In March 2020 Phi Group completed the design, supply and installation of a substantial gabion basket retaining wall for Vistry Partnerships, at their project in Gallows Hill, Warwickshire
The project
The scheme which is a joint initiative between Warwick District Council, Galliford Try (Now Vistry Partnerships) and Waterloo Housing marks a key stage in the Council’s long-term plans for Europa Way and Gallows Hill.
Of the 375 new homes to be built on the site, 185 two, three and four bed houses are to be offered as affordable, social rented or shared ownership dwellings.
The challenge
The scheme called for a large retaining wall at the upper level of the site. Although the existing single lane highway is some distance away, the highways boundary is close to the top of the new gabion retaining wall. This is to allow for widening of the carriageway in the future. The weather was not kind to us for most of the project duration, as can be seen from the photos, but thanks to an excellent effort by those on site, the effect on programme was mitigated as much as possible.
The solution
The gabion basket retaining wall was specified by the project engineer at an early stage. The gabion retaining wall is 170m long and up to 3.50m retained height. The face area is over 440m2 and the gabion baskets have a volume of 670m3. The build programme was originally 5 weeks, but completion was improved to 4 weeks. The gabion basket solution is robust, with a minimum 70 year design life. It also looks fantastic when they are filled, and the front face is hand finished, with locally sourced gabion stone.
