Gateley Hamer resolves £1m overhead line issue for major housebuilders

Two of the country’s largest housebuilders Barratt David Wilson and Taylor Wimpey are the consortium developers for a large, predominantly residential scheme of approximately 1200 dwellings at Clipstone Park in Leighton Buzzard.

The site was impacted by a single 11kV and two 33kV overhead electricity lines. The presence of the overhead lines significantly constrained the number of units which could be delivered, and also affected the main vehicular access to the development. The only solution was to divert the two 33kV lines so that unit numbers and access routes would not be affected. 
 

Quotes for the work to divert the lines were in excess of £1,000,000. To add further complications and pressure, any work relating to the diversion of the lines had to take place by the end of September 2018 otherwise it could not be carried out until the following Summer. Such a delay posed major programming implications and threatened the deliverability of the project.

Gateley Hamer were instructed in March 2018 after providing a strategy report in January 2018. With the impending deadline of September for diverting the lines, notonly did we manage to secure the diversions in time but we also negotiated for the works to be undertaken by the DNO at nil cost to the developers.