Great Park Consultants Ltd has provided structural engineering services to House Builders across the West Country and South West, from Warwickshire to Devon! The majority of these projects have been from 50 to 300 plots. However, others have been on smaller and more difficult brownfield sites.
Since our startup, we have consistently provided these services to a number of housing developers in the region. This includes Newland Homes and Bloor Homes.
The services that we have provided are related to foundations and civil structures, as well as building design for houses, flats and community buildings.
Foundations
From simple strip and trench fill foundations in clay soils, to complicated rafts on ground affected by historic salt extraction in Droitwich, naturally voided ground in the Forest of Dean, peat and alluvium and a former gas holder site in Barnstaple, Great Park has significant experience in formulating solutions for a wide range of deep and shallow ground conditions.
Piled Foundations have included developments with high groundwater table in glaciolacustrine soils where the materials are interspersed, such as sand, gravels, clay and silt. Recently we have designed piled foundations and split-level retaining walls in a filled quarry in Chipping Sodbury where the level of rock was variable and unknown.
Retaining Walls
We have assisted our clients with many forms of retaining walls for their projects, e.g. mass masonry gravity walls, reinforced masonry and reinforced concrete walls. These forms of construction have been applied to site and garden walls, split-level and integral walls for houses and estate road retaining walls. We have also designed highway retaining walls which are subject to Highway Authority approval procedures such as Approval-in Principle forms and design and check certificates.
Drainage Structures
Many developments require either the control of stormwater or the pumping of foulwater. We have provided structural designs for foul and storm water pumping stations, as well as the design of mainly reinforced concrete attenuation structures for storage and hydrobrake control chambers. Simple structures for drainage headwalls and manhole covers have also been supplied.
Small Bridges
Cycleway bridges in Pennylands, Winchcombe
Occasionally a development will require bridges to carry estate roads or cycleways and footpaths. Great Park has been involved in both culvert crossings and timber structures for cycle, pedestrian and maintenance vehicles.
Special Structures
Occasionally our clients meet or uncover an unforeseen challenge, which calls for a little ‘outside of the box’ thinking. For example, septic tanks, mine shafts, old wells, petrol interceptors as well as party wall issues of shallow neighbouring foundations. We have come up with solutions to satisfy Building Control and keep the project on the programme.
Examples of our drawings can be seen in our Drawing Portfolio.