Parsons answer Sunderland’s carbon-neutral prayers

SUNDERLAND City Council’s drive toward becoming carbon neutral has moved up a gear with a £9m investment in Washington Parsons Depot.

The depot and its workshops – a hub for the council’s 450-strong vehicle fleet – has now been rebuilt and updated with hi-tech and low-carbon features.

They include 25 fast charging and five rapid charging points for electrical vehicles (EVs) that can be charged up from roof-mounted solar panels. One-in-ten council vehicles (44 EVs) are now EVs and this is set to increase with Parsons now online.

Staff are settling into the six-acre (2.58 ha) site after work, which started on updating the site in the summer of 2021, was completed by North East-based construction contractors, Esh Group.

Deputy leader of Sunderland City Council and cabinet member for Clean Green City,  Coun Claire Rowntree is the council’s Climate Champion.

She said: “We are moving towards our aims of being a carbon-neutral city and the Parsons Depot is part of this big picture.

“The hi-tech updates for energy consumption, carbon emissions and its environmentally friendlier facilities allow us to expand our capacity for specialist electric and other low-carbon EVs.

“Parsons helps towards meeting our moves of making the council carbon neutral by 2030 and having a carbon neutral city by 2040. We have to look ahead and the new building here with all these facilities is a foundation stone for more low-carbon work.”

Alongside the EVs, Parsons includes new workshops, maintenance and testing bays for class 8 vehicles up to 42 tonnes. It has accommodation and garaging for winter maintenance, ground-works and environmental and cleansing plant and equipment, from street sweepers, and ploughs to grass cutters. Highways and horticultural services in and around Washington also use Parsons.

Paul Waller, operations director at Esh Construction, said: “Esh is proud to have delivered a scheme which leads the way in improving sustainability and carbon reduction for the city council’s vehicle fleet.

“As a local contractor, we delivered social and economic value throughout this scheme, with a key focus on procuring a local supply chain, employing a local workforce and providing on-site training opportunities.”