Beechmoor Retirement Village
Project Overview
Power On delivered the full bespoke electrical infrastructure for Beechmoor Retirement Village in Chester – a £36 million, 155‑unit development.
Led by main contractor Elliott Group, the scheme has created a future-ready, sustainable community with one- and two-bedroom homes across six villas, and a central Pavilion housing shared spaces such as a restaurant, café, and wellness facilities.
Scope of Work
Power On was responsible for the full design and delivery of the site’s electrical infrastructure, including:
- Electrical landlord supplies to all six residential villas
- A dedicated supply to the Pavilion building
- A bulk electric vehicle (EV) charging connection to support sustainable transport
- A bespoke indoor X-Type substation designed for resilience and high-performance monitoring
The inclusion of EV charging and on-site renewables supports the village’s ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Technical Delivery
A key feature of this project was the installation of an indoor, brick-built X-Type substation – a complex, non-standard solution typically used in larger-scale infrastructure settings.
The substation includes:
- Wall-mounted Solkor protection panel
- Auxiliary battery backup
- Advanced network monitoring systems
- Communication interfaces
This setup enables high-voltage network monitoring, increased fault detection, and greater overall resilience for the site’s supply infrastructure.
We also carried out 109 metres of directional drilling beneath a busy A41 road junction to connect the site to the high-voltage network. The work was completed without road closures, in collaboration with local highways authorities.
Collaboration and Problem-Solving
During delivery, SP Energy Networks (SPEN) introduced internal process and policy changes without immediate clarification to Independent Connection Providers (ICPs), which had the potential to delay the project.
Our design team proactively engaged with SPEN’s engineering teams through targeted workshops and discussions. This collaboration resulted in the co-development of new working procedures – benefiting both this and future projects.
- Electricity
“With a few extra challenges and complications on the electricity connections for this retirement village, we wanted to ensure we used experts who would be able to take on the project with all its elements and who would deal directly with all parties. Power On were able to do just that and the village was energised efficiently and successfully.”
