Reinforced Soil Walls and Slope Reinforcement
2021
Scarborough, Yorkshire
Yorkshire Housing
Termrim Construction
Maccaferri
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, LADY EDITH DRIVE
Challenge
A new housing development has been built at Lady Edith’s, Scarborough. The 49 houses for rent and shared ownership were on a sloping site with poor ground conditions.
Termrim Construction wanted to form two-level platforms to maximise space for the housing plots on the compact development site.
Solution
Maccaferri proposed the use of a range of solutions to suit the topography, geotechnics of the site and the aesthetics needed;
MacWall – segmental blockwork wall with reinforced soil backfill between the houses
Green Terramesh – reinforced soil system with a 70’ vegetating face for the perimeter of the site and blend in with the surrounding natural environment
Gabions – other areas where space for retaining structures was tight
MacWall comprises a reinforced earth structure finished with a dry-laid segmental block facing to create a 4° from the vertical structure. ParaGrid reinforcing geogrid is sandwiched between courses of the block and then covered with compacted structural fill to create a monolithic structure.
In this development, it was used between plots to maximise garden space. The “stone cut” finish offers a sharp and more natural-looking finish than traditional masonry and complements the construction methods typically used in this area.
Green Terramesh is a BBA HAPAS-certified, reinforced soil system that provides a vegetated finish. This softer aesthetic lends itself well to infrastructure, developments, SuDS and landscape features, providing biodiversity and environmental benefits in a structure with a 120-year design life. The structure enabled the plots to extend right to the site boundary.
