Appointment of a Consultant for the design and delivery of a Masterplan for the Global Centre for Rail Excellence

GCRE Limited seek to appoint a suitably qualified, experienced design-led consultancy team to prepare a Site Development Masterplan (SDM) to determine the site landscape and infrastructure layout for the development of a research and business campus built around the Rail Testing Facilities at the Nant Helen/Onllwyn site. The project will transform the 475-hectare post-industrial landscape into a world leading centre for research, testing, validation and innovation for the rail industry in a restored, ecologically diverse, landscape setting. The project will embody innovation at the core of its design and construction, comprising facilities and services for the whole rail industry allowing the design, testing and validation of new trains, systems, components and technologies. The SDM will be used for the following purposes: > As the basis for detailed design stage and subsequent construction. > To inform the Railway System Outline Design, which will define the technical requirements of the railway test facility. > To calibrate and support the development of the parallel earthworks design. > To input to the site wide energy strategy. The masterplan consultant will need to work closely with three other teams developing the Railway System Outline Design, the Earthworks design and the Energy Strategy. All four teams will need to produce tightly integrated packages that reflect the needs/requirements of each other. The products of the Masterplan will be used by GCRE to procure a range of Design & Build contractors for the various site premises and a [separate] contractor who will develop the detailed landscape design and construct it.