K:Port Electric Vehicle Charging Hub – Portishead
Portishead
Self-delivered groundworks and civil engineering for K:Port — a low-carbon, solar-powered electric-vehicle charging hub at Portishead Marina. EJ McGrath was appointed by North Somerset Council as main contractor, delivering the full civils package from foundations to finished surfacing.
About K:Port
K:Port is an award-winning, low-carbon transport hub: a sheltered charging station for electric vehicles, e-bikes and e-scooters beneath a sweeping timber canopy clad in solar photovoltaic panels. Designed by Hewitt Studios LLP, the structure uses carbon-sequestering, responsibly sourced timber and integrated PV to generate its own clean energy, with provision for sustainable drainage and smart, vehicle-to-grid charging.
EJ McGrath’s role
Our scope was the complete groundworks and civils package that turns a bare marina-side plot into a working charging hub — the unseen engineering the canopy and charging technology depend on.
What we delivered
- Reinforced concrete foundations and bases to carry the timber-and-solar canopy
- Surface-water drainage, including sustainable drainage (SuDS) provision
- Utility trenching and ducting for the EV charging infrastructure and power supply
- Kerbing, hardstanding and surfacing to the charging bays and approaches
Working at a live marina
The hub sits in a busy, public waterfront setting, so the works were sequenced to keep the marina open and minimise disruption. Because K:Port is a modular, pre-fabricated structure assembled on site in a matter of weeks, our foundations and service connections had to be set out precisely and completed to programme so the canopy could be craned in and connected without delay.
Outcome
The result is a striking, sustainable piece of public infrastructure — and a strong example of EJ McGrath self-delivering a complete civils package, on a constrained live site, to enable an innovative low-carbon building. Architecture and canopy design by Hewitt Studios LLP.
