Work continues at Preston on the Hill as attenuation tank takes another big step forward

GRS Contractors has installed a major below-ground attenuation tank at Water’s Edge in Preston Brook, Runcorn, as its ongoing civil engineering works for Morris Homes continue.

The tank forms a critical part of the development’s surface water strategy, managing run-off across the site to prevent flooding once the development is complete. Hundreds of modular crates have been installed below ground, following a significant earthworks operation that also delivered the site’s roads and sewers.

The excavation was dug to precise levels to receive the tank, with GRS’s team building the crates in row by row ahead of backfilling and reinstating the area. It’s a phase of the build that will go largely unseen once the site is complete, but one that’s essential to how the development performs for decades to come.

John Roughley, Contracts Manager at GRS Contractors, said: “This is the part of the job nobody sees once the show homes are open, but it’s some of the most technical work on site. Getting the levels right on the excavation, then building the tank in accurately, is what stops this development flooding the first time it rains. The team have done a brilliant job with it so far, on top of the roads, sewers and earthworks we’d already completed here, and there’s still more to come before we’re done.”

Work at Water’s Edge continues, with GRS moving into backfill and reinstatement around the tank as the wider programme progresses.