Preston’s one stop shop for lasting binders


Current UK economic conditions have seen large cuts in client budgets producing inertia and uncertainty about highways asset funding which could potentially slow investment in the asphalt supply chain.


However, Total Bitumen has announced recent investment at the Riversway plant in Preston which includes a capital investment in the last five years of more than £7million. The investment has enabled a number of


installations including a distributed control system; a new polymer modified bitumen (PMB) blending plant which allows greater product range and manufacturing flexibility;


an efficient steam boiler for bitumen heating and new rail rolling stock is also being held on long term lease. Totals UK’s Market Development Manager Rick Ashton said: “The site is now really a bitumen one stop shop manufacturing Industrial Grades, Premium Emulsions and PMB to suit all applications.” Total’s Styrelf range has now been


developed into a family of PMBs. The original SuDS key to supermarkets


Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are proving pivotal to planning permission for new supermarkets.


The growth of supermarket chains shows no sign of slowing down, with hundreds of new branches set to open across the UK this year. A recent study of UK supermarket expansion revealed that one of the “Big Four” supermarkets gets planning permission for a new store every working day of the year. However, new, tighter planning


restrictions and a need to address and mitigate the environmental impact of new stores mean customer car parks with good drainage are an essential detail of all supermarket development. While many construction products are focused on delivering a new generation of


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lower carbon stores, recent legislation is also aimed at flood water management. The Flood and Water Management Act passed in 2010 requires that SuDS are implemented at the early stages, as a planning condition. Such systems effectively act as if a


car park doesn’t exist by allowing natural drainage to take place as it always did. SuDS can significantly shorten the build programme by removing the need for a conventional primary drainage system, thus potentially providing considerable cost savings for developers. As sustainable construction gathers pace, SuDS are set to play a growing role.


product has recently been validated in an independent field trial in Switzerland by the University of Lausanne. Sixteen sections of road were


constructed in 1988 using different binders in a thin surface course on the N9 Motorway. After 19 years only the Styrelf section showed no evidence of cracking. Twenty three years after installation this is the only section still untreated and serviceable.


Porous asphalt technology, such as TarmacDry, can work as part of a wider SuDS programme to manage excess surface water


, reduce flood risk, minimise


damage to properties and maximise the area available for development.


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