Manchester Aquatics Centre

About the event

Kier was appointed by Manchester City Council to deliver refurbishment works of the Manchester Aquatics Centre. The works will help decarbonise and modernise the 2002 Commonwealth Games venue.

The project has a focus on decarbonisation with the objective of supporting the council’s transition to becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038. Kier will deliver a combination of energy efficiency measures, including a full MEP replacement and the addition of a number of renewable energy generation works.

Two new air source heat pumps have been installed as part of the energy saving works and together with the 1006 solar panels on the roof, this will achieve the 30% carbon reduction target set by the council. The 450kWh solar panels are complete with battery storage capacity of 300kWh, which will store energy from the solar panel system during the day and allow the centre to use the solar energy well after the sun has gone in.

Following completion of the decarbonisation works, Kier made a start on the refurbishment and modernisation of the venue. The ground, first and second floors will be refurbished including replacing mechanical, electrical and plumbing, pool filtration, movable floors and booms in the pools as well as reconfiguring the changing room and gym spaces.

The refurbishment stage is being delivered on a phased basis to minimise disruption and ensure that access to the basement pool is available throughout the works. The programme has been tightly managed so that Kier were able to move of of the site in the summer of 2023, when the venue played host to the World Paralympics Swimming Championships.