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MEICA Design
jackalconsultants • Feb 12, 2020
Environment Agnecy Perry Barr and Witton scheme
The Environment Agency Perry Barr and Witton flood risk management scheme is in full swing. As the MEICA consultant on the project we design the Mechanical / Electrical elements of the scheme. The four large penstock will automatically control flow of the river Tame in flood conditions, impounding water in a new specially design resevoir to protect 1450 properties in further down the river Tame at Brookvale Road Witton.
The problem we had to over come in the design was the distance of the 2 satellite from the Main control structure, a distance of 7KM. We design a Motor Control cabinent with dual redundancy PLC's, Dual power supplies from seperate 33KV rings, Dual path communications using the latest 4G and ADSL capabilities to create a securing VPN network between all the site.
Working is on going on all the sites with a estimate completion date of late 2021.
We are proud to part of the Perry Barr and Witton Flood risk management scheme that will protect 1500 homes in Birmingham. The concrete structure was finished in late 2019 and now the clay and soil has been back filled to re landscape the area. At the top of the picture are the 4 rising spindle of the automated penstocks that will control the water in the Tame River in large flood events. The team our now busily building the control building to house the new Motor Control Cabinet which has dual power supplies and dual communications networks. The scheme will protect an area of Perry Barr and Witton at Brookvale Road which was hit badly by the 2007 and 2011 flood events, as part of the Phase one works we have already increased the height of the flood wall with flood gates, which are now protecting the area. Once the scheme is finished we will provide a 1 in 100 year protection to the area.
The Elan Valley Aqeduct supplies raw water from the Elan Valley Near Rhayader to Birmingham, the asset was built in the 1900's and is a amazing piece of engineering. Our project was to provide better visability of the infrastucture to better control the raw water network from Severn Trent's control centre in Coventry. The scheme will replace 40 outstations with the latest WITS compliant remote telemetry units from Schnieder and Servelec, with a mixture of PSTN and GSM communication this will provide essential level and flow information for the Aqueduct. In addition installing 32 brand new ultrasonic flow meters from Flexim Instruments with a 10 year warranty for there products will ensure that the scheme provides accurate flow data for years to come. Finally we are automating an number of manual valves with automatic actuators which will be control from a brand new Cema PLC panel based on the flow information from the newly install flow meters.
HMRC has now published draft secondary legislation for the off-payroll working rules that are due to come into force in April this year. In 2017, HMRC introduced new off-payroll rules to the public sector, which saw some contractors' net income cut significantly. HMRC also shifted the responsibility for compliance from individual contractors to public bodies or recruitment agencies. From 6 April 2020, the new tax rules will use the 2017 changes as a starting point for the extension to medium and large organisations in the private sector. These reforms will shift the responsibility for assessing employment status to the medium and large organisations engaging the individual worker via and intermediary. The new draft legislation is open for consultation until 19 February 2020. Jesse Norman, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: 'We recognise that concerns have been raised about the forthcoming reforms to the off-payroll working rules. The purpose of this consultation is to make sure that the implementation of these changes in April is as smooth as possible.' Booker Cole Accountants
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