RAINWATER MANAGEMENT
CASE STUDY: StormCrate55
T Bradstone driveway
with contractors often under pressure to balance compliance, buildability and cost, while navigating evolving drainage requirements. Increasingly, Tamblin believes, they are turning to merchants and manufacturers for guidance on product selection and system integration. “While there’s no expectation for merchant teams to become drainage designers, a solid understanding of SuDS principles can help improve customer conversations and instigate repeat business. Knowing the role of permeable paving, attenuation systems, flow controls and infiltration products within a wider drainage strategy enables merchants to provide more informed support and identify opportunities that might otherwise be missed. Gone are the days of SuDS being part of the conversation only at planning stage. It is now having a real, tangible impact on how developments are designed, approved and delivered.
For merchants, that shift triggers an opportunity to become a more valuable partner to developers, contractors and specifiers by helping them navigate a complex drainage landscape.
At drainage and plumbing specialist Brett Martin, understanding the role of SuDS is no longer simply a technical consideration – it is an opportunity to provide greater value to customers through informed product recommendations and expert support, according to national specification manager John Kelly.
He says: “Historically, drainage systems were designed to move rainwater away from sites as quickly as possible. However, today’s developments face very different challenges. Urban expansion has reduced the amount of permeable land available to absorb rainfall naturally, while more frequent heavy downpours are placing unprecedented pressure on drainage networks.
“SuDS take a fundamentally different approach. Rather than simply transporting water away, they are designed to manage rainfall close to where it lands by slowing flows, storing water temporarily, encouraging infiltration where ground conditions allow and, in some cases, enabling rainwater to be reused.”
Kelly adds that, for housebuilders, adopting
he contractor building a new wood recycling plant in Chesterfield required an attenuation system to manage excessive stormwater. They also
required a retention system, serving as a backup water reservoir as part of the site’s fire risk reduction plan.
The site’s car park was identified as the location of the large underground water tank, and the team at Tudor Griffiths Builders Merchants in Oswestry were tasked with sourcing a high-strength and high-performance system for both attenuation and retention of stormwater.
Brett Martin’s StormCrate55 crates were recommended – especially as there was also a requirement to withstand regular HGV traffic. The total volume of the underground tank was just shy of 1,000 m3. Once the area had been excavated, West Bromwich-based Aquatech Civils installed the crates in two stages and wrapped them in an impermeable membrane with a protective fleece layer. They
an effective SuDS strategy can help reduce flood risk, protect local watercourses, relieve pressure on sewer infrastructure, improve biodiversity and create more resilient developments that are better equipped to cope with future weather patterns.
Natural limitations
“Although natural drainage features such as ponds, wetlands and swales can support a SuDS strategy, many new residential and commercial developments either don’t have these, have insufficient space, or face cost and constraints that make them impractical. This has increased demand for below ground stormwater management systems constructed using modular geocellular crates,” he says. Installed beneath roads, car parks and landscaped areas, these systems create large underground voids capable of storing significant volumes of stormwater following heavy rainfalls. Depending on the project requirements, stored water can then be released gradually into drainage networks, allowed to infiltrate naturally into surrounding ground or retained for future reuse. The flexibility of modular cellular systems means they can be specified across a wide range of developments, from housing schemes and schools to commercial premises, industrial facilities and major infrastructure projects. Kelly says that Brett Martin’s StormCrate55 has been developed specifically to meet the demands of modern SuDS design. Each crate measures 1,200 mm x 600 mm x 347 mm and provides 237.5 litres of storage, meaning
September 2026
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
were able to work so quickly because at only 15.5 kg each, the crates were easy to handle on site. The only challenge they faced was reconfiguring part of the tank to work around a buried water main.
Outlets were fitted 400 mm above the invert of the tank to ensure a minimum volume of water was retained, ready to be used in case of fire.
Speaking about installing StormCrate55, Joe Brown from Aquatech Civils said: “The crates were very easy to install, and we completed the project in five days. StormCrate55s are very light but incredibly solid and sturdy. We carried out pressure tests on each weld of the membrane to ensure a good seal and extrusion welded the internal corners.”
just four units deliver approximately one cubic metre of underground storage, while achieving an impressive 95% void ratio. Made from 100% recycled polypropylene, StormCrate55 combines lightweight handling with exceptional structural performance, supporting loads of up to 562 kN/m², making it suitable for both trafficked and non-trafficked sites. “The combination of high storage capacity, structural strength and ease of installation enables contractors to work efficiently while providing consultants and developers with confidence that the finished installation will perform over the long term. From specification through to installation, modular geocellular systems are already delivering proven results on projects across the UK.”
He agrees that merchants are increasingly expected to provide much more than products, with developers and contractors relying on merchant partners for technical advice during the specification process, particularly on drainage schemes. ”At Brett Martin, we support merchants throughout the design and construction process by providing technical expertise, including SuDS design guidance, hydraulic calculations, loading assessments, specification advice and site-specific support. Merchants can also benefit from nationwide availability of StormCrate55, together with direct-to-site delivery where required, helping simplify logistics on larger developments,” he says.
“By combining quality products with continues on page 44 43
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