News
Lanes Group surveys centuries-old culverts at National Trust house
D
rainage and maintenance specialist Lanes Group has helped investigate stone culverts thought to be up to 300 years old at a National Trust stately home that is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the north east of England. The National Trust needed to make substantial changes to the drainage system at Grade I listed Wallington Hall, near Morpeth, in Northumberland, to take pressure off its sewage treatment system. It called in Joyce Construction and Civils to lead the work. When their investigations revealed a network of stone culverts, they needed expert help to fully understand how they functioned. Lanes Group’s Newcastle Depot carried out detailed CCTV HD video drainage surveys of the culverts, which were lined with sandstone slabs. All the Lanes team’s actions were overseen, authorised and recorded by an archaeologist appointed by the National Trust, to ensure the site was preserved, and to be on hand in case the work revealed any important finds. Joyce Construction and Civils Operations Manager Shaun Myerscough said: “The culverts were taking rainwater from the roof downpipes of the main hall, so were among the oldest drainage on the site. “A key part of our work was to
understand exactly what each pipe did and where it ran, because our job was to split the surface water drainage from the foul water drainage. “Lanes Group team did a very good job of working with our team and the archaeologist, and providing highly-detailed survey reports that allowed us to plan our civil engineering work with confidence.” Previously, all surface water and foul water had been channelled into a wastewater treatment plant, which had reached its capacity. To avoid having to install a new or second one, the decision was made to divert the surface water, allowing it to run into natural water courses, significantly reducing pressure on the wastewater treatment plant. Lanes Group engineers surveyed 200 metres of rectangular stone culverts, which were about 18 inches in diameter, and made up about 40 per cent of the surface water drainage system for the hall and associated buildings. National Trust Building Surveyor Brian Rochester said: “The project involved updating the drainage infrastructure, and was much needed.
“It included separating surface and foul water in and around Wallington Estate. Due to the archaeological sensitivity of the area we were working in, we adapted and reused
as much of the original pipework and culverts as we could. “The Lanes Group team helped achieve this through detailed CCTV surveys, giving a greater understanding of what we could leave in place or would have to be renewed. This gave us time and cost savings. “We have a responsibility to protect the buildings and their infrastructure in our care, and we are very satisfied with the work undertaken by Lanes Group as part of a project with Joyce Construction and Civils as the main contractor. “To have this project completed ahead of a busy new season of visitors coming to Wallington, was of paramount importance to us.”
www.lanesfordrains.co.uk.
director of Enistic, is warning that there might not be enough lead assessors to go round.
Don’t Get Caught in the ESOS Bottleneck W
ith only seven months to go to the ESOS compliance deadline, Darryl Mattocks, managing
Enistic, with headquarters in Oxford, has subsidiaries in throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa and has just been shortlisted for an Ashden Award for excellence in the field of sustainable energy. Clients include many household names such as Pret A Manger, Airtricity, Honda, and Fujitsu. Darryl warns: “I have real concerns around the supply and demand of lead assessors. There are over 10,000 businesses which need to report their ESOS assessment by 5 December - and
6 news
only around 500 lead assessors. The closer we get to deadline, the more pressure will build on their workload. “If you haven’t made a start on your ESOS compliance I implore you to make a start right now. Delay any longer and you risk getting caught up in a bottleneck when work piles up for the limited number of assessors available.” Organisations who fail to meet the deadline risk fines of up to £50,000 or £500 a day.
Enistic offers an Easy ESOS scheme to guarantee compliance, starting with a free, no obligation briefing meeting to cover your organisation’s energy consumption, available data, building portfolio, industrial processes and transport. This is followed by a report
Building & Facilities Management – May 2015
detailing a tailored approach and time frame for compliance. And all for an agreed fixed price.
For more information see www.
enistic.com, call 0844 875 1600 or email
info@enistic.com
Darryl Mattocks, Managing Director of Enistic
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