Shire UK

Shire Structures were approached to carry out a ground investigation at a site in Evesham, to assess the soil conditions for a proposed residential development site and provide recommendations for foundation design. The local geology was reviewed and suggests that the site is underlain by superficial deposits of Alluvium over bedrock geology of the Mercia Mudstone Formation, comprising dominantly red, less commonly green-grey mudstone and subordinate siltstones.   The site investigation comprised of three window sample boreholes with in situ strength testing using a both a shear vane and dynamic probe. The soils were then logged to British Standards (BS: 5930) including details about the depth of roots and groundwater encountered. The material encountered in the boreholes generally comprised of soft becoming stiff grey/brown mottled silty clay over stiff wet reddish brown gravelly clay, consistent with the British Geological Survey (BGS) maps for the area. Samples of the soil were taken from each borehole and tested for plasticity and pH/sulphates.   The laboratory results indicated that the clay soils had a variable shrinkage potential at different depths across the site, with tree roots encountered to maximum depths of 2.3m.   Due to the presence of trees, and roots noted within the boreholes there is a potential for clay shrinkage. The report recommended either deep strip footings or piled foundations for the proposed buildings.

Shire is very pleased to once again be working in partnership with Heart of Worcester College as part of their Foundation Degree in digital media & games design. First commencing in 2010, Mark Hartley from our Telecoms division has provided contributions to the course modules and acts as a visiting lecturer / assessor every academic year. “Having been a former student of 3D CAD at the college over 20 years ago it’s a pleasure to be able to contribute towards providing a solid foundation for the students in preparing them for working to a client brief, meeting deadlines and to a professional standard. HOW college provides a fantastic learning environment for the students, and we are always impressed on the quality of the work they produce”. For the Shire course module, the students are set a brief to design a new annex building to be situated within the grounds of Shire head office in Bromsgrove and culminates with them having to do a full presentation of the design along with a full fly through animation. Below are some examples of this year’s students’ work.

We are delighted to announce we are sponsoring ‘Redditch Self Defence and Youth Engagement’. The Redditch Self Defence and Youth Engagement was formed by Pete Martin who has been a Self Defence instructor since 1989. Pete has worked with West Mercia Police for many years and is a Highly regarded Anti Knife Crime Campaigner.

Shire Structures were approached to carry out a preliminary desktop study and ground investigation at the Four Pools Industrial Estate in Evesham to understand the environmental history of the proposed development site and to assess any potential sources of contamination and their receptors. The walk over survey of the site indicated that the boreholes for the subsequent intrusive works would need to be drilled through the existing concrete slab. The site investigation comprised of three concrete cores through the slab to assess its thickness and make up and to allow boreholes to be drilled to assess the ground conditions beneath the proposed site. The boreholes indicated no made ground beneath the concrete slab with soils generally comprising firm becoming very stiff brown to grey gravelly sandy clay over weathered mudstone, found to be consistent with geological maps and local borehole records. The results of the investigation were compiled onto two interpretive reports, allowing planning conditions to signed off while presenting structural engineers with the information needed to design appropriate foundations.

We have just completed Phase 1 of our complex underpinning project in Greenwich. These works have included resin injection to stabilize the soil behind the rear wall of the property along with the installation of grouted columns and Ischebeck Titan micro piles in the rear garden. To compound the complexities of these works the rear garden is situated two stories below the road at the front and one and a half stories above the road at the rear. Special thanks go to the following: Fenton Traffic Management, Minova, MK Surveys, Helium Engineering and Ischebeck Titan.

Concord College New Boys Boarding House Project Project value - £4.5m. The boys boarding house at Concord College is a new standalone development within the existing college site. Shire Consulting were appointed to form part of the project design team to deliver the scheme from RIBA Stage 0 to 7. Our role in the project is the structural design and detailing of the substructure and superstructure elements of the building, as well as the external hard landscaping. The building is a three storey load bearing masonry structure with timber roof and precast concrete floors. Isolated areas of steel framing occur internally to the main entrance foyer and central core areas. Foundations are reinforced concrete ground beams and pile caps supported on CFA piles. The project is currently out to Tender with a start on site date anticipated to be July 2024.

We are delighted to announce that The Green at St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester has been shortlisted for the 2024 West Midlands RIBA Awards having already won a Structural Timber Award in 2021.   The multi-use space comprises a single-story timber glulam framed structure located within a former courtyard of the Hospice.   The winner will be announced on 9th May.

Shire were recently asked to support on a site where the existing Telecoms pole was installed on a slope and were required to check if the loadings of the new replacement pole would work with a “standard” design augured root foundation design. Following a levelling survey and hand augured boreholes carried out by our geotechnical team the Telecoms design team were then able to complete a root foundation design using this information and the tower loadings to confirm the required root type/ length to work successfully within the natural ground at this location.

Come see us at the I Love Claims conference today at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry. We are here 9:00-15:30 with our Managing Director Ron Mace speaking at 11:25!

This time next week set up for our Specialist Subsidence Conference at MTC, Coventry will have begun! Big thank you to our Gold Sponsors Geobear Global, Restek and Shire UK. Don't delay in getting your tickets, simply visit: https://lnkd.in/eqMCuZMw #ILoveClaims #ILC #homeandproperty #subsidence #homeclaims #insurance