{"id":122820,"date":"2026-04-15T16:00:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T16:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:00:54","slug":"reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/","title":{"rendered":"Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n \n
    \n
  1. <\/li>\n
  2. <\/li>\n
  3. <\/li>\n
  4. <\/li>\n
  5. <\/li>\n
  6. <\/li>\n <\/ol>\n\n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \"\"<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \"\"<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \"\"<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \"\"<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \"\"<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \"\"<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    Mineral Terramesh 3 years after construction<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>

    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n

    Challenge<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div>\n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n

    A former Vauxhall Motors factory site on the outskirts of Luton was acquired by Redrow Homes for residential development, offering a prime location but presenting significant engineering challenges. The brownfield site featured steeply sloping terrain composed of structureless chalk, a material with limited load-bearing capacity and poor stability when left untreated.<\/p>\n

    To maximise land use efficiency and enable viable housing layouts, the development required the formation of a series of engineered terraces. One key area demanded the construction of a retaining structure approaching 10 metres in height. The combination of steep gradients, weak chalk geology, and the scale of the proposed earthworks created a complex geotechnical problem requiring an innovative and cost-effective solution.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n

    Solution<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div>\n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n

    Rather than disposing of excavated chalk and importing quarried fill material, contractor GDL, designers GES, and Maccaferri developed a sustainable value-engineered solution. By applying cement stabilisation, the site-won chalk was repurposed as structural backfill for a reinforced soil retaining wall. This approach significantly reduced waste, eliminated off-site disposal, and minimised the environmental impact associated with importing new materials.<\/p>\n

    Maccaferri designed and supplied a Mineral Terramesh\u00ae reinforced soil retaining wall system, enabling the construction of a 9.6-metre-high structure with a steep 70\u00b0 face angle. The system was reinforced with ParaGrid\u00ae polymer geogrids, providing long-term stability and ensuring performance under load in challenging ground conditions.<\/p>\n

    The Mineral Terramesh\u00ae system is manufactured from double-twist woven wire mesh, made from Zn-Al 5% galvanised steel and enhanced with a PoliMac\u00ae polymer coating. This advanced coating technology delivers a design life exceeding 120 years and is fully BBA HAPAS approved, offering superior durability and environmental performance compared to traditional PVC-coated alternatives.<\/p>\n

    From a construction perspective, the solution improved efficiency through factory-assembled facing units, combining woven mesh with a Class A galvanised welded mesh (50mm x 50mm apertures). This not only provided an architecturally appealing finish but also accelerated installation by reducing on-site assembly requirements. The system allows the use of smaller facing aggregates (typically 75mm clean stone), enhancing both buildability and visual consistency.<\/p>\n

    Each Mineral Terramesh\u00ae unit includes integral 3-metre reinforcement tails, forming a continuous connection between the facing and the reinforced soil mass. This ensures structural integrity while maintaining flexibility and adaptability during construction.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>

    Used Products<\/h2>
    \"TerraMesh\"<\/div>
    TerraMesh<\/h6>Maccaferri Terramesh\u00ae Family includes different facing options to build a Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) structures and Reinforced Soil Sl<\/span>View\n \n <\/a>
    star<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
    \"MonoAxial<\/div>
    MonoAxial GeoGrids<\/h6>Paragrid\u2122 WAn enhanced high performance knitted geogrid characterized by a very high modulus and the lowest reduction factors. Designed for<\/span>View\n \n <\/a>
    star<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Rather than disposing of excavated chalk and importing quarried fill material, contractor GDL, designers GES, and Maccaferri developed a sustainabl<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12703,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","stories-category":[],"stories-tag":[],"class_list":["post-122820","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"products":[113675,113678],"applications":[106318,106318],"solutions":[106504],"sectors":[106252]},"yoast_head":"\nReinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae - Maccaferri UK & Ireland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore our Success Stories: Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae. From challenge to solution, see how we have helped our clients achieve their goals successfully.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore our Success Stories: Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae. From challenge to solution, see how we have helped our clients achieve their goals successfully.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Maccaferri UK & Ireland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/\",\"name\":\"Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae - Maccaferri UK & Ireland\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Success-Story-Default.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-15T14:00:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"Explore our Success Stories: Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae. From challenge to solution, see how we have helped our clients achieve their goals successfully.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Success-Story-Default.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Success-Story-Default.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1024},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/\",\"name\":\"Maccaferri UK & Ireland\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Maccaferri UK & Ireland\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/logo-maccaferri.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/logo-maccaferri.png\",\"width\":152,\"height\":32,\"caption\":\"Maccaferri UK & Ireland\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae - Maccaferri UK & Ireland","description":"Explore our Success Stories: Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae. From challenge to solution, see how we have helped our clients achieve their goals successfully.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae","og_description":"Explore our Success Stories: Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae. From challenge to solution, see how we have helped our clients achieve their goals successfully.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/","og_site_name":"Maccaferri UK & Ireland","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/","url":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/","name":"Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae - Maccaferri UK & Ireland","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Success-Story-Default.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-15T14:00:54+00:00","description":"Explore our Success Stories: Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae. From challenge to solution, see how we have helped our clients achieve their goals successfully.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Success-Story-Default.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Success-Story-Default.jpg","width":1920,"height":1024},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/success-stories\/reinforced-soil-retaining-wall-in-luton-sustainable-chalk-stabilisation-with-mineral-terramesh\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall in Luton Sustainable Chalk Stabilisation with Mineral Terramesh\u00ae"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/","name":"Maccaferri UK & Ireland","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#organization","name":"Maccaferri UK & Ireland","url":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/logo-maccaferri.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/logo-maccaferri.png","width":152,"height":32,"caption":"Maccaferri UK & Ireland"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/122820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sectors\/106252"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/solution\/106504"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/application\/106318"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prodotti\/113678"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prodotti\/113675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"stories-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories-category?post=122820"},{"taxonomy":"stories-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maccaferri.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories-tag?post=122820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}