Chartres Classic and boulevard paving, from the ‘original’ permeable paving and SUDS company, Hanson Formpave, has been installed at a mixed-use scheme in Bradford on Avon. A former rubber works, the Kingston Mills development from Linden Homes, comprises 171 new and refurbished homes, office space, retail units, cafes, a community building and a riverside path, interspersed with a series of courtyards. Complimented with the company’s EcoGranite kerb and setts, the paving has been installed in the highway, car parking and pedestrian zones of the development.
Just eight miles from the World Heritage City of Bath, the dominant building material in Bradford on Avon is Bath stone. Therefore appointed landscape designer, Nicholas Pearson Associates, “…needed a high quality paving product that would perform on a number of levels,” explains Simon Kale, managing director of Nicholas Pearson Associates. “Firstly, it was important that the paving material was appropriate, sensitive to the context of the site, while also performing as part of an attractive streetscape for the contemporary development. We were also looking for a product that could be used for vehicular and pedestrian areas to reduce the dominance of traditional highway design. Hanson Formpave is the obvious choice since it provides good colour options and a complementary range of unit size and elements.”
“We worked alongside Hanson Formpave’s technical design team to ensure that we specified the correct products and maximised the potential of both the design and products. The completed home-zone style scheme demonstrates how careful design and appropriate material selection can really add value to a development.”
With Purbeck natural stone also indigenous to Wiltshire and the South West of England, Hanson Formpave’s Chartres paving was supplied in the Purbeck finish to naturally complement the Bath building stone. Chartres boulevard paving has been installed in the pedestrian zones, including the communal spaces and piazza-style areas in and around the commercial units. As an alternative to the repetitive use of slabs, Hanson Formpave’s boulevard paving is supplied in layers containing 12 seperate paving blocks of seven various sizes. Delivered in a standard laying pattern the design can be varied to suit each application, from traditional formal coursing to a more random formation with no regular jointing.
The colour and Olden finish of Hanson Formpave’s standard Chartres range lends itself for use in conservation areas and when architectural heritage is a key factor.
Linden Homes is an award-winning, responsible housebuilder with brownfield developments accounting for 95% of all homes that it builds. As a responsible, sustainable developer, the use of environmentally friendly materials was encouraged in all aspects of the design. Hanson Formpave’s EcoGranite is manufactured from up to 77% recycled content and so has contributed towards the company’s BREEAM assessment for Kingston Mills. The development has also received a ‘Local Regeneration and Renewal’ award from The Royal Town Planning Institute.
Hanson Formpave is a leading UK manufacturer and supplier of SUDS and water harvesting systems using specialist concrete paving. Having pioneered what is now commonly referred to as sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), utilising permeable paving, the company has become the market leader is this field with the Aquaflow® permeable paving system winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation.
