Engineered for Freight: 30,000m² of Truck-Grade Surfacing at Ashford Inland Border Facility

Product: CellPave HD and CellPave 50

Application: HGV holding areas, processing zones and car parking

Total area installed: 30,000m² (CellPave HD)

Project overview

Brexit brought significant changes to the way goods are imported and exported between the UK and the EU. With the end of free movement of goods, all goods leaving the UK for mainland Europe and arriving must go through an inland border facility. With limited capacity at channel ports, a site in Ashford, Kent, was identified as suitable. The infrastructure was planned and implemented in 2020, with the facility completed and operational in early 2021.

This was a large-scale logistics development designed to manage thousands of truck movements every day, requiring surfacing solutions capable of withstanding continuous heavy loading while supporting efficient site drainage.

The challenge

The facility required durable, long-life surfacing across multiple operational zones, including staff parking, contractor parking, access routes, and extensive HGV holding and processing areas.

The scale and intensity of use meant the truck holding areas required an exceptionally robust ground-reinforcement solution capable of delivering structural performance under constant traffic, while reducing surface-water runoff and reliance on traditional drainage systems.

The solution

Groundtrax (now part of Green-tech) supplied a combination of CellPave systems across the site:

• CellPave 50 for staff and contractor parking areas

• CellPave HD for truck holding and processing zones

The overall surfacing strategy combined gravel-filled cellular paving and asphalt. The main roadways were constructed of asphalt, while the large truck holding areas used gravel-filled CellPave HD.

This approach delivered a hardwearing surface solution while supporting SuDS principles across a high-risk, high-traffic operational environment.

As with all gravel-filled cellular pavers, there is a reduced need for traditional drainage infrastructure compared to asphalt and concrete. Hard surfaces need drains that can handle a sudden increase in runoff during heavy rainfall. In extreme conditions, the system can quickly become overwhelmed, leading to flooding. As a SuDS-compliant product, CellPave HD significantly reduces the possibility of flooding. Water drains straight into the ground rather than into the drainage system. With sidewall channels built into the pavers, water can drain sideways as well as downward, another unique feature of a truck-grade paver.

Specified product: CellPave HD

CellPave HD is a truck-grade permeable paving system specifically designed for heavy-duty industrial and commercial applications where repeated trafficking is unavoidable.

Manufactured in the UK from recycled PVC cable covering, CellPave HD offers exceptional structural strength and resilience. At over 33 kg per m², this is a heavy and incredibly strong product capable of handling the demands of thousands of truck movements a day. With over 30,000 m² installed on this site, it had to be the right product.

Key product benefits include:

• Truck-grade paving system designed for heavy-duty logistics environments

• Manufactured in the UK using recycled PVC, supporting circular economy objectives

• High mass and density at over 33kg/m², offering outstanding stability

• Strong interlocking design to maintain structural integrity under constant trafficking

• Flexible PVC material, which helps the system absorb load stress without cracking or shattering

• SuDS compliant, allowing water to infiltrate naturally through the surface

• Reduced requirement for traditional drainage infrastructure compared to asphalt and concrete

• Sidewall drainage channels designed to allow lateral drainage as well as vertical infiltration, improving water movement through the system

• High-density material reduces the risk of uplift in heavy rainfall, preventing surface disruption and maintaining a level finish

Unlike some competing products manufactured from recycled polypropylene or polyethylene, CellPave HD has a relative density greater than water. This reduces the risk of the system lifting during extreme rainfall events, which can cause gravel migration beneath the paving units and lead to uneven surfaces. CellPave HD’s material density and design help prevent this, maintaining a stable surface even in challenging weather conditions.

The Outcome

With over 30,000 m² installed across the Inland Border Facility, CellPave HD was selected to meet the performance demands of a high-intensity freight-processing environment.

Since opening in early 2021, the surface has performed beyond expectations, providing a stable and reliable working area for continuous daily HGV movements while supporting effective surface water management.

David Marsh, Category Manager for Ground Reinforcement and Ground Protection at Green-tech, comments, “This was a major infrastructure development with exceptionally high trafficking demands, so performance was non-negotiable. CellPave HD is a true truck-grade paving system, manufactured in the UK from recycled PVC, and it offers outstanding strength, density and resilience. The scale of installation at Ashford demonstrates the confidence the project team had in the product, and since opening the facility has proven exactly why CellPave HD is trusted for the most demanding logistics and industrial environments.”