Country: United Kingdom
Key Area: Other Infrastructure
Services: Heritage,Performance Modelling

Opus was commissioned by Derbyshire County Council, to develop detail designs and tender documentation, to enable the Client to make applications for funding to create a street scene of similar style to its appearance 200 years ago.

A preliminary design had already been carried out for North Street, Cromford, which is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site in Derbyshire.  Our involvement was to take the preliminary design forward to a detailed design using currently available materials.

Little was known about how the street originally looked and part of the project was to investigate paving techniques which are no longer used in modern construction. 

Opus developed plans which include using limestone pitchings on the footway to create an effect in line with the original paving found at an excavation in the area. For the road surface a dressing was specified for application on top of the new road tarmac to lighten the colouring towards what originally had been an unbound aggregate based construction.

Further challenging aspects of the project were incorporating new drainage design, modification of the externally cabled electricity supply to the properties and investigation of the cellars under each of the properties, to ensure that the works did not have an adverse effect on their integrity.

On completion of the designs and preparation of the Works drawings, a set of contract documents were prepared to accord with the NEC Short Form of Contract.