Unit 4, Panattoni Park

Work began on the project in 2025, with Hannon Brothers Ltd appointed to undertake the groundworks for Unit 4 of the development: a 545,000 square foot warehouse.

“We started this project in June,” Mark Jackson, Contracts Manager at Hannon Brothers Ltd, said, “and it includes a drainage scheme where it’s attenuated drainage with around 600 metres of 1500 diameter pipework to install, with a further 1,200 metres worth of associated drainage connections off that. At the beginning of the project, our discussions with Lee [Woodcock, Key Account Manager at Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation] ramped up and we started to discuss potentially using pre-formed chambers. It was an absolutely brilliant start to the project and, having weighed up the pros and cons between plastic and traditional materials, it became clear that the speed of the installation of Polypipe CGU’s chambers would outweigh any material costs, so that’s the solution we chose, and it saved us a world of pain compared to constructing traditionally.”

“Not only do our products fit the practical need of this project, providing an effective drainage solution to service what is a huge industrial warehouse, but the use of plastic brings a whole host of other benefits,” Lee Woodcock, Key Account Manager at Polypipe CGU, said, “For example, the use of Ridgistorm-XL large diameter pipework and associated preformed chambers provides flexibility on site, with the solution’s light weight removing the need for heavy machinery for installation. This means that this machinery can be used elsewhere on the build, supporting the programme of works in a positive way.”

“As a whole, the project has been brilliant. We’ve had some delays with the design process but, working with Lee and the Polypipe CGU team, we’ve turned things around and have been in a good position on site,” Mark said, “The key for us is getting the design to the Polypipe CGU team – once we were able to do that, it was perfect. The team at the office drafted up what we wanted within a specific timeframe and as soon as that came to me, the quality of the drawings was brilliant, and it was so simple for me to sign them off. The communication is there, too; Lee’s knowledge of the industry is a huge benefit, and we also had the Polypipe CGU site support team come out to give us a toolbox talk and we know that if we have any questions or problems, the team have the solutions so it’s a great support to have.”

“We have a very close relationship with Hannon Brothers, so it’s always a pleasure to work on projects like this with them,” Lee added. “Communication is everything and with such transparency, together, we’ve been able to overcome problems with timings or things that have really been out of both of our hands. Much of this comes from the trust and confidence we have in our respective service offerings – we understand how each other works and are constantly striving for success and improvement wherever possible.”