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The Challenge:

Although Trago Mills Chairman Bruce Robertson decided back in 1994 that the site of the former Heolgerrig Brickworks in Merthyr Tydfil was the ideal opportunity to bring their brand of discount retailing to Wales, it was nearly 20 years before it got off the ground.

A planning application was approved in 2005 followed by a programme of reclamation and ground stabilisation works costing over £12m. Kier was appointed as preferred contractor in 2008 and, after a 7-year pause, negotiations were re-commenced and significant effort undertaken to reach financial close and begin the project.

The Solution:

From the start of the 18-month build programme, the team worked collaboratively with Trago Mills and the design team to value engineer the project to keep it within the client’s budget without ever compromising the vision and bold ambition of Trago Mills' founder.

The 200,000 sq ft building's design is based on the Trago Mills signature design, formed of towers and mansard roofs. In addition to 11 retail units and leisure facilities in includes retail warehousing, ancillary buildings, subsidiary services and first-floor offices. The work also included roads around the complex, car parking and site works.

A distinguishing feature of Trago Mills is the architecture of the buildings, which have an almost castle-like appearance, with tall towers clad in white with black framed windows. Averaging 20m tall, 17 modular cladding kits were factory fabricated offsite in fully finished condition, ready to be shipped to site for fast-track hoisting and fixing to the primary steelwork structures around the building’s perimeters. The Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) rainscreen cladding simulates a variety of features with stone banding, vertical quoins and lead roll roof. The modular fibreglass moulds are lightweight, factory finished, strong, durable, and quick to site assemble.

The Impact:

This is one of the region's most significant retail destinations, with 38 departments serving 200,000 products stacked either side of a yellow coloured boulevard that extends half a kilometre from one end to the other (or 61 football pitches!).

This has been a strategically important scheme for the town and its economy, creating valuable employment and training opportunities. More than 200 people have been employed directly on the park.

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" Kier’s experience and local knowledge is invaluable to meet the high standard required by Trago and its customers. The cooperation we’ve had with Kier has been first class. "
Bruce Robertson Chairman Trago Mills

View more projects

Every project we deliver is an opportunity for us to bring our unique thinking to solve problems, innovate and collaborate with our clients and beyond.

Our Projects >

Butlin’s Splash, Bognor Regis

Building a £40m state of the art swimming pool and leisure complex within the existing Butlin’s resort in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.

Trago Mills

Developing the first site outside Devon and Cornwall for Trago Mills, an independent, family owned and run discount leisure retailer. Bringing much needed employment to the area it includes 11 retail units, external sales area, café, garden centre, goods yard, ice cream stall, bandstand, adventure dome and model railway.

Morley House

The redevelopment of the Grade II listed block on London's Regent Street. Morley House will house 44 apartments.  On the ground and basement levels will be 11,000 sq. ft of retail space.

St Sidwells Point Leisure Centre

Creating the UK’s first Passivhaus standard ultra-low carbon leisure centre, designed to save up to 70% on annual energy costs.

Aerospace Bristol

Creating a new £19m aviation museum showcasing the role played by the Bristol site in Britain’s aviation history, including a hangar to house the last Concorde ever to fly, restoring a Grade 1 listed First World War hangar to create an exhibition space

Dragon Lane Retail Park, Durham

Kier developed the retail park in Durham and sold it to LondonMetric in 2018.

5 Pancras Square

One of the most sustainable mixed-use building in the country and winner of the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building award.

Everards Meadows Phase 1A

Creating a vibrant destination in Leicestershire, incorporating a new cycle centre and cafe as well as site-wide green infrastructure.

Storyhouse

Developing Chester's largest and most ambitious ever creative project, working in a restricted city centre location, adapting the programme when a Roman building was discovered on site, restoring and revitalising a Grade II Listed building, creating new cultural spaces and receiving the Arts Council's highest ever score for a building.

Everards Meadows Phase 1B

Working collaboratively with Everards to regenerate land previously occupied by their brewing facilities, for the benefit of the people of Leicestershire.

Cheltenham Racecourse Redevelopment

Delivering a new 6,500-capacity 5 ½​ storey grandstand at one Britain’s most iconic racecourses.

North Sea Observatory

A unique purpose-built marine observatory on the Lincolnshire coastline.

Aberdeen Music Hall

Restoring, renovating and extending this prestigious Grade A listed performing arts building, utilising building conservation techniques whilst internally upgrading the interiors and finishes to a high quality and installing new, modern building services and a/v equipment throughout.

Reading Gateway

Identifying this 20.5 acre site in Reading as a strategic development opportunity, delivering a retail and leisure scheme including new homes, a hotel, retail space, car showrooms and industrial units, trailing new innovations and generating 263 jobs and £138m of social value.

FA Parklife

As part of the Football Association’s master-plan to build new football facilities in 30 cities by 2020, Kier have successfully delivered four all-purpose football hubs using state of the art 3G artificial grass at key grass-root areas across Liverpool.

Elliott’s Field Retail Park Phase 2

Redeveloping a brownfield site to construct a new carbon neutral shopping park, creating the world’s first multi-let retail asset to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating.​​

The Aperture

​The Aperture is the first phase of residential buildings on the Greenwich Peninsula. This five storey building comprises of a restaurant and deli on the ground floor, day nursery on the first floor, estate management and a community centre on the second/third floors with a gym on the remaining floors.

Hampton by Hilton, Bristol Airport

The construction of a hotel consisting of 201 bedrooms over four floors, utilising significant offsite manufacture.

Trade City and Logistics City

Developing more than three million sq ft of award winning speculative industrial space, with sizes ranging from small start-up to national distribution units through Kier Property's Trade City and Logistics City brands.

Sheffield North Active

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Glasgow Fort

Constructing a new retail unit that included remodelling existing car parks, a major re-alignment of the existing spine road - including removal of roundabouts - significant public utility services diversions and installation of toucan crossings.

Walsall Waterfront Leisure

Completing the penultimate phase of the £65m waterfront development, taking it through the planning process, regenerating over 17 acres in Walsall including The Light Cinema and popular national restaurant chains, making the most of a canalised location and engaging with the local community.

Watford Riverwell

Delivering the £450m Watford Riverwell as a 15-20 year joint venture with Watford Borough Council, which involved regenerating 70 acres of land in West Watford to create residential, office, retail, leisure, industrial and hotel space.

Yr Egin Media and Office Development

Bringing an iconic and sustainable development to the Carmarthen campus of the University of Wales, providing 40,000 sq. ft. of accommodation for for Welsh Media company S4C and the University's new media faculty and offices, and achieving a BREEAM Excellent certificate for sustainability.

Camberley Town Centre

Create a mixed-use regeneration scheme on this strategic site.

RAF Valley Rotary & Fixed Wing

The refurbishment of a Fixed Wing office building and provision of new simulators, training, and operations facilities. The Rotary Wing project required the design and construction of a new two-storey office block and refurbishment of an existing aircraft hangar.

Princes Gate Retail Park

Creating a new retail and leisure heart for the town comprising 23 shops, restaurants and bars, together with a multi-screen Empire cinema, 60 bed Premier Inn hotel and a 345 space car park.

Motel One

Transforming a derelict building into a 172 bedroom modern boutique hotel, retaining and preserving many historic features uncovered during the work.

Manor Kingsway

Transforming the former Manor and Kingsway Hospitals situated 1.5 miles west of Derby city centre, creating a diverse and thriving community of 700 homes with recreational facilities, retail space and a business park to create 450 jobs.

Gibraltar Point Visitor Centre

Creating a new visitor centre at this Site of Special Scientific Interest after the previous one was damaged by a tidal surge, ensuring its protection from flooding and its coastal position, incorporating sustainable features and refurbishing an 1800s coastguard building to be used as an exhibition space.

Jaguar Land Rover Car Showroom

Constructing a high specification Jaguar Land Rover car showroom for high-end tenant Jardine Motors, ensuring high quality design and build standards.

Finlake Leisure Pool

Designing and constructing a new leisure complex within this holiday village on the edge of the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, including toddler and 20m adult swimming pools, Tornado and Twister flume rides, and water playground, gymnasium, other leisure facilities and associated plant and equipment.

Crewe Lifestyle Centre

Creating a viable and affordable facility that brought all Crewe's lifestyle services - pool, gym, sports hall, library, specialist daycare and family service facilities - together under one roof, meeting a diverse range of user needs and building within a constrained town centre site.

Sheffield Hallam University Aurora Sports Park

Oldham Town Hall

Restoring an iconic building, taking part in feasibility studies to decide the best use of the building, working on the project to turn it into a seven-screen cinema with restaurants, coffee shop and retail units, winning multiple industry awards and creating something of huge importance to local people.

Wedge House

Building a striking new build boutique hotel with works comprising the design, construction and fit out of 192 hotel rooms, 4,700m2 Cat A office space and full fit out of three floors of bars and restaurants.

One Station Square

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The Institute for Innovative Materials, Processing and Numerical Technologies (IMPACT)

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Flintshire Adult Day Care Centre

Delivering new state-of-the-art community day care facilities and social care services for vulnerable adults with varying degrees of learning disabilities. The new facility in North Wales was the 1000th project procured through the Scape National Minor Works framework.

Swansea IQ and YFforwm Development (SA1)

Delivering £32m first phase of new Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter to provide a 21st-century state of the art education facility to attract students from all over the world to the University of Wales Trinity St David.

Swansea Bay Field Hospital

Converting the Bay Studios in Swansea in to a temporary hospital, providing facilities and delivering infrastructure for 1000 patients.