Complete EV charging solution for a safer, more efficient logistics hub to support Royal Mail decarbonisation strategy
Published: 4 August 2026
Royal Mail's Cardiff Mail Centre on Penarth Road is the primary sorting and distribution hub for the CF11 postcode district. The site combines delivery operations, mail processing, public access facilities and disability-compliant infrastructure under one roof. As Royal Mail transitions its fleet to electric vehicles, Cardiff was identified as a priority location for a major electric vehicle (EV) charging upgrade capable of supporting incoming vehicles without disrupting daily operations.
We designed and built a complete charging solution for Royal Mail across the site, combining electrical and civil engineering work at a scale that matched the centre's operational demands.
The scope centred on 40 bp pulse Pro Smart post-mounted chargers positioned across the front and rear of the facility, fed by new electrical distribution running from the plant room to a dedicated glass reinforced plastic (GRP) roadside enclosure. Extensive civil engineering work included trenching, new walkways, drainage improvements, and full line-marking for bays and pedestrian routes – all delivered as one coordinated package. The upgrade forms a key part of Royal Mail's wider decarbonisation strategy, positioning Cardiff to take on its new electric fleet with confidence.
Framing the challenge
The brief was straightforward on paper but complex in practice. Cardiff Mail Centre was about to receive a significant number of electric delivery vehicles, all needing reliable on-site charging squeezed into an already busy, space-constrained facility. With continuous inbound and outbound postal flows running through the site, there was no room for work that disrupted daily operations or compromised safety for staff and visitors.
The external layout needed reconfiguring to accommodate EV-specific parking, safe pedestrian movement, and proper traffic management. Investigations also uncovered historic drainage problems across the car park, with sections prone to flooding and pipework that turned out to be blocked or collapsed in several places.
Royal Mail needed a partner who could design a compliant, future-proof solution while fixing legacy infrastructure at the same time – all without pulling a live, high-demand mail centre offline. That meant careful planning, close coordination with site stakeholders, and a phased approach built around the realities of a facility that couldn't afford downtime.
Approach and implementation
We took on both Principal Designer and Principal Contractor roles, which gave Royal Mail a single point of accountability for regulatory compliance and delivery.
From our initial feasibility site visit, we produced a full electrical design package consisting of Trimble calculations and schematics, along with full CAD drawings encompassing the electrical and civils element of the project.
Work began with detailed site investigations to map existing services, confirm safe working conditions, and confirm the optimal layout for chargers, cabling routes and civil engineering work – ensuring every existing service was correctly identified, managed or safely isolated before work started.
From there, the real challenge was doing all this without stopping the site from operating. A traffic management plan (developed jointly with the local Royal Mail team) kept a tightly managed work area running alongside live operations throughout construction. Electrical teams connected the plant room to a new GRP roadside enclosure, while civil engineering crews delivered trenching, walkways, crossings, drainage upgrades, and full line-marking for EV bays in parallel.
Close, continuous communication with site management kept programme, sequencing and safety aligned at every stage. The result was a combined electrical and civils installation delivered on time and fully compliant with local requirements and relevant regulations.
“Royal Mail needed a partner who could design a compliant, future-proof solution while fixing legacy infrastructure at the same time – all without pulling a live, high-demand mail centre offline.”
Project delivery
Delivering this project meant coordinating multiple disciplines against Royal Mail's operational, safety and regulatory requirements at once. Electrical teams installed all 40 bp pulse Pro Smart chargers fed by new distribution cabling routed through freshly cut trenches to the GRP enclosure.
Civil engineering teams worked in parallel, building new pedestrian walkways, crossings and EV bay markings to improve site navigation and safety, including new walkways to the rear alongside fresh pedestrian crossings and road marking.
Drainage became a major focus once investigations confirmed the extent of the collapsed and blocked pipework. We brought in in-house jetting services to clear, repair and restore the system, and installed 90 linear metres of ACO drainage channel to put an end to the site's flooding history.
Daily coordination with Royal Mail kept traffic management, access routes and operational continuity intact throughout technical delivery combined with stakeholder engagement at every phase.
Outcomes and results
The finished infrastructure let Royal Mail deploy 80 new electric vehicles straight away, supported by a charging strategy built around overnight charging on alternating days. Beyond the chargers themselves, the upgrade made the whole site safer to operate, more efficient, and a better environment to work in with wider parking bays, dedicated pedestrian walkways, and enhanced external lighting.
By resolving the historic flooding and repairing collapsed pipework (backed by the new ACO drainage channels), the car park can now handle adverse weather without the problems that used to plague it.
The project supported Royal Mail's decarbonisation strategy and delivered a modernised, safer, more efficient site from the ground up, as well as showcasing our ability to run complex electrical and civil engineering work inside a live, high-demand logistics facility.
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