Case Study
School Close, Bampton
Modular Affordable Housing Groundworks for Mid Devon District Council
School Close in Bampton was a new affordable housing development for Mid Devon District Council, built using prefabricated modular construction.
Renelec Contractors needed an experienced groundworks team to take on the package and work to the council’s programme, and brought JMJ Groundworks in during the early stages of the project.
The homes weren’t built in the traditional way. They were manufactured off site in modular sections, with kitchens and bathrooms already fitted, then delivered to Bampton and craned straight onto concrete foundation pads constructed by our team.
That made accuracy and timing critical. Over roughly 12 months, we delivered the groundworks and external works from the foundation pads through to drainage, services, retaining walls and the finished external areas, hitting every key deadline set for our works.
Project Profile
Client
Renelec Contractors for Mid Devon District Council
Project
School Close, a modular affordable housing development
Location
Bampton, Devon, Devon
Duration
12 Months
Services
Groundworks and external works: foundation pads, drainage, utilities, king-post retaining walls and hard landscaping
Scope of Work
We supplied the labour, supervision and plant for the groundworks and external works package, with materials supplied by the client. A team of around six JMJ operatives was on the project for most of the works. They were supported by our 3-tonne and 5-tonne excavators and a 3-tonne dumper.
Our works covered:
- Concrete foundation pads for the modular units
- Plot drainage
- Underground services
- King-post retaining walls
- Bike shed and garden shed bases
- Block paving
- External works and hard landscaping
Project Challenges
Working with modular construction
Modular housing turns the usual groundworks sequence on its head. On a traditional development, the homes are built up from the foundations on site. At School Close, much of each home was finished before it arrived.
Our concrete foundation pads had to be accurate and ready on time. When the modular sections were delivered, the crane lifted each unit straight from the transport and set it down in its predetermined position on our pads. There was no room for pads being out of tolerance or not ready, because any delay would hold up deliveries, the crane and the wider programme.
Tight programme dates
Mid Devon District Council set a series of tight programme dates, particularly around installing the modular homes and completing the development afterwards. Meeting them meant close coordination between JMJ, Renelec and the other contractors on site, with each trade’s work lined up so the next could follow on without delay.
Delivery
With the foundation pads prepared accurately and on programme, the modular homes could be craned into position as planned. Once the homes were in place, our team moved straight on to the drainage, underground services and the extensive external works needed to finish the development.
Throughout around 12 months on site, we kept a consistent team in place and maintained progress through each stage. We achieved every deadline required of us, from the foundations that the modular units depended on through to the retaining walls, paving and hard landscaping around the finished homes.
Results
School Close is now complete, providing new affordable homes for the local community in Bampton.
The project showed that our groundworks experience adapts well to less conventional forms of construction. We prepared precise foundations for prefabricated modular homes, then delivered the drainage, services, retaining structures and finished external areas around them.
Renelec have continued to work with us since, asking JMJ to support them on further projects.
For us, School Close is a good example of what we aim to give every client: a reliable groundworks team that can come into a project, understand what needs to be achieved and provide the labour, plant and experience to get it delivered.
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