Lockleaze, Bristol

The end use of this site will be a highly sustainable community development, incorporating shared facilities and a wildlife corridor. The proposed development consists of a mix of affordable rented accommodation and low-cost home ownership. In total, 49 dwellings (2, 3 & 4-bed houses and 1&2 bed flats) are to be built. United Living, United Communities and Bristol Community Land Trust will ultimately bring this project full circle to provide much needed affordable housing to the local community.

The site in its raw condition required significant remedial action. Brash vegetation, a large quantity of tree stumps, fly-tipped general waste and asbestos all needed to be safely stripped, treated and removed as part of the remediation phase of the works. The site could then be cut with B&A Group removing over 12,000 m3 (or over 1,500 tipper loads) to form the formation levels for the five separate accommodation blocks, roads and car parking. Importation, placement and compaction of recycled aggregates, then formed the crucial hardstanding on which the following construction works will rely on.

Renelec, acting as principal contractor, worked closely with B&A Group and ensured that the design was implemented precisely with a full-time engineer and site manager to check the works. A streamlined approach was achieved using B&A Group’s 3D GPS enabled high specification excavators, including our recently acquired Leiberr 922 equipped with machine control technology. Utilising an inbuilt 3D Model of the site, including design surfaces, grades & alignments feeding from Trimble controlled GPS data, could the design be enacted onto the landscape by our skilled machine operators.

One area of the site proved particularly challenging due to the presence of asbestos insulation board (AIB), a more dangerous variant of asbestos-containing materials. The treatment and removal of this had to be undertaken under licenced works to protect site users, neighbouring properties and future site users. A high level of Health and Safety management and organisation was always required throughout the works in order to maintain a safe working environment for those within and outside of the control zone. A rigorous asbestos management control plan was fully implemented to ensure compliant and safe manual handling and subsequent disposal of asbestos present on site. Tree protection was another factor in determining the working methods.

Careful consideration, preparation and traffic management of the vehicular users of the site was required to ensure local residents had the minimum amount of disruption within the allocated local authority working hours (strictly adhered to). Site access was via Morris Road, a single width residential estate road (with limited passing places – even for cars). The challenge of delivering large plant via low-loader to the site indeed had to be overcome, but coordinating 150 tipper loads a day was where B&A Group shined. The single lane 250m stretch of Morris Road between site entrance and the main road (Shaldon Road) was managed in a contra-flow system using B&A Group traffic marshals equipped with walkie talkies. Tipper wagons could be held at a holding point if required at each end and any residents, vans and general road users could be merged into the traffic flow seamlessly. Road sweeping was another key role in keeping the highways operational, clean, safe and considerate of local amenity.

Renelec is now proceeding with the groundworks for the revitalised site.