Social Housing Development Infrastructure, Upper Achintore

A £10.6 million infrastructure package was undertaken to prepare a site in the Fort William area for the development of 82 social housing units, forming part of a larger master plan yet to be fully defined. The project involved significant earthworks, with the movement of over 100,000 tonnes of material across the site. To achieve the necessary site levelling, timber crib retaining walls with a maximum height of 6 meters and a total sloped service area of 1354 square meters were constructed.

The overall project duration spanned 134 weeks, with 94 weeks dedicated to construction activities. Innovative technologies employed included Permacrib timber crib walls, fibre concrete, permeable paving and piling. The use of fibre concrete facilitated a faster rate of material placement with reduced demand on steel manufacturing, resulting in overall cost savings and a lower carbon dioxide impact. Permeable paving was implemented to mitigate surface water runoff, thereby lessening the potential for flooding, with assessments conducted to ensure adequate attenuation and flood water storage capacity.