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The £37.8m contract includes work to begin construction and enabling work for the new station on behalf of partners Essex County Council and Chelmsford City Council. This phase of the work includes set up of site welfare, earthworks, civils, modifications to track and signalling systems to facilitate the main construction phase of the new facility.

Main construction for the new station facility will be part of a second contract expected to be awarded in the coming months to complete the station and open it to train services for the benefit of passengers.

As part of a wider regeneration scheme, the new station has been designed to support the wider economic development of the area and its construction will include:

• Three platforms with a central loop line and new tracks to enable stopping services to call at the station while allowing fast trains to pass through unimpeded
• Step free access to all platforms via 2 lifts
• Accessible toilets, baby change facilities, waiting area and space for retail/catering
• Ticketing facilities, with ticket vending machines and a gate line
• Pedestrian and cycle access routes to the station
• 500 spaces for cycle parking and storage
• A bus interchange including bus stands for local services
• Pick up and drop off area with dedicated taxi bays
• Parking for over 700 cars, 5% of which to be designated Blue Badge bays, and motorcycle spaces, as well as dedicated parking for station staff, emergency services, and a dedicated space for service access

J Murphy & Sons Ltd has already been working on the project by finalising the design for Beaulieu Park station and have begun to establish the site compound to undertake the early enabling works.

The main construction phase will start later this year and the new station is currently expected to be completed and open by the end of 2025. Once open, the station will be managed by Greater Anglia and served by its fleet of new trains with services into London.

Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “Beaulieu Park is an excellent example of what the railway industry can do when working in partnership with local organisations to improve the railway for the benefit of communities and businesses. This is a great opportunity to show how we can work collaboratively with all our partners to begin to deliver the new station for the Beaulieu community.”

Al Pattison, Operations Director, J. Murphy and Sons Ltd, said: “We are excited to begin building this new station for the people of Beaulieu. The station has been developed by our teams for the last three years and is now ready for delivery. Murphy have previously demonstrated our expertise on the building of Soham Station, which we completed ahead of schedule. The team is looking forward to getting started on site and continuing our partnership with Network Rail.”

Cllr Lesley Wagland OBE, Essex County Council Cabinet member for Economic Renewal, Infrastructure and Planning, said: “The appointment of J Murphy and Sons to construct Beaulieu Park train station is another significant step towards starting the development of this exciting and important project, which will play a significant role in allowing Essex County Council to future proof transport services in the area and support wider economic growth.”

Cllr Stephen Robinson, Leader of Chelmsford City Council, said: “The new station is an important part of the extensive and vital infrastructure being put in place to support the new Chelmsford Garden Community. It will reduce the need to drive into central Chelmsford and tackle congestion, by encouraging greener options like cycling, walking and public transport.”

SELEP Chair, Sarah Dance, said: “As a key funder of Beaulieu Park Railway Station, SELEP is delighted to see this important project progress to its next phase of development. Centred in a key growth area for the City of Chelmsford, Beaulieu Park Station will provide a sustainable transport hub for the north Chelmsford growth area, which will provide new homes and modern office and business space to the north east of Chelmsford. This will offer improved access to the rail network for local residents but also the wider area of Maldon, Braintree and Uttlesford districts, whilst removing pressure from Chelmsford City Centre.”

Martin Leach, Managing Director, Strategic Land and Major Projects, Countryside, said: “We are delighted to have reached the next milestone of this major project, which will bring such a crucial piece of infrastructure to the area. For a long time Countryside (now part of the Vistry Group) along with our development partner L&Q have been working in partnership with Essex County Council, Chelmsford City Council and Network Rail, to bring this brand-new railway station to fruition. Once open, the station will significantly improve transport connections for Beaulieu residents and the wider Chelmsford community. We look forward to seeing the construction of the station progress in the coming months.”

Adam Simpson, Director of Project Management and Development at L&Q, said: “We are very excited to be progressing with the growth of this new community in the heart of Essex and the Beaulieu Station forms an integral part of that. We welcome the continued support and partnership work with Chelmsford City Council, Essex County Council and Network Rail, as well as Countryside, our delivery partners at Beaulieu, and look forward to having our Beaulieu residents riding the first train from their new local station.”

Seventy new homes are coming to Marks Gate next year, as a housing block in the Padnall Lake development nears completion. The block has been delivered by J. Murphy & Sons Limited for client Be First, the regeneration arm of Barking and Dagenham Council, and it sits adjacent to the newly opened Padnall lake.

To celebrate the near completion, a topping out ceremony was held at the new block, called Newcombe House, with Mark Crane, Development Director at Be First, the Deputy Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Saima Ashraf and members of the Murphy team.

Be First has a strong history of creating new, high-quality homes for people and communities in Barking and Dagenham, and through its work the borough has been named the most affordable for housing in London. At Padnall Lake, there will be 70 units in total, made up of 26 three-bedroom town houses and 44 flats one- and two- bedroom flats, all offered at affordable rent.

As part of the wider Padnall Lake development and a continued commitment to improving the borough for residents and communities, Murphy has supported Be First’s mission to completely refurbish the area, breathing new life into the popular local lake in Chadwell Heath. Together, they have improved the cleanliness of the lake, enhanced biodiversity, created new cycling and walking paths, delivered significant open space, and provided a new community space for residents.

This is the third scheme Murphy have supported Be First on and both look forward to working successfully together over the coming years in support of their goal to deliver a cleaner, greener area for residents in Dagenham.

Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Saima Ashraf said:

“It’s great to see more homes being built here by our partners at Be First and contractors at Murphy. We aren’t just building flats here, but family sized town houses too, so local families can stay local. We are delivering on our promises to build more affordable, safe housing for local people.”

Mark Crane, Director of Delivery, Be First said:

“This area of the borough has one of the highest levels of housing need and we are working with the Council to give priority to local people who want to live in the new homes. We are grateful to our partners Murphy, who have done such a good job building this development and tidying up Padnall Lake next door for residents to enjoy.

“At Be First, we are creating places which everyone can be proud of and are committed to creating a fairer borough and building opportunity for all.” 

Miles Cobley, Specialist Business Managing Director, at Murphy, said:

“At Murphy our purpose is to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure, and so we are particularly pleased to be delivering this project to provide high quality new homes for the benefit of the local community here in Marks Gate. We take great care to ensure that every project we undertake is executed to the highest standard, and this project is no exception. We are proud to be working alongside our valued client, Be First to bring this project to fruition.”

Work started in Aug 2021 and the proposed completion date is May 2024, with a move in date set for later that year.

The lake and the play area are all part of the Phase One project for Padnall Lake, which includes the flats, the houses, and a lot of investment into the lake and amenity spaces.

While many were putting their feet up, teams from across J. Murphy & Sons Limited were hard at work over Christmas completing vital projects across the country.

Here are just of some of the impressive works carried out over the last few weeks:

Bridge replacement – Three Colts Lane
Working within a physically constrained location surrounded by residential flats and businesses, the Murphy team demolished and replaced the bridge at Three Colts Lane, London. Despite adverse weather conditions the original structure has now been replaced with a new steel bridge.

Strengthening works – Bishopsgate Tunnel
Bridge strengthening works involved the installation of heavy steel components lifted and installed using Road Rail Vehicles fitted with manipulator attachments. The scope involved the installation of preassembled needle & spreader beam assemblies, coring into the brick substrate, installation of top needles, grouting of all needles, installation of Cintec Anchors and earthing & bonding to the newly installed steelwork.

New track connection – Holbeck Depot Leeds
Colleagues in the TRU East Alliance successfully installed a new scissors S&C unit as part of the major engineering works at Holbeck. The new track layout will ease access and egress from Holbeck Depot and free up much needed capacity on this critical section of route. The project is a key enabler for future planned works in the Leeds area, improving diversionary routes and minimising disruption to passengers over the coming years.

Platform reinstatement – Liverpool Street Station
At Liverpool St Station, Murphy completed the reinstatement of platforms in time for passengers return to the office. 

Additional works included the installation of a Road Rail Access Point in Cambridge that will allow strategic access for future projects; while in Broxbourne, Herts colleagues prepared the Nazeing New Road bridge for the upcoming replacement in January 2023.

As the rest of the business returned following the festive break, Daniel Hickey, Project Director for the works at Three Colts, Bishopsgate, Liverpool St and Broxbourne, praised the efforts of his teams and all those who ensured vital works were completed on time:

“Yet again, our people and partners have impressed with their commitment, skill and expertise in safely delivering these critical works. Whilst others were enjoying their Christmas dinner and toasting the New Year, our teams were busy renewing vital rail infrastructure. A big thank you to them for sacrificing time with their family and friends to deliver these works!”

Andrew Ball, J. Murphy & Sons Limited Sector Director Energy, has been appointed as the National Chair of The Pipeline Industries Guild.

The Pipeline Industries Guild was formed in 1957. Since then, it has evolved to be the only association world-wide to cater directly for the needs of the pipeline industry, regardless of engineering discipline, application, or qualification.

The Guild’s membership comprises those with interests in pipelines world-wide, all are governed by the industry’s twin need to combine quality with safety, while at the same time meeting all the latest environmental and legislative requirements.

This winter, in lieu of Christmas parties, we will be donating £100,000 amongst 20 foodbanks local to our projects and offices in the UK (Trussell Trust) and Ireland with the hope of providing some Christmas cheer to those most in need.

With our company’s purpose to ‘improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure’ this extends to supporting the communities in which we work.
We are very pleased that we are fortunate enough to be able to make this donation and sincerely hope that it makes a difference to those in hardship this Christmas.

In addition to this donation, a big thank you to our project and office locations who have also been collecting donations of food and toys from employees and our supply chain partners to support other local charities.

This includes our office in Golborne who have held a raffle raising £600 of funds to buy food for The Brick charity and toys for Compassion in Action.

In Ollerton, our team has arranged a food collection to support the Lifespring Centre and Community Action Project helping families within the local area.

In Leeds, the team is donating food hampers to St George’s Crypt for the homeless as well as to local families in need.

In Cannock our teams are collecting food for Cannock District Food Bank and supporting animal charity CAARS Rescue with a collection of blankets and toys.

Whilst in London, our Kentish Town team and suppliers have collected food, toiletries and toys to be shared between Kentish Town Community Centre and the Camden New Journal Hamper Appeal.

Thank you to everyone for their support and taking part.

J. Murphy & Sons Ltd (“Murphy”), a leading specialist engineering and construction company, is pleased to have completed the construction of new storage tanks at the Oil and Pipelines Agency (OPA) oil fuel depot in Gosport, Hampshire.

Acting as Principal Designer and Contractor, Murphy upgraded the oil fuel depot for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Naval Command in order to meet the future requirements of the Royal Navy, including the new Queen Elizabeth Class carriers.

Murphy’s scope of work included the design and replacement of fuel storage tanks, pipework, fuel delivery systems, gatehouse, control room, fuel sampling laboratory and stores. Works also included a new fire and foam system, with tank deluge and a new effluent treatment works.

Murphy self-delivered the vast majority of the project with direct resource and in-house Specialist Welding Services (SWS) and Pipeline Testing Services (PTS).

The project involved demolishing existing tanks and rebuilding a further eight tanks – including six new tanks and two return tanks – as well as new security fencing and new buildings constructed according to the MOD’s specifications.

To protect environmental sustainability, the new system allows the Royal Navy to recycle fuel from its vessels, including fuel that is contaminated or substandard, by filtering it and putting it safely back into production. The old tanks were recycled.

The site has been formally handed over at an opening ceremony to the operator, OPA, to enable supply of aviation fuel for Royal Navy aircrafts and helicopters, as well as diesel fuel for Royal Navy ships.

More than 800 people worked on the project, including Murphy employees and its supply chain partners, with over 970,000 hours worked throughout the project duration, which commenced in March 2018.

Peter Bartlett, Murphy Senior Project Manager, said:

“We are exceptionally pleased to have successfully delivered this critical defence infrastructure project safely through the pandemic with no interruptions and in line with the Royal Navy’s expectations. The oil fuel depot secures the bulk supply of fuels for the Royal Navy – both aviation fuel for aircrafts and helicopters as well as diesel fuel for ships – and underpins the UK’s energy security at a critically important time.

“This is the largest tank project Murphy has worked on in its history and involved multidisciplinary trades including pipework, tanks, civil works and electrical EC&I. It was a great team effort by all involved in the project, from the design team through to the site construction crews, engineers and commercial backup, as well as our in-house specialist units, Specialist Welding Services and Pipeline Technical Services. Together, we worked as ‘One Murphy’ by delivering the people, plant and expertise needed to make the project a success.”

Stephen Bunce, DIO Principal Project Manager, added:

“We are delighted to have completed this project to meet the Royal Navy’s fuel requirements.

“The upgrade work on the Gosport site was delivered on time and within budget and its success was achieved through good teamwork, communication and collaboration. It’s great to see this vitally important facility now in full operation.”

mua Group (“mua” or “the Group”), a 50:50 joint venture between SGN and J. Murphy & Sons Ltd (“Murphy”) that is responsible for utility asset ownership, is pleased to confirm that it has agreed a £30M non-recourse debt facility with Santander UK to fund orderbook rollout and other growth opportunities.

Following a period of substantial growth, mua has acquired an orderbook of 180,000 connections across a number of sectors serving and connecting residential, commercial and industrial properties and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

mua comprises multi-utility asset businesses including an Independent Gas Transporter (IGT), an Independent Distribution Network Operator (IDNO) and other non-regulated entities. The Group takes a holistic view of utilities to improve the speed, precision and efficiency of how new communities are energised.

The investment supports their vision to become the first-choice, multi-utility network operator in Great Britain and will help mua accelerate the transition to net zero by continuing to promote and adopt greener utility infrastructure.

Advisors on the transaction included:

• Debt: Mazars
• Lender: Santander
• Legal: Addleshaw Goddard LLP & CMS
• Technical and Commercial: PA Consulting
• Model: Operis
• Finance and Tax: Mazars
• Interest Rate Swap: Chatham Financial

Gregory Addison-Smyth, Managing Director at mua Group, said:

“We are very pleased to receive financing from Santander to fund growth in the acquisition of infrastructure assets to support our journey to net zero.

“This funding is an endorsement of our strategy which, through our clients and partners, allows us to continue to invest in long-life utility assets to connect homes and businesses across Great Britain to essential utility infrastructure, safely delivering energy and multi-utility services through our networks in the simplest, smartest and greenest way possible.

“I would like to thank Santander and all our advisors, in particular Mazars and Addleshaw Goddard LLP, for their support in concluding the transaction.”

Jamie McAinsh, Asset Investment Director at mua Group, added:

“The completion of this capex facility underlines our success so far and reinforces the confidence the financial community has in our business plan. This transaction marks the next stage in our evolution, creating a springboard for sustained future growth, as we ramp up to continue support the transition to net zero through smart acquisition of utility networks.”

Jonathan Corcoran, Director Specialised and Project Finance, Santander UK said:

“We are delighted to have supported mua with this funding which will support the company’s ambitious expansion plans. mua is critical in bridging the gap between energy supplier and energy distributors and our funding will support their transition towards net zero, a crucial part of our sustainability strategy too.”

J. Murphy & Sons Limited, a leading specialist engineering and construction company, has today published its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, outlining the Group’s commitment to deliver a greener, cleaner Murphy community. The full report can be accessed on Murphy’s website at: https://www.murphygroup.com/about-murphy/who-we-are/publications

Murphy’s purpose is to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure across the transportation, water and energy sectors in the UK, Ireland and Canada. Murphy is in full support of all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and aligns with SDGs 3, 7, 8, 9 and 13, where the Group can make the greatest positive impact.

• 43% emissions reduction since our journey began in 2009
• 6% of electricity renewable
• 100% of timber purchased from certified, sustainable forests
• 44% of company car fleet electric / hybrid

• 42% reduction in lost time injury rate
• 25% of employees from underrepresented groups
• £200k in charitable donations

John Murphy, CEO of J. Murphy & Sons Limited, commented:

“I am pleased to say that in 2021 our vision to be the leading family-owned construction business in the three geographies in which we work when we celebrate our 75th anniversary in 2026 has remained as steadfast as ever, despite the well-documented global and industry challenges.

“The reason for this is simple; our strategy is founded on our people and social value, collaboratively working with our clients, being safe and sustainable, driving continuous improvement in engineering and delivery excellence, and in turn enabling consistently strong financial performance.

“Our business model has also remained consistent, with self-delivery at its core. We have continued to strengthen our senior leadership team, and through our Brilliant Basics initiatives we are delivering the fundamentals better: to improve productivity and deliver operational excellence across all our construction activities.

“At the core of this, our focus on long term sustainable growth is enabling us to make great strides in our commitment to deliver a greener, cleaner Murphy community, and ensure the two are mutually inclusive.”

Murphy recognises that it has a vital role to play in enabling climate action and we have set ourselves the ambition of being a net zero carbon business by 2030 and carbon positive by 2050.

We are continuing to work towards our net zero carbon emissions’ goal aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi); reducing fuel use by 30% in 2021, minimising waste by diverting more than 99% from landfill, investing more than £21m in green plant and equipment throughout the year, and developing increasingly low carbon engineering solutions.

We also rolled out our 10 Steps to 10% campaign – a Murphy-wide fossil fuel reduction campaign targeting a 10% reduction in fossil fuel use through behavioural change and increased efficiency.

Murphy’s support for local communities is stronger than ever; we have offered more apprenticeships in 2021 and taken an active role in the UK government’s Kickstart Scheme to create jobs for 16-24-year olds, and support the long-term unemployed.

We launched our Murphy Roots education and tree planting initiative with 50 schools across the UK, given free volunteering days for our colleagues to engage with the communities they work in, and generated charitable donations for many good causes, including the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

We have also taken a lead role in the Ministry of Justice’s Employment Advisory Board programme within HM Prisons to ensure prison-leavers are job ready upon release and are offered a second chance.

Climate action and social value are key elements of our Murphy at 75 business strategy, with specific objectives, targets and action plans associated with each.

These targets were set by our Group Executive Committee and approved by Murphy’s Board of Directors in July 2020, as part of the annual review process of our business strategy and business plan. Our sole shareholder, Drilton Limited, also approved the Murphy at 75 business strategy in November 2020 as part of our governance process.

The Group Executive Committee and the Board of Directors review the performance of the business against its climate action and social value objectives and targets in the annual review of business strategy and plan, and approve any changes.

2021 ESG Report – https://www.murphygroup.com/media/luupow1a/murphy-esg-report-2021.pdf

2021 ESG highlights video – https://youtu.be/WjgUfzdYvOI

We look forward to welcoming John Cresswell as Murphy’s new Chairman of the Board in November and wish a fond farewell to Alastair Kerr whose leadership has guided us successfully over the last decade.

John Murphy, CEO, said: “I would like to thank Alastair for his leadership of the Murphy Board over the last 10 years, and for the impact he has made on our business.  Alastair has been instrumental in implementing Murphy’s good governance practices, building a professional family Board, and in demonstrating the importance of culture to the long-term success of businesses like Murphy.  I wish Alastair every success in the future.”

Alastair Kerr commented: “It has been both a privilege and a pleasure to help support the Murphy business over the last 10 years, and, in particular, to see it develop so strongly over recent years under the leadership of our founder’s grandson, John Murphy and his team. I wish everyone involved in it every success for the future; I am confident that the business will be wisely guided by John Cresswell for many years to come.”

John Cresswell brings substantial executive advisory experience to Murphy, having served as CEO of 215-year old family-owned business, Bibby Line Group, Arqiva and ITV.  His current tenures include Operating Advisor with Lazard Asset Management with the Sustainable Private Infrastructure Fund, and as Non-Executive Director of Capita plc.

Commenting on the appointment, John Murphy explained: “John has more than 30 years’ experience leading and developing organisations across a broad range of industry sectors, making him an ideal person for this role.  There is strong cultural alignment between John and the Murphy family, and I look forward to working closely with him to continue the standard set by Alastair Kerr.”  

John Cresswell, incoming Chair, commented: “I feel extremely privileged to take on this role at such a transformative time for Murphy and the construction and engineering industry.  Murphy is values-led, has a reputation for quality delivery, and a strong balance sheet. The Group has a clear longer-term ambition to be the leading family-owned construction business and a solid strategy to get there.  I am excited to be able to play a part in that journey.”

Alastair will stand down from the Board on 22 December 2022.

Please click here to read our official press release.