A Barratt Homes development near Leeds has seen the installation of an underground carlow tank – thought to be the largest in Yorkshire – to assist with flood alleviation on the site.
The residential carlow tank, which measures 96m by 27.4m – the length of a football pitch – has been installed at St Oswald’s View in Methley, and is the largest ever to be implemented at a Barratt Homes Yorkshire West development.
In March 2016, Carlow Concrete was commissioned by Barratt Homes to design, manufacture and install its carlow tank stormwater attenuation system.
The tank at Methley covers an area of over half an acre, holding 2.3 million litres of stormwater and took seven weeks to install
The installation was an integral part of the planning process and preparation for the development, with Barratt Homes taking measures to ensure the area is protected before constructing the new homes.
Building work has now commenced following the successful implementation of the tank.
Dave Hudson, Technical Director at Barratt Homes Yorkshire West said: “Dave Hudson, Technical Director at Barratt Homes Yorkshire West, commented:
“The installation of the carlow tank at St Oswald’s View will help with the necessary flood alleviation work needed in the area and has been a milestone for our team in installing it.
We’re proud of this technical feature to ensure the new site will be protected from the elements, and it highlights our ongoing commitment to providing sustainable developments for new communities in the locations where we build.
Under the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework, the carlow tank has been installed to safeguard the local community at Methley and as a result of the floods the village has encountered in the past, other flood barrier schemes are currently being explored for the village.”
The carlow tank is a modular precast concrete attenuation tank that has been supplied to Barratt Homes to satisfy its mandatory Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDS) requirements. To alleviate flooding, the carlow tank monitors the rate of the flow of storm water from the developed site to the original ‘greenfield’ condition.
It operates by storing rainwater once it has fallen, with the water then released at a controlled rate. Water enters the tank faster than it leaves it, therefore reducing downstream flood risk through the prevention of the full volume of water draining from the site in one short event.