This 3.7ha site forms part of the Meon Vale development near Long Marston, Warwickshire and is proposed for residential development, including executive houses in a wooded setting.
The site (also known as “The Woods”) had previously been occupied by an officer’s mess associated with the former military use of the southern area of the development, including a basement. Given the age of the building and based on previous investigations of the site, asbestos was known to exist in soils on-site and in the basement in the form of boiler insulation. A foul drain was also present in the southern area of the site.
In order to prepare the site for future development, ground levels were required to be raised to provide a suitable platform for development. This was a particular challenge due to the abundance of trees on-site, with root protection areas and no-dig zones alongside large-scale excavations and earthworks.
As no earthworks could be undertaken in wooded areas, samples were collected by hand to chemically assess the suitability of the soils for use in garden areas in order to minimise disturbance in these protected areas.
Materials to raise levels on-site were sourced from the wider development to ensure good materials management and to minimise the overall amount of waste generated. PJA sampled all material being emplaced on-site to ensure its suitability.
A key aspect of material emplacement was ensuring the material was geotechnically suitable. Geotechnical samples were taken from all incoming material, and in situ geotechnical testing was observed and compiled by PJA.
Following the emplacement of all materials, PJA oversaw the installation of gas wells to assess the ground gas regime and advise on potential ground gas protection measures in any construction at the site.
During the earthworks PJA attended meetings with the development team to give advice where needed and produced the final validation report for the site.
The earthworks at Phase 4B involved a multidisciplinary approach and delivered a technically challenging site to a professional standard.
