| Client: Woodthorpe Hall Garden Centres Ltd |
| Sector: Commercial |
| Location: Louth Garden Centre, Legbourne Road, Louth |
| Disciplines: Lighting, Flood Risk and Drainage |
Overview
MEC were commissioned by British Garden Centres to provide technical support from our Lighting and Flood Risk and Drainage teams for the commercial development at Louth Garden Centre, Louth.
The site lies within brownfield land and currently has unused storage space that will be transformed into five padel and pickleball courts and associated facility buildings and parking.
Overview of MEC Services
Lighting:
Our Lighting team undertook an External Lighting Impact Assessment to determine the impact the proposed padel facilities may have on surrounding areas.
It was found that the lighting from the proposed site will not exceed the pre and post-curfew ILP criteria for building luminance and source intensity, with the potential for disability glare also being low.
Although the lux levels along the light sensitive ecological areas that surround the development are considered significant, the areas have been identified as of low value for foraging and commuting bats. Therefore, the potential impact of lighting on light-sensitive ecological species is considered to be low, with an alternative route for any commuting and foraging to occur on the ‘dark’ side of the hedgerow due to the light blocking of the flora.
The team have determined that the proposed lighting scheme will be delivered safely and in line with relevant British Standards as well as the ILP guidelines.
Flood risk and drainage:
Our Flood Risk and Drainage team assisted with the proposal of a new Padel development at Louth Garden Centre, by carrying out a Flood Risk Assessment and designing a suitable drainage strategy. The team were able to determine the constraints to the Site and the impact of the proposals on flood risk and drainage.
The location of the padel courts was identified to be wholly within Flood Zone 1, and concluded to be at a low risk of flooding from both natural and artificial sources.
Surface water is proposed to be managed through a network of geo-cellular attenuation tanks and a synthetic permeable carpet surfacing over the padel courts. This is then proposed to discharge into the existing surface water attenuation system to the north of the Site.
The existing garden centre is served by a private foul water pumping station. As the proposals include changes and restroom facilities, two foul water disposal options were proposed. An increase in the storage capacity of the foul water pumping station, or the installation of an on-site private package treatment plant, which is to connect into the proposed surface water system and discharge to the north of the Site, treating sufficiently for discharge into watercourses.
Outcome
Although the teams came up against a few points to mitigate, they were able to do so to ensure the proposed padel facilities could be delivered safely and in line with local and national standards. The technical evidence provided has helped the application in securing the planning permission needed. We look forward to seeing the facilities take shape as construction gets underway.
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