Polypipe, the UK’s leading manufacturer of sustainable drainage and water management products, was selected to provide a shallow attenuation solution incorporating treatment as part of works to create a new head office for one of the world’s leading online gambling companies.
The development of the new UK Head Office of bet365 in Stoke-on-Trent is being overseen by Main Contractor John Sisk Ltd, and has seen Polypipe’s products installed by groundworker E P McEvilly Contractors Ltd and specialist SuDS installer SEL Environmental Ltd. Following a site survey, it was found that due to the level of contaminated land, deep excavations for a stormwater solution would be unfeasible and very costly.
In looking for an alternative solution, the project’s consultant WSP called upon Polypipe to aid in the design of a shallow drainage solution that also provided two levels of surface water treatment and surface water attenuation.
The design incorporated elements of both the Polystorm and Permavoid geocellular systems offered by Polypipe. More than 750m of Permavoid Permachannel and Permavoid Biomat were utilised at the site in order to feed surface water run-off into Polystorm-R attenuation tanks to provide treatment and storage of the surface water. The Permachannel acts to capture silt and oils, whilst the Permavoid Biomat’s trilaminate low density composite mat traps hydrocarbons.
Consisting of 21 different runs of Permachannel and Permavoid Biomat, which linked to 21 Polystorm-R geocellular attenuation tanks, the design is capable of storing more than 400m3 of stormwater beneath the development’s car park, at a depth of just 1m. Polystorm-R’s robust compressive strength of up to 61 tonnes/m² and its ability to maximise water capture and attenuation, thanks to its 95% void fill ratio, makes it ideal for use beneath areas traffic load areas such as the bet365 project.
The run-off stormwater is initially collected within the Permachannel, which was installed at pavement level to provide initial source control, as well as the first stage of water treatment by capturing silt and oil. Once entering the Permachannel, the water then passes through the system into Permavoid Biomat cells containing a tri-laminate low density composite biomat. The biomat traps and retains any residual oil present in surface water and also provides ideal conditions for aerobic degradation. In doing so, Permavoid Biomat can encourage the reproduction of microbes to breakdown oil deposits and further treat stormwater before it reaches the Polystorm-R attenuation tank and eventually discharged into the local water course, replacing the need for petrol interceptors.
Craig Taylor, Associate Director at WSP UK, said: “Having to re-evaluate system designs due to planning conditions, Polypipe were able to provide a viable alternative solution that met the needs of the project.”
“Not only was Polypipe able to provide a host of products that met our needs, but they were able to assist with the design, specification and drainage planning strategy that helped overcome the required levels of treatment through the incorporation of Permachannel and Permavoid Biomat.”
Sean Robinson, Permavoid Project Manager at Polypipe, added: “With experience in providing a number of designs and systems for developments taking place on contaminated brownfield sites, we know that our shallow geocellular systems range ticked the right boxes for bet365.
“Not only does the system provide adequate localised attenuation at shallower depths and source control with the use of Polystorm-R and the Permavoid system, but it provides two levels of treatment for surface water run-off from the carpark. The shallower system limited the need for strenuous excavation on site, saving vital time and cost while reducing potential health and safety risks.”
The bet365 project was completed in Winter 2015.
