First Phase has achieved planning to design and build 3No Retail Units for M&S, Aldi and Simply Foods and associated infrastructure and extensive car parking areas to launch this new development for Cantium Developments in 2015. Cantium have been a regular client of SWP for many years.
SWP are pleased to be starting another local project to develop 10 new bespoke properties on a very challenging site. This site has a significant slope and is in the South Downs National Park, creating an interesting mix of requirements to be considered both for structural and civil engineering design.
These are to be mainly traditionally constructed and each plot will be slightly different. These will be cut partly into the slope of the site with reinforced concrete retaining walls to the properties, and also to create the parking decks at the main house upper floor level. One property will be Passivhaus type construction.
The ground conditions are clay head over upper weathered chalk. The chalk was close to the surface at the upper part of the site and the clay head deepened towards the lower level of the site. Slope stability was also highlighted as a potential risk, and this was also a considered for the house plots and retaining walls to ensure that the design mitigated this risk.
Access was from an existing lane off of the main village road and the civil engineering scheme had to accommodate new access for this site while maintaining existing access to existing properties.
The site levels were as challenging as you would imagine, with limits set on wall heights and road gradients. The drainage was equally complex with the foul water needing to be pumped up to the main road sewer and the surface water being directed to terraced wet swales and finally to a soakaway to discharge into the chalk.
Another compact and brown field site being repurposed for modern and bespoke properties, which is good to see.
