What work is being delivered

With your essential substation nearing the end of its lifespan, and with the site increasingly at risk from flood damage, SSEN are taking the opportunity to upgrade and make it future-ready. This means preparing it to meet the increasing demand for electricity, and the low-carbon technologies that are coming.

Project benefits

• Modernising for renewables technology
• Protecting and boosting local economy
• Improving the area’s looks by placing the substation inside a new building better suited to the historic setting
• Supporting Southampton area’s transition to Net Zero
• Supporting Southampton City Council’s plans to mitigate flood damage
• Building a more resilient future
• Meeting increased energy demands
• Helping economic development

Access information

Keeping Southampton businesses and residents happy is a major priority. The plan below outlines SSEN’s contractor PTC’s approach to keeping access open as much as possible, and minimising disruption, while ensuring safety.

• Throughout the project, at several stages of the construction, sections of the access road will require closures to carry out critical works to underground services, provide safe working areas for boundary adjacent works, and provide safe lifting-zones for crane setup and operation.
• To maintain access, the project has been designed and phased to close only one section of the road at a time, enabling vehicular access to the majority of Captains Place and pedestrian access to local businesses at all times. PTC will implement sections of one way and two-way traffic routes that will be suitably signposted and regularly checked to ensure it is working efficiently.
• PTC will ensure that the ongoing works are always separated from public access, providing a safe means of access away from the potential hazards associated with ongoing construction works.

Key closures

• Transformer cooler dismantling and reassembling operation (Northern Closure Zone estimated summer 2025 for six weeks
• Building construction - piling, crane erection for installation of steel frame (Northern and Western Closure Zones): estimated winter 2025 for 20 weeks
• Building Construction - panel installation and scaffolding for roof finishing (Northern and Western Closure Zones): estimated spring 2026 for 11 weeks
• Electrical Equipment Installation (Western Closure Zone): estimated autumn 2026 for 5 weeks
• Ducting works and cable jointing works (Southern Closure Zone): estimated winter 2026 for 29 weeks
• Weatherbeater (Existing Cladded Structure) Deconstruction (Southern Closure Zone): estimated Summer 2027 for 8 weeks.

Please note these dates are indicative and subject to change. Please check back to keep informed with the latest information.      

Parking suspension

Unfortunately, sections of the road may have to be closed at times throughout the project, and so it may be necessary to suspend sections of parking along Captains Place to enable two-way traffic. During such times, PTC will work with the occupants to ensure these areas are cleared. There will be relief parking available in College Street Car Park (to be confirmed with the Council) for occupants of the businesses at Captains Place.

Construction methodology

 In order to greatly reduce the amount of time PTC and scaffolding will be present on site, as well as reduce the carbon footprint and improve quality assurance; we’re using PTC’s patented system for off-site manufacture of Brick Faces Precast Concrete Panels. This system enables a significant portion of the works to be carried out away from the site - and assembled via crane. Doing this means they use more factory processes and can maintain the quality of the build. PTC have constructed many switch houses and substations utilising this method, and continually developing the design to improve efficiency.

Road reconstruction

As part of the works, PTC will be reinforcing and resurfacing the road around Central Bridge substation to provide a smooth finished surface once all the works have been completed.

Have your say
Join us at our Central Bridge Substation Upgrade Community Drop-in Event

Wednesday, 26th February 2025, 3-8pm.

Arch 4, Arches Studios, The Old Cattle Market (under Central Bridge), Captains Place, SO14 3TF.

You can also keep in touch by emailing LCD@sse.com

Working with our communities

• SSEN and its contractor PTC are committed to being good neighbours and want to minimise disruption to the people who live, work and travel near the operational area affected by these upgrade works.
• We will devise a comprehensive engagement plan for timely information sharing.
• We want to engage with you, the local community, to understand and respond to any questions or concerns you may have about upgrade works taking place in your area.
• We understand these works may cause some disruption and noise, but we will follow industry best practices to ensure our contractors do everything they can to minimise any inconvenience.
• We will write to nearby residents and businesses to ensure you are kept up to date with the progress of our work and any traffic management measures we will have in place.
• Our priority is to deliver the works as safely and quickly as we can, while minimising disruption.

How we’re helping the entire Southampton area

Southampton’s substations and underground cable network help bring power to thousands of businesses, homes and public services in your area… and they’re getting an investment of over £60 million, from SSEN’s Large Capital Delivery team.

What are substations? Substations - and the local electricity network they sit on - are the bridge between the high and low voltage networks. What that means is, when electricity is generated, it sits on a high-voltage transmission network which is great for distributing energy across the UK but is too powerful to use in homes and businesses. So, the substations convert and distribute the lower level of electricity that we can all use. Upgrading these means:

• Supporting transition to Net Zero
• Building a more resilient future
• Meeting increased energy demands
• Protecting and boosting local economy

The key to unlocking a sustainable future

As we transition from primarily gas to renewable energy and electricity, and as demand rises at the same time; we must expand and modernise the network to ensure it is flexible enough to meet the needs of new low-carbon technology, as well as coping with severe weather events. That’s why SSEN is investing £60 million in Southampton’s distribution network. The Central Bridge substation upgrade is one key project in this wider programme of works over the coming years. 

There are no planned power supply interruptions

Keeping your businesses and homes powered is essential, and there are no planned Power Supply Interruptions (PSI) scheduled to take place during the works. If you think you might be vulnerable during power cuts, please check if you are eligible for our Priority Services Register.

If you are experiencing a power cut, please contact us on the following methods:

Call 105

Message us on Facebook 

Raise a report on Power Track