Patrick Parsons provided engineering consultancy on Crewe Commercial Park Plot 3, which has been delivered over 2 phases, with Plot 3 recently completed and leased by retailer TK MAXX on practical completion.
Appointed by PLP, Patrick Parsons was responsible for the civil and structural engineering design, on Plot 3 of Crewe Commercial Park, which included:
- Engineering Layout
- Earthworks
- Drainage Design
- Proposed Levels
- Kerbing & Construction
- Service Yard Joint Layout
- Pad Foundations
- Office Slabs
- First Floor Office Slabs
- External Foundations for Gatehouse and Ancillary Details
The engineering design for this project started in April 2021, with construction beginning in February 2022 and completing in January 2023.
This logistics warehouse is situated within close proximity to the proposed HS2 Hub situated off Jack Mills Way, 5 miles from the M6 Motorway. The warehouse is of steel portal frame construction and measures 460,000 Sq ft. The site also has a three-storey external office with over 30,000sq ft, as well as 442 car parking spaces and 111 HGV parking spaces.
Challenges
During the design phase, the earthworks model revealed an issue that would be created by the cut and fill process. This is where the movement of the earth is handled in a logical manner, the goal of cut and fill is ultimately to conserve energy and maximize the use of existing materials to avoid bringing in or shipping out dirt. The mass amount of material from cuts should roughly match the amount of fill needed to make nearby embankments and minimize the amount of construction labour.
After the cut and fill exercise was carried out, it was discovered that there was an existing embankment not owned by our client, was further into the site than expected and was not as shown on the original survey. This meant that a small number of parking spaces were to be lost during planning stage. Our solution was to amend the car park gradients to raise car park levels at that edge, to better tie into the existing bund levels and illuminate the need for any retaining walls.
Sustainability
Crewe Commercial Park has been constructed in accordance with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) Carbon Net Zero standard. The building includes numerous measures to facilitate Carbon Net Zero operation, including 970msq of roof-mounted solar photovoltaics, air source heating and cooling in the office areas, LED lighting and 24 electric car charging points.
The structure has also been designed for future flexibility, with a strengthened roof to enable full coverage of solar photovoltaics and underground infrastructure to allow 100% of all car and HGV parking spaces to have electric charging points.
The completed project provides an environmentally conscious logistics warehouse, in a modern business park environment.
