McDermott Homes has managed to save weeks on a new development with the creation for a new retaining wall, that has been made by JP Concrete. This new retaining wall has been made from precast modular retaining units which has helped to reduce the installation time of the wall from five weeks to a mere 10 days.

The traditional process for creating this retaining wall would see the units cast in-situ. The 2,000mm long JP Concrete units not only took significantly less time to install, but also offered the developer a better price option. The retaining wall has been installed at the sought-after Oaklands Rise development which will see the building of 4 & 5 bedroom executive homes located in Rawtenstall, Lancashire. The homes are to be constructed in a very steep location, near to the iconic Ski Rossendale attraction.

The site cannot be accessed by typical full loads, so JP Concrete’s detailed precast solution to create large modular panels as opposed to using bolt-down designs helped the company to further cut down installation time and costs. The retaining wall has been described as well finished by McDermott Homes and has commended JP Concrete for their flexibility and not over complicating the already challenging development. The housing developer has also said that the precast retaining wall looks better than a large number of boundary fences and were happy with the building methods of the company.

The housing developer will now be able to move forward with their work, with weeks saved on the schedule already, this will no doubt stand them in good stead for the rest of the development. The use of precast units is another example of offsite construction that can help to cut down construction times and costs, which will be beneficial for development in the future, as companies are faced with the challenge of reducing the housing deficit in the UK.