A new build 3-storey development on a brownfield site adjacent to the junction at Hillhouse Road and Wellhall Road in Hamilton, to the south-east of Glasgow City Centre. Working for the Link Group and JR Construction, we were the civil and structural engineers and fulfilled the Principal Designer and SER certifier roles for the £3.8M project providing 29 independent living apartments split between two blocks.

Due to the lightweight nature of the panelised timber kit construction, the building is supported on mass concrete trench fill foundations with a reinforced concrete ground bearing floor slab. Load bearing timber stud walls, timber floor cassettes and timber truss roof, supported by occasional additional steels to accommodate spans, were designed by a third-party contractor and fully reviewed by Civic Engineers to comply with SER requirements. We designed internal masonry walls, precast floors, and supporting steel members to communal hallways and stairwells. The building is finished with a brick façade and large feature timber window projections framing the Juliet balconies.

The site was subject to considerable drainage constraints due to the shallow depth of adjacent adopted drainage infrastructure and a history of flooding incidents from a nearby culverted watercourse. However; following detailed investigatory works and careful design and detailing, we were able to secure discharge consents from Scottish Water and South Lanarkshire Council.

A scheme of investigation was undertaken to identify, trace and prove the integrity of a previously unadopted foul sewer associated with the previous development on site. This connection route precluded any requirement for significant raising of ground levels on-site which would have been needed to achieve a gravity connection to the foul sewer under Hillhouse Road.  Also, through detailed consultation with the local flooding officer and review of public records, it became apparent that historic flooding events could be attributed to blockage of the surface water culvert due to accumulation of debris and lack of maintenance rather than any hydraulic capacity issues. Through agreement with the flooding officer and the incorporation of in-curtilage SuDS measures to attenuate the discharge from the site, we were able to secure agreement to discharge surface water to the culverted watercourse.

Detailed negotiations with the South Lanarkshire Roads department were undertaken to ensure access to the development would be granted consent. To that end we prepared and submitted an access statement during the pre-planning consultations to justify the vehicle movements into and from the development from the busy Hillhouse Road. This appraisal demonstrated that the proposed access and car parking would cause little detriment to users of the existing road network and allayed the roads officers’ concerns, resulting in a positive outcome.

There is the potential for further two phases of development in the future, and we have designed the site infrastructure to accommodate future expansion, thereby future-proofing the development.