Tai Tarian

Tai Tarian is one of the largest social landlords in Wales and has responsibility for over 9,000 properties across the Neath Port Talbot County Borough.

In this phased and complex utility project, we’ve been appointed to help Tai Tarian upgrade existing and new properties with green technologies, including solar PV, battery storage, and electric vehicle charge points.

With SMS serving as the project’s utility consultant, we initially completed a feasibility study that assessed costs, timings and logistics of upgrading and diverting supplies, whilst still keeping the existing buildings on power during the different phases of the build.

SMS then secured the procurement and installation management phase of the project working closely with the principal contractor to coordinate all utility work on site. This involves identifying all diversions, disconnections, and new connections, applying for this work and then coordinating the installation alongside the build programme of the principal contractor.

The objective was to upgrade the existing properties to improve the energy efficiency rating and furnish the new properties with green technologies, including solar PV, battery storage, and electric vehicle charge points.

The County Flats site – part of a 3,000 home estate built between 1947 and 1955 to house workers for Port Talbot steelworks – was occupied throughout the development, with original flats being upgraded rather than demolished. The changing infrastructure must therefore maintain a supply to the current blocks of flats whilst also being diverted and upgraded to allow for new builds on the site, making it the sort of complex utility project that SMS is so experienced in delivering.

With SMS serving as the project’s utility consultant, we initially completed a feasibility study that assessed costs, timings and logistics of upgrading and diverting supplies, whilst still keeping the existing buildings on power during the different phases of the build.

SMS then secured the procurement and installation management phase of the project working closely with the principal contractor to coordinate all utility work on site. This involves identifying all diversions, disconnections, and new connections, applying for this work and then coordinating the installation alongside the build programme of the principal contractor.

Keeping the existing buildings supplied whilst at the same time upgrading and diverting the – a large residential district in Port Talbot – works needed to be carefully planned and executed in order to align with both the new build and the existing refurbishment. This includes siting additional substations to allow for the new development and EV charging points.

Delivering a multi-utility phased project over several years, which in addition to being our workspace also continues to the living space of residents, provides a particularly challenging aspect – one which requires the attention to detail and levels of utmost safety and professionalism that SMS is renowned for.