Long-time McAuliffe client, Vistry, sought to convert this 41ha site – once home to the former Drakelow Power station – into Dracan Village, a 1,200-home development.
Former industrial use meant large-scale earthworks and enabling works were needed to make the site viable for housebuilding.
Ground issues included:
Through Early Contractor Involvement and using our own Environmental Permit, we achieved regulatory approval and agreed phased handover to align with the client’s build programme, enabling up to 300 homes per annum.
Our team engaged early with ecologists and invasive weed specialists to manage ecological constraints, including badgers.
We value-engineered the earthworks specification to manage the deep obstruction removal. We also value engineered the piling mat design stabilising site won soils including PFA, enabling their reuse as part of the piling mat. This halved the volume of 6f2 required, delivering a more sustainable and cost-effective solution for the client.
Using up to 85-tonne excavators with specialist attachments we removed obstructions and foundations up to 10m deep, our team excavated and recompacted over 320,000m3 of soils during the obstruction removal. This included de-watering excavations and also recording real time as built data with on site enabled GPS plant. We completed 200,000 m3 of cut and fill, which included using our 26t specialist Polygonal roller to allow compaction of greater depths of fill layers.
Our team also managed the site wide MMP process including importation of soils.
| Client | Vistry North West Midlands |
| Site Area | 41 ha (Approx 1,200 new homes) |
| Location | Burton upon Trent |
| Time Frame | Phase 1 (110 weeks) |
