One of the largest projects completed by Stead Commercial Estates in Huddersfield is a development of 11 commercial units on the town's Leed's Road. The St. Andrews Court development occopies a 2.5 acre site, with Clark-Drain products playing a key role in the site's drainage system.
The development joins Stead Commercial Estates’ constantly-growing portfolio of industrial developments and office space in and around Huddersfield. It has brought new life to the site of a former dye works that had been unused for some time.
Flexibility is inherent in the development, with units ranging from 3,500 to 42,000 sq.ft. and able to work as either trade warehouses or light industrial units. Serving all 11 units is a large tarmac area that acts as both an entrance and loading area. The drainage specifications for the project initially called for 170 metres of linear channel, along with six silt boxes & 30 ductile iron double triangular covers & frames.
Ben Stead, Managing Director at Stead Commercial Estates, says: “The yard area where the hannels have been installed will need to accommodate a wide range of industrial traffic, with forklift trucks and HGV vehicles among them. Our commercial tenants expect trouble-free operation wherever possible, so the right durability and load bearing from the drainage infrastructure is essential. That’s what we have with the Clark-Drain products.”
The channel recommended and supplied by Clark-Drain is the company’s Polymer Concrete Linear Drainage Channel - supplied here in its constant depth format - along with ductile iron slotted grate. Six Silt Boxes incorporating galvanised steel mud baskets were also provided to take run-off water and act as clearing points for leaves and other debris. The Clark-Drain products were supplied through Huddersfield-based JTD Building Supplies. Robert Jagger of JTD says: “When Stead Commercial Estates sent us through their specifications, we immediately thought of Clark-Drain. We have sourced products from them for several years and they are a company and brand we trust, with high quality, competitively-priced products.”
“Clark-Drain are also very responsive and deliver when they say they will. In this case that was especially important as there was a tight schedule. The product arrived as expected and everything went well.”
In fact, a total of three orders and delivery targets needed to be met on this project. The original order was for 170 metres of channel, which was delivered within the specified timescale of two weeks. Subsequently, two further orders totalling 40 metres were placed, with each one being fulfilled within a week to keep the project on track.
WHY THESE PRODUCTS WERE CHOSEN
Hard wearing – Polymer concrete has greater tensile strength and resistance against corrosion than traditional concrete, while ductile iron rails also ensure long-term durability.
BS EN1433:2002 – Load handling performance is rated at 90 tonnes, making it durable with strength to spare in an area used by a range of vehicles.
Easy to install – Each one-metre length of channel weighs less than 16kg and can be lifted and moved easily by manual handling.
Hydraulic performance – The deep drainage channel has a maximum through-flow of 16.6 litres per second, which is more than capable of handling even the heaviest run off likely in this application.
Lockable gratings – Gratings are locked into place for security and robustness by Clark-Drain’s unique boltless CatchLock system.