Stonewater Housing approached savillejones consultants to provide a proposal to undertake remedial works to existing retaining boundary walls located on one of their sites in Malvern.

The retaining wall formed a boundary to Malvern Parish C of E Primary School; Stonewater Housing Association properties and to the adjacent private housing.

Historically, the wall formed part of Malvern train station’s Goods yard and is within a conservation area, thereby requiring planning approval.

The improvement works were undertaken in two phases to minimise disruption to the adjacent residents and the School. The walls were fully surveyed to ensure accurate design solutions were achieved. We worked in close collaboration with the Structural Engineer to produce a cost effective solution.

Additional car park spaces were added to benefit Stonewater residents. The new retaining wall was designed to minimise the impact on the adjacent high level private access road and the adjacent gardens. The proposed level of the new wall was reduced to maximise the amount of sunlight into the adjacent properties without compromising the resident’s privacy.

Consideration was given to the following elements:

• Close liaison with all of the  neighbours throughout the whole project period
• Good working relationship with the Local Authority Planning & Conservation team ;
• Careful choice of materials reusing existing brickwork where feasible to minimise waste; provide a solution that is in keeping with the Conservation area policies;
• Detailed material specification
• Attention to the access arrangements and site organisation to ensure safe access is maintained and minimum disturbance to local residents
• Careful programming and detailed Health & Safety management throughout the process.