National award for former quarry
Described by judges as ‘a project of immense scale and ambition, with due credit to its waste not want not attitude’ a Nuneaton quarry regeneration has won national acclaim.
Judges have heaped praise on the Midlands Quarry Reclamation works at the national Ground Engineering Awards, in the over £1m category.
The development on the edge of Camp Hill in Nuneaton got underway in 2005 and was completed in 2008.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “These awards are the most prestigious going in geotechnical engineering, covering the most impressive works across the nation, and although the Nuneaton project did not win the national award, to be highly commended is a huge achievement and my congratulations go to all involved.”
The county council has been involved with design and construction of the above project since 2005, combining large-scale recycling and creation of one of the highest reinforced earth structure in Europe.
This was to allow the development of two derelict sites. A shallow void at Nuneaton Quarry has been infilled with a 35m high-reinforced (12 storey high) earth retaining wall at Tuttle Hill in Nuneaton.
The works started in June 2007 and were completed in 14 months involving four million cubic meters of earthworks at a cost of about £5.5m. It is also now hoped the small lake should create an attractive feature for the development at this site.
Judges were impressed with how the project in Nuneaton used local sustainable options.
Cllr Heatley added: “This is a sustainable solution to two derelict sites in Nuneaton and Rugby as well as a great environmental improvement of the two areas of the county. Stockpiled foundry waste at Willans Green in Rugby and Tuttle Hill in Nuneaton were processed and re-used as infill at Nuneaton Quarry, regenerating two redundant sites for modern residential and industrial development.”
Both sites are being developed by Redrow.