We are proud to share some significant news. We have been appointed to deliver the temporary electrics and plumbing on one of the most ambitious construction projects the South West has seen in a generation: the new Aviva Arena in Bristol.
It is a project with real weight behind it. A 20,000 capacity live entertainment venue, built inside the historic Brabazon Hangars where every one of the UK’s Concorde aircraft was designed and built, with a targeted opening in late 2028. For a contractor like us, being trusted with the temporary site services on a build of this scale is exactly the kind of work we set out to do.
In this article we want to do two things. First, share what we have been appointed to deliver and why it matters. Second, and just as usefully if you are planning a major project of your own, explain what good temporary site services actually look like on a build this size, and why getting them right is one of the quietest but most important decisions on any large site.
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Table of Contents
- What We Have Been Appointed to Deliver at Aviva Arena
- About the Aviva Arena Project
- Why Temporary Electrics and Plumbing Matter on a Project This Size
- What a Landmark Project Needs From a Site Services Contractor
- Planning a Major Project in Bristol or the South West
What We Have Been Appointed to Deliver at Aviva Arena
We have been awarded the temporary electrics and plumbing contracts for the Aviva Arena site, with the works programmed to run over roughly two years, in step with the venue’s late 2028 opening.
In plain terms, that means we are responsible for the temporary power and the temporary water and plumbing that keep the site running while the permanent building is constructed around them. This is the part of a major build that the public never sees and rarely thinks about, and yet without it nothing else on site can happen. The cranes do not turn, the welfare units do not function, the tools do not charge, and the trades cannot work.
When we talk about temporary site services, or construction site services as we describe them across our work, we mean the temporary infrastructure that supports a live construction site from the first day on the ground to handover. On the Aviva Arena project our scope covers the temporary electrical installation and the temporary plumbing and water supply. These are not afterthoughts bolted on once the building is up. They are among the first things to go in and among the last to come out, and they have to be planned, installed, maintained and adapted as the site itself changes shape over two years of construction.
That is the work. It is detailed, it is safety critical, and on a site of this scale it is substantial. We are pleased to have been trusted with it, and we intend to deliver it to the standard a project of this importance deserves.
If you are planning a major build and want to talk to a contractor who understands temporary site services at scale, give us a call today on 0117 9414 666 or you can get in touch through our contact page.
About the Aviva Arena Project
To understand why this contract matters, it helps to understand the project itself.
The Aviva Arena, formerly referred to as the YTL Arena, is being built inside the Brabazon Hangars on the former Filton Airfield in north Bristol. These are not ordinary buildings. They are the hangars where the Bristol Brabazon was built and where every Concorde that the UK produced first took shape. Turning a piece of aviation history of that significance into a modern 20,000 capacity arena is an enormous undertaking, and one that carries a responsibility to do it properly.
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A few facts give a sense of the ambition. The venue is being delivered by YTL Construction UK as main contractor, part of a group with a multi billion pound pipeline of work across the next five years. The arena is being built as a fully electric facility, targeting carbon neutral operations, with no reliance on gas. It will feature twenty dressing rooms, extensive production space, flexible stage configurations, and what is set to be one of Europe’s largest services yards, able to hold up to sixty touring lorries at once.
When it opens it is expected to host more than 120 major events every year and to draw in the region of 1.4 million visitors annually. It sits at the heart of Brabazon, a new town being created across 400 acres of the former airfield, with thousands of new homes, new schools, a new railway station connecting to Bristol Temple Meads in under fifteen minutes, and tens of thousands of jobs over time. During construction alone the wider project is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs.
This is, by any measure, one of the most significant builds in the South West. Being part of it, even as a specialist contractor responsible for a defined scope, tells you something about the level the project is operating at and the standard every contractor on it is held to.
If your own project calls for that level of capability, we would be glad to talk. Call us on 0117 9414 666 or reach us through our contact page.
Why Temporary Electrics and Plumbing Matter on a Project This Size
It is easy to think of temporary site services as basic plumbing and a few power outlets. On a small job, that is roughly what they are. On a build the size of the Aviva Arena, they are something else entirely, and understanding why is the difference between a project that runs smoothly and one that does not.
Temporary power is the heartbeat of a live site
Every piece of work on a construction site depends on power. Welfare units, site offices, tower lighting, hoists, pumps, charging points, security systems, the testing of permanent systems as they are installed, all of it draws on the temporary electrical installation. On a site that will be active for two years, that demand is not static. It grows and shifts as the build moves through its phases, and the temporary power has to grow and shift with it.
Get it right and nobody notices, which is exactly the point. Get it wrong and the consequences are immediate and expensive. A power shortfall stops trades from working. Poorly planned distribution creates trip hazards and safety risks. An installation that cannot scale means costly reworks every time the site’s needs change. On a project where every day of programme has a cost attached, reliable temporary power is not a convenience. It is what protects the schedule.
There is an added dimension on a venue like this one. Because the Aviva Arena is being built as a fully electric facility, the eventual electrical demands of the finished building are considerable, and the construction process itself is electrically intensive throughout. A site of that character needs temporary electrical provision that is planned carefully, installed to a high standard, and managed properly from the first day to the last.
Temporary water and plumbing keep a site safe and legal
Temporary plumbing rarely gets talked about, but it carries real legal and human weight. A construction site has to provide proper welfare facilities for the people working on it. That means clean running water, working toilets, somewhere to wash, and somewhere to prepare food and drink. None of that exists on day one. It has to be installed as temporary infrastructure and maintained throughout the build.
Beyond welfare, water is needed across the construction process itself, from dust suppression to the testing and commissioning of permanent systems. Drainage has to be managed so that waste water and surface water are dealt with correctly rather than becoming a hazard or an environmental problem. On a large, long running site, temporary plumbing is a genuine engineering task, not a quick fix.
The two have to work together, and with everything else
Here is what is easy to miss. Temporary electrics and temporary plumbing do not sit in isolation. They have to be coordinated with each other, with the permanent works going in around them, and with the movement of a site that changes constantly over two years. A pump needs power. A welfare block needs both water and electricity. Lighting needs to follow the work as it moves across the site. The temporary services have to be designed to flex as the building rises, sections are handed over, and the layout of the site evolves.
That coordination is where experience earns its keep. It is the difference between temporary services that quietly support a build and temporary services that become a recurring source of delay, cost and risk. The cheapest temporary services on day one are very often the most expensive by the end of the job, and on a project the length and scale of the Aviva Arena, that gap is not small.
If you want temporary site services planned the right way on your next project, call us on 0117 9414 666 or get in touch through our contact page.
What a Landmark Project Needs From a Site Services Contractor
Winning a place on a project like the Aviva Arena is not only about being able to do the work. It is about being the kind of contractor a project of this profile can rely on. From our experience, that comes down to a handful of things, and they are worth setting out because they are the same things you should look for when you appoint anyone to a major site.
Single point accountability
On a complex site, the last thing anyone wants is to manage a tangle of separate suppliers who each handle one small piece and point at each other when something goes wrong. We deliver temporary electrical and temporary plumbing together as a coordinated scope, which means one team is accountable for getting the temporary services right and keeping them right. That accountability matters more, not less, as a project grows in scale.
The ability to work on a live, complex site
A two year programme on an active construction site is a demanding environment. The site changes constantly, multiple trades work alongside each other, and the temporary services have to adapt without ever becoming the thing that holds everyone else up. Working effectively in that setting takes experience, planning and a calm, practical approach to problems as they arise. It is very different from a straightforward install on a quiet site.
A genuine commitment to the programme
We have committed to delivering our scope across the full two year build. That is not a small undertaking, and we do not treat it as one. A project of this importance needs contractors who will see the work through to the standard it requires, from the first connection to final handover.
Doing it to the right standard, because the project demands it
A venue built inside one of the most historically significant structures in British aviation, opening to more than a million visitors a year, does not leave room for corners to be cut anywhere, including the parts the public never sees. We approach the temporary services with exactly that mindset. They may be temporary, but the standard is not.
Here is how our managing director put it:
“Being appointed to deliver the temporary electrics and plumbing at the Aviva Arena is a genuine privilege, and a strong endorsement of the way we work. A project of this scale needs temporary site services that are planned properly, installed to the highest standard, and managed reliably over the full two year programme. That is exactly what we set out to provide on every site, whether it is a landmark arena or a local commercial build. We are proud to be trusted with our part in bringing this remarkable venue to life for Bristol.”
Mark, ETS Group
If those are the qualities your project needs, we would welcome a conversation. Call us on 0117 9414 666 or reach us through our contact page.
Planning a Major Project in Bristol or the South West
The Aviva Arena is a flagship example, but the principles behind it apply to any serious build. Whether you are developing a commercial site, a public sector project, an industrial facility or a large refurbishment, the temporary site services you put in at the start will shape how smoothly the whole project runs.
We deliver temporary electrics, temporary plumbing and the wider construction site services that keep major sites running safely and on programme. We work across Bristol, Bath, the wider South West and South Wales, and on projects of the right scale, further afield. Our approach is the same wherever we work: plan it properly, install it to the right standard, and stand behind it for the life of the build.
If you are appointing contractors for a major project and want temporary site services handled by a team that has earned its place on builds like the Aviva Arena, we should talk. A short conversation is usually enough to work out whether we are the right fit for what you are planning.
Call us today on 0117 9414 666 or get in touch through our contact page, and let us talk about how we can support your next project.
