The facility, which includes a 241,885 square foot warehouse facility containing almost 80 business units selling meat, fish, poultry and horticultural goods, also is home to a 450-space car park and protects the status of the market as the biggest of its kind in the UK.
A broad variety of Polypipe CGU civils and infrastructure products were installed at the site, including Ridgidrain and Ridgistorm-XL for surface water drainage, Polystorm-R for surface water attenuation and Polysewer and EN 1401 sewer pipes for wastewater. Additionally, a range of cable protection systems for vital electricity supplied to the buildings at the 18 acre site were also provided.
These products were specified by the team at main contractor Benniman Construction as alternatives to traditional materials following advice from groundworker EP McVilly, which cited the ease with which Polypipe CGU’s plastic systems – which are much lighter in weight than traditional solutions – could be installed.
In order to manage onsite surface water run-off, 18,750 Polystorm-R cells were installed underneath the site’s proposed outdoor car park and vehicle access areas to capture and attenuate up to 3,555m³ of stormwater.
Some 900m of Ridgidrain surface water drainage pipe was installed along access roads and around the building’s perimeter, which connected via manholes into 32m of 300mm Ridgistorm-XL large diameter pipe to manage the high water volume of water from the site before releasing into the main sewer network.
Polypipe EN 1401 sewer pipe is connected to more than 1km of 150mm Polysewer pipe and fittings to help manage the flow of foul and wastewater from the development, providing a long life, low maintenance gravity system that is resistant to chemicals and abrasions.
In addition, more than 10km of ENATS class 2 specification Ridgiduct Power cable protection was installed across the site to protect vital electricity to the new buildings. This system is low in weight, flexible, durable and high in strength to deal with any loading on site.
Dave Meenaghan, project manager at EP McEvilly, said: “This project had very tight timescales so we were happy to recommend Polypipe’s plastic products in favour of concrete and clay materials. We find the company’s products are quicker to install and provide excellent reliability. They have kept this important project on track.”
Rosie Cheetham, Marketing Manager at Polypipe CGU added: “The wholesale market is such an integral part of Birmingham’s economy and community, bringing in £50m to the city each year. We were delighted to supply a wide range of surface water drainage and sewerage products to such an important project.”