Skylon Park Hereford Enterprise Zone
THE BRIEF
Skylon Park is a 72-acre industrial and commercial development to promote economic growth in the area. It lies on former wartime munitions ‘brownfield land’ and named after the futuristic-looking slender, vertical structure that was fabricated in Hereford in 1951 for the Festival of Britain. The appropriate infrastructure to attract developers and owner-occupiers to build on individual prepared plots is being provided by the Hereford Enterprise Zone (HEZ).
VALUE-ADDED SOLUTION
As technical advisor, Robert West has been responsible for the coordination and management of services to enable infrastructure construction and land sales, taking schemes from initial project inception through to building completion & occupation. This has included management and control of site datum information, value-engineering led solutions, advising HEZ on overall development strategy, plot configurations, feasibility advice & constraints and master programming, all in order to maximise the productive usage of the land.
RWC has provided cost-effective designs, drawings and specifications for highways, drainage, remediation, earthworks, utilities and plot layouts and ensured that third-party work (e.g. surveys, ground conditions, technical reports) is fully coordinated. Technical support also includes the role of Principal Designer (including the preparation of pre-construction information and coordination od designer’s risk assessments); tender assistance; construction site support; and provision of a H&S File and Vendor’s Information Pack.
These services and skills were employed on the following example projects:
- 2km unsegregated footway/cycleway parallel to The Straight Mile, the Estate’s main spine road
- Borrow pit, development platforms, access road and ‘park & choose’ car park at Plot N4
- Treatment of contaminated stockpiles in Plot N3 and use of the resultant material as fill in borrow pits within several development areas
- Provision of an occasionally-used highway access for specific abnormal loads between the South Magazine plots and the B4399 Rotherwas Link Road
FINAL OUTCOMES
RWC’s services have been optimised by our engineers’ prior experience of working with both developers and contractors and through their local knowledge. We have led a collaborative approach between third-party contractors and consultants and have also overcome constraints and challenges presented by the River Wye & its extensive flood plain and by site contamination from the former munitions factory, including the occasional unearthing of the odd explosive device!
Our engineers have enjoyed working with the client and have gained great satisfaction from the part they have played in the enhancement and development of the Enterprise Zone.
