Harley Haddow bolsters consultancy growth in Northwest

Harley Haddow has bolstered growth in the Northwest of England following several project wins and its latest senior hires. 

The engineering consultancy has gone from strength to strength since opening a base in the region last year and was appointed as part of the team to deliver the £29 million rebuild of five fire stations in Greater Manchester.

Ian Chalk, Director of Harley Haddow’s Northwest hub, said: “Harley Haddow’s expansion into Manchester last year was a hugely exciting step as we knew it was a region that had many opportunities for us, particularly with our expertise in helping assist the city with its 2038 carbon neutral target."

The fire stations rebuild aims to provide modern facilities for firefighters, whilst reducing the carbon footprint of the buildings, all of which plays its part in the city’s 2038 carbon neutral target. 

Harley Haddow will be undertaking the MEP design and sustainability consultancy services for the new build fire stations – all targeting net zero carbon.  

Each station is being designed with low energy consumption at the forefront.  

The solution will use air source heat pumps for heating and domestic hot water loads, natural ventilation where possible, plus large solar panel arrays and the installation of optimised battery storage. 

Green roofs have also been proposed to encourage biodiversity to the site. 

This work comes close off the back of the consultancy’s award of a North Wales Fire and Training Centre project, exploring feasibility for a new build centre for the North Wales Fire Service. 

The extensive project also includes a detailed appraisal of carbon released into the environment as part of training routines, and how this could be potentially offset to make it Net Zero in operation. 

Other project wins for the Manchester team include an investigation and performance analysis at Saints Blocks in Chester, design for a high-end low carbon private residence in Cheshire, and ongoing roles at both St Michael’s and Ancoats Mobility Hub in the City. 

More recently the team have commenced design work at several schools in and around Greater Manchester – with a view to carbon reduction and making the schools more fit for purpose. 

Following on from a successful initial period, the consultancy has also appointed Paul Phillips as a senior mechanical engineer, and Tom Barlow has also recently joined as electrical associate director to bolster the team. 

With a background spanning across 16 years in engineering, Paul has been an integral addition to Harley Haddow. 

Tom brings with him over 39 years of experience in the Built Environment, having held senior positions at two other Manchester consultants in the last 19 years. 

Chalk said winning this succession of varied projects was testament to the firm's expertise and added: "It’s been great to reinvest in our team with the appointment of Paul, and now Tom too. 

"We’re looking forward to keeping this momentum going with further business development and an active recruitment plan, as we continue to grow our team locally.” 

Tom Barlow added: “I am pleased to have seized the opportunity to be the latest addition to the Harley Haddow family and look forward to help build on the fantastic work already achieved in Manchester, particularly in the low energy, carbon market.”