When MGM Construction took on the structural reinforcement of Times Square Multi-storey Car Park in Newcastle Upon Tyne, they were not just completing a contract. They were solving a problem that no one in Europe had solved before. The result is a project that could set the standard for car park operators across the UK as the shift to electric vehicles accelerates.
The Problem Nobody Saw Coming
When multi-storey car parks were built decades ago, the assumption was simple: cars would get lighter over time. That assumption has not aged well.
Electric vehicles are transforming the way people travel, but they come with a significant engineering challenge. The large batteries that power them can add up to 600kg to a vehicle’s weight compared to a petrol or diesel equivalent. Multiply that across hundreds of spaces in a busy city centre car park, and the cumulative load on ageing concrete structures becomes a serious concern.
That was precisely the situation facing Times Square Multi-storey Car Park in Newcastle. The six-level site is one of the city’s busiest, serving daily commuters as well as crowds heading to the Utilita Arena and St James’ Park. Closing it was not an option. But doing nothing was not an option either.
The Solution: A Process That Had Never Been Done Before
MGM Construction were brought in to carry out the reinforcement works. What began as a project to strengthen three columns quickly expanded when testing revealed that all ten pillars inside the car park required attention.
The method developed to address this had never been attempted anywhere in Europe. Each pillar was wrapped in a steel collar, with triple-strength concrete then poured in during tightly controlled 45-minute windows. The concrete could only be introduced through severely restricted access apertures in the steel collar itself. With the concrete requiring approximately three days to achieve initial set after each pour, the process demanded precise planning, a high level of technical skill, and relentless attention to detail throughout.
Phil Burridge, Managing Director at MGM Construction, described the scale of the challenge: “Nothing like this has ever been attempted before, so it took a lot of our team’s expertise and vast skillset to ensure we could do so with minimal disruption whilst, most importantly, keeping the public safe at all times.”
The car park remained operational throughout. That is not a small detail. Delivering technically complex structural works inside a live, publicly accessible multi-storey car park, without disruption and without compromising public safety, is a significant achievement in its own right.
Why This Project Matters Beyond Newcastle
Times Square Car Park is now the first in Europe to have been specifically reinforced to accommodate the increased weight of electric vehicles. But the significance of this project extends well beyond a single site in Newcastle.
As EV adoption continues to grow, car park operators across the UK face the same structural questions that were identified here. Many of the country’s multi-storey car parks were built in an era when vehicle weights were declining, not increasing. The engineering assumptions baked into those structures may no longer hold.
Phil Burridge put it clearly: “Car park operators across the UK will need to ensure that their sites are EV-proof and can withstand potentially hundreds of tonnes of extra weight in the coming years. We hope that our work can act as a blueprint for other sites going forward.”
MGM Construction: The Right Team for an Unprecedented Challenge
This project is a strong example of what MGM Construction brings to the Northern Bear group. Their ability to develop and deliver a genuinely novel construction process, in a live environment, under tight operational constraints, reflects the depth of expertise and problem-solving capability that has driven their growth in recent years.
Since 2020, MGM’s turnover has trebled. Recent projects include structural upgrades to high-rise residential units in Sunderland for Gentoo and the £1.5 million refurbishment of Beamish Football Club. The Times Square project adds something different to that portfolio. It is not just a complex job well done. It is a first for Europe, and a methodology that others in the industry are likely to follow.
You can read more about MGM Construction in our introduction to the business, or visit mgmconstruction.co.uk to find out more about their full range of services.
To learn more about Northern Bear and the wider group, visit our about us page, or get in touch with the team.
