Member Article

C&A’s Waterside Project going down swimmingly

AN engineering company is celebrating a successful working relationship with an award winning retirement village in the North East.

C&A Pumps was contacted by Middleton Hall Retirement Village, near Darlington, to aid with its new innovative waterside retirement development initially in 2012.

The development had always planned for a water feature that would also deal with the surface water run off that the development would create. However, with the pond based at the highest point of land and a requirement to limit the flow off site during storms; this created a problem with water storage and control.

Construction Manager, Graeme Bell had worked with C&A in the past and went to them instantly with the challenge to solve the flood alleviation using the pond for storage and an attractive main feature for the site.

He said: “I’d previously worked with C&A and were used to the way they worked. I initially came to the company with the situation and what I had in mind. After the first call and three meetings to discuss, the C&A team had devised a solution approved by myself, and were on site.”

Within two months carrying out work on site, the engineering company had designed and created a pump and storage system allowing water to be pumped in and out of the pond.

Graeme added: “Our main challenge was the surface water drainage, however we were still concerned about where any excess water would go. With both companies sharing an environmentally friendly philosophy we didn’t want the water to be transported to somewhere it would be a burden. That’s where the underground pumping chambers came in, controlling the flow both in and out of the pond.”

With the pond now completed and in place, construction of the 35-home zero carbon project continues. The phased development is now due for final completion before the end of 2016. Phase 2 is now complete with all residents due to move in by the end of November this year. Although still under construction, there has been a great deal of interest in the bungalows with reservations and sales going extremely well.

Fiona Green, Middleton Hall’s Marketing and HR Manager, said: “There has been such a high demand for the properties that we’ve already had to bring the project’s completion date forward. The homes are proving very popular for a number of reasons including their zero carbon features, the low running costs and the beautiful surrounding environment. We now have reservations on all but four of the properties.

“This year has been filled with a number of successes for Middleton Hall, winning a number of awards including our fourth consecutive Northumbria in Bloom Award. We’ve also had the Mayor of Darlington down to view the project who was proud for Darlington to have the country’s first zero carbon retirement village here.”

C&A Pumps will continue carrying out maintenance and are already working on other projects at the retirement village. Alan Roberts, Managing Director of C&A Pumps, said: “Middleton Hall Retirement Village is a great client to work with. The sub-contractors and people we deal with through them are always incredibly organised and friendly which means we can quickly get our work finished with no distractions.

“We are delighted with the project and the success it’s had with property sales. It’s great to see residents enjoying the tranquil setting the pond creates.

“We have a great relationship with Middleton Hall and aim to continue building upon this strong partnership in the future.”

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