We’re making the ground move in Hamilton

Our team has begun work on a new 30-week contract to deliver a soil modification and bulk earthworks package that will create a development platform to facilitate new-build housing for two major housebuilders to construct around 400 new homes at Highstone Hall in Hamilton.   

The project will stabilise and modify over 200,000m³ of site-won materials and use 100,000m³ of topsoil that will remove the need for piling and abnormal foundations.  We are also working closely with the project’s nominated groundworker to develop and deliver the early infrastructure that is required for the project including drains and the formation of roads.

 Kevin Mackenzie, Managing Director for Ground Developments Ltd explains:  “We have been involved with this project right from the land acquisition stage, and we have worked closely with our client’s consultant engineers in order to be able to deliver a design solution.

“It is part of our approach to engage with our clients and their designers as early as possible in their development process in order to create engineered solutions that offer real cost savings for their projects.

 “Going through this process ensures that pre-construction development works can get off to an efficient site start, and our clients can see real benefits such as reduced truck movements and the efficient use of site-won materials on their projects, which is naturally good for the environment.

“As our team gets underway at Highstone Hall in Hamilton, we’re now seeing the benefits of this approach come to life.“

We have pioneered the use of soil modification techniques for use under new-build housing in Scotland over the last nine years.  As the market leaders in this sector, our success in securing technical approval for this approach positions us as the contractor of choice for many of Scotland’s major developers.

 Soil modification is used as a fill-drying technique to reduce the moisture content of site-won soil, and this allows the materials to be re-compacted in accordance with specified requirements.

 By maximising the re-use of site-won materials, our approach can eliminate the requirement for the off-site disposal of surplus excavated materials and imported aggregates. This engineered solution often produces significant cost savings to developers; it also provides significant environmental benefits, which improves the overall sustainability of the development.