Returning to the workplace post Covid-19: Capel C.S Ltd wins award for contract delivered to refurbish Greater Anglia’s Norwich Station Offices ahead of employees return

Capel C.S Ltd is pleased to announce that the office refurbishment project for UK-leading Train.Operating Company (TOC), Greater Anglia is now complete and ready to welcome their staff back in later this month.

Earlier in the year, the construction contractors were awarded the contract for works to refurbish
GA’s staff offices at the historic Norwich Train Station building on the 1st floor. Capel C.S. have vast experience in working with UK-leading TOCs and this was their first time invited to do works for Greater Anglia.

The office facilities at Norwich represent the northern point of the client’s network offices and are home to a large number of staff, including the Customer Service and Operations teams.

Bringing Comfort & Productivity Together

After more than 18 months of employees working remotely, the client’s intention is for its employees to return to the newly revamped offices, contributing to a smooth transition back into the workplace.

The open-plan spaces were designed to be conducive of a feel of openness and collaboration for its occupants, as well as provide a comfortable and modern feel to its breakout and reception areas in the historic Grade II building. Paul Coomber, Managing Director of Capel C.S. says, “It is important in any office environment that employees have workspaces supportive of maintaining their health and well-being, and that is what we wanted to help deliver at Norwich”.

Together On Every Touch-Point

In order to ensure all necessary functions and facilities for the day-to-day running of the operations were satisfied, the construction contractors carried out consultations with all departments that were to occupy the new offices. New meeting rooms, new bathrooms alongside changing facilities, new
breakout areas and individual offices were built.

And in spite of strict Covid-19 working rules demanded earlier in the year, Capel’s project team very quickly established a great working relationship with all parties on the project, from the design team through to the site managers and operatives carrying out the works. This allowed close working and effective communication through all project stages in order to stay on-time for the expected return date of the employees.

Preserving Grade II Heritage

As a historic Grade II building, Capel’s team worked diligently with the conservation planner to preserve important heritage features of the building such as ornate cornices, which were preserved even when the walls beneath them were removed. And like any project involving the refurbishment of old buildings, a few surprises of the structure along the way challenged the project team who were able to quickly find and implement solutions alongside the GA team. “Working with Capel C.S has been an extremely positive experience. From the very start of the project, they have displayed professionalism and strong collaborative management. Working closely with the GA project team, they helped to negate many issues that such a complex project invariably highlights to deliver a safe and comfortable staff accommodation.” – Kieran Gallagher, Project Manager at Greater Anglia

Having completed works early in the month, Capel C.S. Ltd were given an award by Greater Anglia for their “Exemplary Delivery” of work and look forward to maintaining a relationship and delivering more first-class projects together in the future.

Another First-Class Contract Delivered for MTR Elizabeth line: The Taplow Station Refurbishment is Complete

Capel C.S Ltd is pleased to announce that works for Taplow’s Rail Station for MTR Elizabeth line are
now complete. Having successfully delivered previous contracts for the Langley and West Drayton
stations for MTR in the last couple of years, the construction contractors were awarded their third
major contract for the Elizabeth line on behalf of TfL for the refurbishment and remodeling of
Taplow earlier this year.

Another Milestone Reached

Taplow in Buckinghamshire sits on the Western section of the Elizabeth line, where up to 4 Elizabeth
line trains will run in each direction every hour for passengers to go into central London without
having to change trains once the full route opens.

The station underwent a complete refurbishment both internally and externally. Capel were
contracted for the refurbishment and remodelling of the Ticket Office, Booking Hall and Station
Entrance, a new Southern Entrance, staff facility room, revamped public toilets, a brand new MTR
store room and the provision for a Tenancy unit, with an electrical upgrade throughout.

“Capel C.S have been a great supplier and team to work alongside with during this project. Works
were completed on-time and delivered at the highest of quality.”
Loui Harris, Project Manager at
MTR Elizabeth line.

The refurbishment works also included external station and platform works, with the addition of a
brand-new southern entrance with step-free access. To ensure the station was fully accessible to the
public and operational during the refurb, enabling works provisioned a temporary Ticket Office, a
staff room and temporary public toilets.

Jon Shepherd, Chartered Contracts Manager who worked on the project says, “A great and very
rewarding project for us all involved at Capel C.S. We hope the passengers using the station along
with MTR Elizabeth line’s staff will enjoy the new facilities for years to come. It looks absolutely
brilliant!”

Enhancing Every-Day Life & Security

To further improve passengers’ experience, the interior was designed to give a clutter free and
unified look throughout, with a larger Booking Hall for passengers during peak times. This included
works on the existing station entrance and building the additional entrance, whilst incorporating

air conditioning in the ticket office area and a new MVHR system to provide good ventilation to the
space. And to maximise safety and security to the public, the Booking Hall received new roller
shutters and a brand-new CCTV system throughout, with a brand-new LED Lighting system within
the new suspended ceiling system.

Capel C.S Ltd were pleased to be working on another project for MTR Elizabeth line, enabling their
contribution to the UK’s rail infrastructure to expand and grow rail capacity across the nation.

Once fully open, the Elizabeth line will link 41 stations across 62 miles of track, increasing central
London’s rail capacity by 10%.

Photos Copyright: MTR Elizabeth line, Crossrail, Capel C.S Ltd

New facilities for the New Year: Capel refurbishes London Liverpool Street Rail Station Staff Toilets with Greater Anglia

Capel C.S Ltd are pleased to announce the completion of their facility refurbishments works at London Liverpool Street Rail Station with client Greater Anglia. The project commenced late 2022 and was completed as per schedule in less than 4 weeks.

New Facilities in time for the New Year

Having worked on a series of stations across the UK over the last few years with Greater Anglia, the RISQS-accredited construction contractors were awarded another project for refurbishment works at the existing employee toilet facilities at London Liverpool Street Rail Station.  

The works by Capel C.S ranged from replacing the existing entrance doors and ironmongery to removing all power points, lighting, wiring and containment, as well as all sanitary ware, floor tiles, wall panels and electrical features.

Toilet Facilities at Liverpool St Station

“We were delighted to work at London Liverpool Street’s facilities, to complete their
upgrade just in time for the new year, in partnership with the Greater Anglia team.
Providing modern facilities provides a
better working environment for Greater
Anglia staff, who play a crucial role in
looking after commuters, working to
encourage greater use of public transport,
and helping to make the UK’s rail network
one of the best in the world.”
Jon Shepherd,
Contracts Manager at Capel C.S Ltd.

All works were completed in 25 days. The new facilities now feature brand-new cubicles, sanitary ware, ceramic tiled floor including skirting and rear wall panelling.

Capel were also contracted to install new electrical features including touch-free sensors for increased hygiene, a multi-cultural toilet, modern necessities, and suspended ceilings with LED light fittings.

Capel C.S focus on delivering 1st class construction solutions and have worked with Greater Anglia and a range of other Train Operating Companies (TOCs) over the last few years, across the UK’s rail infrastructure to modernise stations and re-vamp public and staff facilities.

Thank you to our clients and friends at Greater Anglia for trusting us on another project. For more information and photos on the project, please visit our News page.

For more information on Capel C.S Ltd, please visit us at www.capelcsltd.com or contact us at
info@capelcsltd.com.


Building Sheds for World Mental Health Day &
How as Employers, We All Need to Be Better.

Shining a light on our recent project for a special charity alongside Greater Anglia: The UK Men’s Sheds Association. A company with the mission to support & help men’s mental health.

More than 1 in 3 rail construction workers meet the clinical criteria for a mental health condition, revealed a survey published late last
year by The Rail Safety and
Standards Board (RSSB).


The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) also revealed that 822,000 workers suffered work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2021.


As a UK Employer, we have a legal duty to care for our employee’s health & safety: including their mental health.


As a team, we continue to strive to put not only our employees’ health and safety first, but even the public’s where we can (e.g. carrying out onsite works). However these days, it takes a lot of changes and opening “taboo” topics up, to truly help break the stigma around struggling with mental health, particularly as an employer within the construction industries.


Recently, we began to implement HSE’s Working Minds Campaigns “Talking Toolkits” within our workforce and taking in other measures around the objective, e.g. training our H&S management in First Aid Mental Health.


We kept flexible working for our employees too so they can work from home when not required onsite or at occasional team meetings in the office which has helped our employees’ overall wellbeing.

Last year, our employees took
iHASCO’s CPD Mental Health
Awareness Training
to learn techniques around managing stress, anxiety, learn to support fellow colleagues as well as learn to ask for support from employers.


However, we would be naive if we did not admit that this is only the start…And we believe this is the case for many employers in the industry.


In these upcoming years, we will aim to work towards achieving the ISO 45003 accreditation, continue to improve our employees’ wellbeing and help educate others using our voice as an employer.


In August this year, we were asked by Greater Anglia to support works and donations for the “Man Shed” at Boxted (Essex) for the UK Men’s Sheds Association, a movement set
up primarily to help men with their mental health, by providing them with a safe space to go and “Tinker”.

Whether you are a man suffering with depression, PTSD, dealing with anxiety or anything affecting your mental health, this space aims to provide a community for people to connect, converse and create.


Helping reduce the feeling of
loneliness, isolation and most
importantly, providing a space for fun, there are currently 575 sheds in the UK and around 13,766 families benefiting from their use.

You can find the nearest man’s shed available to you or your
family via their website.


Please join us in proactively
making a change in our industry
by shining a light on not only the importance of mental health, but how to actually support it too.

Photo Copyright: Capel C.S Ltd, Greater Anglia

For more information on Capel C.S Ltd, please visit
us at www.capelcsltd.com

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