- Our social value project on National Highways’ M6 upgrade will educate and save more than 20,000 litres of water a year
We’ve created a water run-off system at a community garden in Eccles, Greater Manchester, as part of our work with SMP Alliance on National Highways’ upgrade of the M6 between junctions 21a and 26. The system will make the garden self-sufficient for the watering of plants.
Cleavley Community Forest Garden is an outdoor space offering educational and horticultural workshops and planting sessions for local residents and schools. It’s run by Incredible Education, a social enterprise that specialises in community health and wellbeing programs in the region.
Working with local stakeholders, we built on research from the University of Salford to construct an irrigation system that prioritised the storage and reusability of rainwater. The system takes run-off water from the Garden’s workshop roof to an off-ground water storage unit, which is expected to capture 20,600 litres of water each year.
The system forms part of an educational toolkit for local schoolchildren, covering sustainability, horticulture, engineering and nutrition. It will also relieve pressure on external water demands and boost biodiversity at the community garden.
National Highways is committed to providing social value for neighbours and communities along its M6 upgrade between junctions 21a and 26. The project is typical of dozens of initiatives that we, as on-site assembly partner of the SMP Alliance, have carried out to improve people’s lives as the on-site partner for the upgrade. The ten-mile scheme, which opened for traffic in October, will boost capacity and reduce journey times by adding an extra lane in each direction between Warrington and Wigan.
A key priority in the delivery of the M6 upgrade is to ensure we leave a positive legacy for the local community.
Tom Kenyon Costain project director
The Garden provides an important educational service for schools and local residents. We’re proud to have contributed to this important resource by constructing an irrigation system that will provide a good supply of recycled water and boost biodiversity at the community garden.
Dave Cooke, interface project manager for the M6 upgrade, National Highways said:
“National Highways relies on the understanding and patience of communities living near our major road schemes. Like the M6 project we’re often working in an area for several years and we like to give something back.
“We set high expectations on our supply chain to help us deliver social value in our improvements, and it’s fair to say that Costain and our delivery partners have more than risen to the challenge. Everyone’s been focused on completing the M6 upgrade but staff have still found time to help out in local communities in a multitude of ways.”
Ian Bocock, director, Incredible Education, said:
“We have long been investigating the potential of a sustainable water run-off and we’ve overcome several logistical challenges to reach this stage. The support of Costain’s people has been instrumental in helping us accomplish this milestone that will dramatically enhance the resources we provide to local school children, and our local community.
“We’re looking forward to seeing even more of the community benefit from our facility. Incredible Education is looking forward to continuing our relationship with Costain as we seek to further improve the community garden and what it can provide to our local community”.
The completion of the system is the latest work that Costain has carried out at the Garden. Last year, Costain and its subcontracting partners resurfaced an area to create an additional space for education activities, before installing power, heating and lighting sources to ensure the space could be used all year round.
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