Phoenix Design Partnership provided civil engineering services for the Mead Fields development, a landmark 108-hectare mixed-use scheme at Banwell, North Somerset. The strategic development comprises approximately 1,400 homes together with a care home, hotel, employment land (20,000m²), local centre, community facilities, primary school, extensive open space and strategic infrastructure.
- Client:
- Mead Realisations, Taylor Wimpey, Bellway Homes & Wain Homes
- Role:
- Infrastructure and Residential Civil Engineering Consultant
- Services:
- Planning, Highways, Drainage, Section 278 and Plot Design
- Value:
- In excess of £400 million
Appointed by Mead Realisations and multiple national housebuilders, Phoenix delivered the engineering design for both the strategic infrastructure and the majority of the residential development parcels, supporting the phased delivery of one of North Somerset’s most significant urban extensions.
Phoenix designed the principal Section 278 highway works, including the new four-arm Wolvershill Roundabout, which provides the primary access into the development. Working closely with the Local Highway Authority and Internal Drainage Board, the design maintained surface water flows within the existing rhyne network while providing a safe and efficient access arrangement for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
Phoenix also designed the principal highways serving the development, including Derek Mead Way, the primary route through the site, and the North–South Spine Road, providing strategic connectivity to the neighbouring Locking development and a secondary access onto Churchland Way.
Working collaboratively with Wessex Water, the Internal Drainage Board and the wider project team, Phoenix developed the surface water drainage strategy in accordance with the site’s strategic drainage principles. Surface water is attenuated within a central ‘Super Pond’, with the existing rhyne network enhanced and utilised to receive flows from both the residential parcels and strategic infrastructure. Multiple discharge locations reduced the need for large diameter pipework and minimised site level raising across the development.
To overcome the challenges of the site’s flat topography, Phoenix designed a network of interconnected foul pumping stations linked via a telemetry system, providing an efficient and resilient connection to the existing Wessex Water network whilst avoiding excessive sewer depths.
Phoenix also delivered the detailed engineering design for the majority of the residential parcels, including highways, adoptable sewers, plot levels, private drainage and finished ground levels, ensuring efficient construction and compliance with the relevant adoption and Building Regulation requirements.
Through close collaboration with stakeholders and a technically robust approach to highways, drainage and infrastructure design, Phoenix has played a pivotal role in delivering the strategic infrastructure and residential engineering for one of the South West’s largest mixed-use developments.