At a Glance
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BREEAM
Excellent Rated
- Location
- Swindon, United Kingdom
- Offices
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Client
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B&Q
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- Location
- Swindon, United Kingdom
- Offices
- Client
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- B&Q
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As a result of an internal audit, B&Q decided to locate a new regional centre in the south of the UK for high volume products. They wanted to bring goods closer to stores and in turn improve customer service, cut transport costs, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Appointed by GLP, we delivered civil, structural, highways, and geotechnical engineering for the detailed design of the development and associated highway improvement works for the 74,000 square-metre B&Q distribution facility at G.Park in Swindon.
Our design included a cost-effective ground improvement solution to address poor ground conditions at the northern end of the building as an alternative to piling. Wick drains and vibro stone columns were installed below lime-stabilised fill material.
Our sustainable urban drainage (SuDS) solution was key to gaining approvals for the drainage strategy. We incorporated a full SuDS management train approach with water butts and rainwater harvesting as prevention measures, along with permeable paving and filter trenches as source control measures. We also included large attenuation ponds as site-wide measures restricting the flow to the local watercourse to mimic the pre-development rates.
We also overcame a major challenge in relation to foul water disposal. Thames Water initially thought that the closest sewer had insufficient capacity to receive wastewater from the development based on estimated flow rates using the available guidance. We researched water use data from similar developments to demonstrate that the actual discharge rate would be significantly lower than previous estimates.
Additionally, we provided detailed design for the Section 278 off-site highway scheme to improve traffic flow in the area. This included the reconfiguration of three roundabouts on one of the main commuter routes into Swindon town centre.
The facility went on to attain a BREEAM Excellent rating and meet’s B&Q’s goals of improving customer service and reducing costs and emissions.
" }At a Glance
-
BREEAM
Excellent Rated
- Location
- Swindon, United Kingdom
- Offices
-
-
Client
-
-
B&Q
-
- Location
- Swindon, United Kingdom
- Offices
- Client
-
- B&Q