Countryside Partnerships – Beam Park Regeneration
London Borough of Havering, Dagenham & Barking
Affordable Key Worker Housing for Somerset's Essential Workforce
Adam has over 12 years of experience working as a consultant in the construction industry, delivering building services design solutions for new and existing buildings, across all sectors.
He has extensive knowledge on working both, client side with developers on large residential and industrial schemes but has also delivered retrofit building services projects in education estates, collaborating with stakeholders throughout the design stages.
Adam’s key focus is leading the building services design team to deliver innovative solutions to Barker’s client base across the education, residential and commercial sectors.
Email: adamwardley@barker-associates.co.uk
Tel: 0121 2892571
Barker provided MEP engineering design services to support the redevelopment of Block C at County Hall, Taunton, transforming a redundant office building into high-quality, affordable accommodation for NHS employees and other essential workers.
As part of a wider key worker housing scheme, the development will help address the growing demand for affordable key workers housing close to major employment centres.
Working on behalf of principal contractor BSN Group, Barker delivered RIBA Stage 4 technical design services as part of a multidisciplinary team including Prime Plc, Hyve, and AHR.
The completed housing scheme for key workers will create 111 modern residences across approximately 4,600m², helping to tackle local housing affordability challenges while supporting workforce recruitment and retention across the region
Designed to provide high-quality keyworker housing, the development will offer convenient accommodation for NHS staff and other frontline professionals working across Somerset.
In Somerset, the need for dedicated accommodation close to major employment hubs is particularly important for NHS staff and other frontline workers. Demand for affordable key worker property continues to grow, making developments such as this increasingly important for attracting and retaining essential workers.
The project sought to deliver high-quality homes within a constrained existing structure, repurposing an underutilised office building rather than pursuing a new-build development. This required careful coordination of building services and technical design solutions to meet modern residential standards while supporting the wider objectives of the key worker housing scheme.
Barker developed the detailed mechanical, electrical, and public health engineering designs required to facilitate the building’s transformation. The team coordinated services within the existing structure to ensure the development would provide efficient, compliant, and comfortable living spaces for future residents.
The project demonstrated Barker’s expertise in retrofit and adaptive reuse schemes, delivering practical engineering solutions that support both sustainability objectives and long-term operational performance.
Once complete, the key worker housing scheme will provide 111 affordable homes for NHS employees and other essential workers, located less than a mile from Musgrove Park Hospital.
The development represents a valuable addition to local key workers housing provision to create accessible key worker property in a highly sustainable location while addressing the ongoing need for quality housing schemes for key workers across the region.
