Oldham structural design firm supporting modular steer car-park manufacturer to boost Manchester Airport spaces

A structural engineering consultancy from Oldham is working with a modular steel car-park manufacturer to increase temporary spaces at busy UK sites, including Manchester Airport.

Edge Structural Design is supporting Another Level Car Parks in designing portable steel modules consisting of metal decking, legs, ramps, staircases and bracing.

The temporary, versatile system is used at locations including hospitals, railway stations, supermarkets and construction sites.

Examples include Manchester Airport, Shenfield railway station in Essex, a construction site near Cumbria’s Sellafield plant, a Bidvest logistics centre in Oldham, an Amazon fulfilment warehouse in Warrington and a residential development in London’s Canary Wharf.

The Manchester Airport project was a multi-million pound scheme with Another Level Car Parks placing a substantial steel order.

The phased fabrication and assembly project increased space at a car park near Terminal Three, off Ringway Road.

In total, just over 300 steel modules have been erected to almost double the number of spaces on the existing car park ‘footprint’.

Edge Structural Design and Another Level Car Parks are both based in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Adam Sedgwick, founder and managing director of Edge Structural Design, said: “The modules are erected on top of existing car park surfaces to nearly double the parking capacity without the need to dig foundations.

“The patented design allows for fast assembly and minimal disturbance to traffic, land, underground services or any archaeological remains.

“We did a lot of work to verify the modular design and obtain national building regulations approval. This means there is no need to apply for local building regulation approval.

“The car parks are temporary, demountable and portable. Modules can be pieced together in many sizes and shapes. All decking and legs are delivered and assembled on-site.

“We work closely with Another Level Car Parks and their clients’ engineers to answer any technical queries that may arise.

“These can cover topics including processes, planning, design and control, delivery and installation. We oversee installation and inspection once it’s fully-erected.”

Adam has had a working relationship with Frank Rothwell, managing director of Another Level Car Parks, for over 15 years which began when Adam worked for a different company.

They worked together on a new industrial building located near Junction 22 of the M60 Manchester orbital motorway, in Hollinwood.

They later worked on a purpose-designed fabrication hall for Another Level Car Parks nearby.

Frank Rothwell first had the modular car park idea when visiting a hospital and hearing conversations about parking difficulties.

He said: “We pioneered the development of the concept. The benefits are apparent on multi-storey and single storey applications.

“We were the first-to-market with this and have more installations and the largest fleet for hire or sale in the industry.

“The demountable decking system can be any size from eight to 800 parking spaces. It can also be used for other purposes above an existing car park – such as site cabins, storage space or helicopter pads.

“The patented design is safe and reliable, and engineered to 200 per cent of load requirements.”

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