Paddington Village reaches latest milestone following handover of car park and energy centre

Liverpool City Council and architects KKA have celebrated the completion of a new car park within the Knowledge Quarter, one of the UK’s leading innovation districts. 

The new multi-storey car park (MSCP) with a combined heat and power (CHP) energy centre, located on the Elm Grove site within Paddington Village Central, has recently been handed over by Morgan Sindall Construction. 

The 14 storey car park – comprising 13 levels for parking and the CHP energy centre on the lower ground floor – was designed by KKA and built by Morgan Sindall Construction. It has a capacity of 1,249, and contains a combination of standard and accessible bays, as well as 12 electric vehicle recharging bays with capacity to increase this number to 130 in the future.  

The building also offers parking for cycles and motorcycles and a management suite has also been incorporated, offering active frontage to the building on Smithdown Road. 

The cladding design for the new build is an abstract representation of the nearby Williamson Tunnels, a fascinating underground network of tunnels created by Joseph Williamson in the early 19th Century. 

The location of the tunnels beneath the site resulted in a significant design change during the early stages of the project. The location of a previously unknown tunnel meant that the energy centre, originally designed as a separate building, would need to be incorporated into the MSCP at ground level, requiring the building footprint to be reduced and the number of floors increased. 

The size and accommodation requirements of the energy centre were refined by specialist consultants Vital Energi.  

The CHP energy centre will deliver a sustainable power and heating source for Paddington Village, with district heating regarded as the lowest carbon footprint of all fossil fuel burning energy systems. 

Kasia Borkowska, director, KKA said: “It’s been a real privilege for KKA to contribute to Paddington Village through our role on this new car park and energy centre. By incorporating the Williamson Tunnels into our work, we have ensured that the facility will reflect the area’s proud history while also helping to make Paddington Village and the wider Knowledge Quarter a new jewel in the crown for Liverpool.” 

At 30 acres, Paddington Village, which was once the site of a now relocated secondary school, is being developed by Liverpool City Council in three phases: Paddington Central, Paddington South and Paddington North. The £1 billion expansion site lies east of the city centre which, when complete, will be a key part of one of the UK’s leading innovation districts – incorporating new science, technology, education and health space.