary consequential complications. Following those consultations, out of hours work proved to be a significant solution which local subcontractors Danaher and Walsh completed. The section 278 works have allowed for better connectivity throughout the Leicester City centre and with the inclusion of bike routes, it will encourage many to consider their method of transport within the city.

The general landscaping of the area with new trees and reconfiguring the footpath means not only is Leicester more scenic around the station but promotes a greener living and fulfils the agenda for greater connectivity.

Constrained Site Challenges

The site was in a busy constrained city centre which meant that a set down area for materials was limited. For over half of the project the team worked in a live environment with the existing bus station moving to a public terminal right next door to the site cabins. Due to the site being constrained with a large space occupied for the public, the materials had to be delivered just-in-time for each phase as there was nowhere for storage on site.

The project sits in the heart of a busy Leicester City centre and has contributed to a positive impact for the local economy. Over £6 million was generated in Social Value, and of this, £2 million had directly supported local businesses. This involved material being donated to community projects nearby including the Sikh Temple scheme.

We always endeavour to support the next generation of construction professionals and throughout the whole life of the project, we had one work experience placement student on site working with our Groundworks contactor. Following the successful work experience, the student was then employed by a separate Groundworks company. We also supported three apprenticeships on the project and their support in helping us complete the SMBS was key.