CampbellReith was able to step in using local knowledge to find a viable, cost effective and sustainable surface water drainage solution to enable the site to progress and achieve planning permission for 6 family homes on the outskirts of Radstock.
CampbellReith was approached by Savills in June 2023 based on their previous experience of the team being able to solve difficult drainage issues. They were working for an estate for a development of six houses on a site where the only surface water disposal option identified by previous consultants was to a sewer over 380m at a cost of between £400k and £800k. The previous consultants had undertaken infiltration tests, but had not identified a suitable material with infiltration potential.
CampbellReith’s engineers had local knowledge of the area to know that the geology should have allowed for infiltration, but that investigations probably needed to be deeper to find the correct strata. The Geotechnical team designed and procured further investigations with infiltration tests at depth to prove infiltration was viable.
Upon obtaining the results the civil engineering team prepared a new drainage strategy also suiting a new arrangement with permeable paving to improve water quality as well as attenuate flows connecting to geocellular soakaway in a location optimised to provide depth to discharge to the correct strata while minimising excavations. The team also designed new culverts to allow the new access over an existing drainage ditch.