Meols, Wirral

RoC Consulting was instructed by Himor Group to re-engineer a 7.7 hectacre development site located near Meols on the Wirral.

The site which is acquired by Himor was earmarked for residential development and was crossed by a number of drainage ditches and field drains. The site had constrained highways access for construction and was bounded by a railway line.

Our approach to re-engineering the scheme recognised the site constraints of the railway, field drainage network and site access.

The infrastructure strategy proposed by the site’s vendor involved a piped gravity drainage system, which to develop the required drainage falls, would have necessitated the import of substantial volumes of material to build up plot levels.

Our approach, recognising site constraints was to adopt a SUD’s system, so that drainage could be accommodated at relatively flat gradients.

The hybrid drainage solution utilised swales adjacent to the highway as principle receptors for run off. In addition available green spaces were designed with crated ponds for attenuation and the “flattening off” of drainage ditches all promoted storage and alleviated the restriction on surface water discharge rates.

A holistic approach to site redevelopment, focused on mitigating constraints of levels, and highway access resulted in minimal import of fill and a more sustainable drainage strategy, thereby adding considerably to the site’s development value.