Stimulating an engineering-led masterplan for mammoth innovation park in Greater Manchester

Over the next five years, the area expects to see a 14 percent increase in 5–19 year olds and a 16.5 percent increase in 35–44 year olds.

This means there’s going to be a growing working age population immediately around the site, highlighting the importance of a development that can positively create opportunities by providing means for inclusive growth within the knowledge economy sectors including digital and creative, health and advanced manufacturing.

Led by our strategic projects team, we conducted heavy due diligence at the site and identified ways to overcome any constraints involved whilst developing robust engineering solutions which address the ground conditions, infrastructure requirements, site levels, drainage and the remediation of the site — all of which impact the viability of developing the site true to the overall vision.

Our role covered providing strategic evidence spanning acoustics, geotechnical and land quality, transport, infrastructure, flooding, drainage, utilities and sustainability.

As the site’s been inactive for commercial use for many years it has huge volumes of unclassified waste materials discarded from the adjacent M60 and surrounding retail parks when they were constructed.

The presence of waste material on top of the area's typical peat soil creates a unique challenge for designing cost-effective and efficient building platforms (earthwork plateaus). To address this, our civil engineers ran multiple computer models that simulated different scenarios for digging up and moving soil (cut and fill) while aiming to minimise the total amount of earthwork needed.

Due to the difficult ground conditions, limited access opportunities, noise limitations, and challenges in providing utilities and services to the site, thorough early-stage engineering planning was crucial for developing a feasible project.

Our engineering work was crucial for informing the development framework, led by LDA Design. While there were several options for the development itself, they lacked a foundation in engineering feasibility. Therefore, our team collaborated closely with the entire design team to fill these information gaps. This included designing practical access solutions and shaping the overall layout of the plot.

By ensuring a single point of contact for a suite of complex engineering design services, we ensured accountability, streamlined communication and ensured all change, including cause and effect, would be managed at the earliest opportunity.

We condensed all the technical aspects, limitations, and possibilities of the project into a concise Executive Summary report. This outlined our recommendations for Tameside Council, the landowners, and other key stakeholders. It was well-received by everyone involved, and concluded by identifying the most likely and cost-effective development option.