CASE STUDY: Lovell Partnerships

Lovell Partnerships is a UK housing developer and in 2018, was pressing ahead with a £7.5million housing scheme consisting of 40 apartments and 30 houses in Wythenshawe, South Manchester. But the developer quickly encountered an issue that could potentially disrupt or delay their plans.

The construction site occupied land parallel to a live railway line cutting. And as the new housing estate would be accompanied by a road development, the railway infrastructure was at risk of road vehicle incursion (RVI) from passing traffic.

To meet standards laid out in the Department for Transport’s 2017 whitepaper regarding risk to rail infrastructure, and to allow Lovell Partnerships’ project to pass, Network Rail, Highways England and Manchester City Council were obligated to mitigate the risk of accidental obstruction of the railway by road vehicles.

Network Rail of whom we’ve been providing with perimeter security solutions for many years specified StronGuard˜RCS as the best solution to mitigate the risk of road vehicle incursion in this instance. This system is the only palisade fencing solution to be accredited by PAS68, providing the very best mitigation against RVI, reducing the risk of damage to tracks and giving peace of mind that assets are protected, and regulations met.

The StronGuardRCS™ was galvanized and powder coated at our manufacturing facility in Stoke-on-Trent and delivered to site. An approved contractor installed 322 metres of product, which was approved to Network Rail’s Class 1 specification for perimeter fences.  StronGuardRCS™ also makes for an imposing barrier, deterring people from climbing or vandalising the fencing.

The solution also only needed the space of a standard perimeter palisade fence, so was ideal for the challenging site topography. We ensured that the fence was installed in a way that best complemented its surroundings without compromising on performance.

Find out more about how StronGuard™RCS is being used to mitigate road vehicle incursions on the railway here or contact Russell Ridgway on russellr@barkersfencing.com or via the form below.