White Road Chatham
White Road Chatham
Preparation of the ground for an innovative housing scheme by the UK’s largest independent social landlord that was modular, energy efficient and affordable.
Project Overview:
Client: Medway Developments
Type of Works: Sub-structure foundations, roads, pavements, infrastructure and hard/soft landscaping
Project Duration: 2020
Value: £1m
Location: Chatham, Medway
O’Keefe’s in-house BIM team more than proved its mettle when the group’s Kent division were called on to prepare the ground for an innovative housing scheme by the UK’s largest independent social landlord that was modular, energy efficient and affordable.
The MMC development by main contractor and modular housing specialist Top Hat Industries for the MHS (Medway Housing Society) Homes group, in partnership with Medway Council, resulted in the 20 homes built having less embedded carbon than one traditionally built, masonry house.
O’Keefe’s work during the Covid pandemic was also challenged by tight logistical constraints and shared access with a nursery school and local authority community clinic. Despite this, and temporary works for lifting operations, the project was completed on time and to budget.
The two-bedroom homes were manufactured at Top Hat’s factory in south Derbyshire and transported to site for installation in a matter of days. By taking most of the build stage offsite, Top Hat were able to complete the scheme in half the time.
O’Keefe helped with this by liaising with the client and design team from Darlings architects throughout the design stage for the sub-structure works. The group’s in-house BIM team digitally modelled the groundworks and foundations from the underside of the ground-floor modules to ensure correct tolerances and the position of the foundations before the modules were delivered.
The Kent division also helped with the highways adoption of the access road to the existing street, including the diversion of utilities, and in the discharging of planning conditions before work started on site. This included ground and environmental assessments.
O’Keefe won the White Road, Chatham, project off the back of previous work with the MHS Homes group which manages over 10,000 homes in the Medway, Maidstone, Gravesham, Dartford, Tonbridge and Malling areas of Kent.
At White Road, low-carbon technologies, such as solar panels, were integrated into the homes’ design and will provide residents with clean, low-cost electricity. High levels of airtightness mean the homes achieve a ‘B’ Energy Performance Certificate rating, making them more energy-efficient than 92% of new-builds in the UK.
