A new materials recycling facility separating high-quality recyclables at scale.
Sherbourne Resource Park is a new materials recycling facility (MRF) in the Whitley area of Coventry, constructed to ensure a secure and continuous outlet for the delivery of contract waste. The plant recovers ferrous and non-ferrous metals, various dense plastics and film, glass, paper and card from the input waste sources.
The facility incorporates an intake hall with separate storage areas for each incoming contract waste stream, a 6,000 square metre process hall where materials are separated or rejected, and an outfeed hall for the sorted materials - with ancillary office accommodation provided within the main portal frame of the building. The wider 33,000 square metre park includes a gatehouse, sprinkler pump house and water storage tanks, car and lorry parking and external green areas.
Building services, process power and life safety systems for a demanding industrial site.
Osborn Associates designed the mechanical systems for the facility - ventilation, air extraction, water services and climate control - together with the electrical installation covering distribution infrastructure, lighting and emergency lighting, small power and structured cabling. The electrical scope extended to the process plant distribution itself, serving a total site load demand of 5MW divided across two 3MVA transformers, along with earthing and lightning protection systems and a photovoltaic installation.
Life safety and security formed a substantial part of the appointment: sprinkler protection, gas and in-panel fire suppression, a fire detection and alarm system with smoke aspirating detection, plus CCTV, intruder alarm, access control, audio and intercom systems and outdoor lighting with a perimeter secured by access-controlled pedestrian and vehicle gates. The company also carried out the Fire Risk Assessment and Lightning Protection Risk Assessment for the site.
Beyond the delivered design, Osborn Associates proposed routes to net zero carbon for both operational energy and construction, including solar thermal panels and further electrical and mechanical measures to reduce CO2 emissions.
Engineering for continuous operation in a high-risk environment.
Waste processing facilities are among the most fire-exposed building types there are - combustible material arrives continuously, moves at speed through mechanical plant, and is stored in bulk. That risk profile drove the depth of the fire strategy, with sprinkler coverage, gas and in-panel suppression protecting the process equipment itself, and smoke aspirating detection providing the early warning that conventional detection struggles to deliver in a dusty industrial atmosphere.
The facility's purpose - a secure, continuous outlet for contract waste - meant the engineering had to support uninterrupted operation. Splitting the 5MW site demand across two 3MVA transformers, and designing the process plant distribution alongside the building services rather than as an afterthought, gave the site the resilience its round-the-clock role demands.
