Relief Road

Following the development of the new housing scheme, the construction of the new relief road around the western edge of the town has prevented unmanageable levels of traffic from driving directly through its centre. This has successfully reduced traffic by 46%.

The main challenge of the project was the proximity of the site to the airport and its bird strike mitigation measures. To reduce the visual impact of the highway, bunds and narrow swales were utilised, as opposed to ponds and large swales, to minimise its impact and provide suitable landscaping. The bunds are made from clay-based soil and formed into an embankment to act as a barrier to protect the surrounding area from flooding, providing a landscaped view of grassed and vegetated areas. Through this, our team ensured the airport authority’s requirements were met.

Wet attenuation ponds and other features likely to retain water were avoided in our design in favour of dry attenuation basins and swales with draining gradients. These were necessary to avoid the retention of water which would attract birds and pose a risk to the adjacent airport.

The scheme was also in the vicinity of a 185,000-volt power line that could not be diverted. To solve this issue, the team designed a retaining structure to the existing pylons.

Public liaison meetings took place with East Midlands Airport, Highways England, and Leicestershire County Council for the duration of the project to ensure minimum impact on the local community. The team also held community engagement meetings to ensure that we received feedback from all stakeholders.

The scheme was funded by the three consortium members, Miller Homes, Redrow Homes and Clowes Developments. As a result, an impartial point of contact was required to ensure all consortium members agreed with any decisions throughout the project. Therefore, Pick Everard was brought on board to act as an advisor for all parties throughout the works.