RODUCT: CellPave HD
CLIENT: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
MAIN CONTRACTOR: Tilbury Douglas
CONTRACTOR: Aspire Construction
MANUFACTURER: Melba Swintex Custom Moulding & Groundtrax
SUPPLIER: Origin Green-tech
AREA INSTALLED: Over 5,400m²
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Stockport Council’s new depot at Adswood, Cheadle, combines a demanding operational environment with a focus on sustainable construction.
The 15,000m² depot includes offices, car parking, HGV parking and laydown areas, requiring a range of surfacing solutions to accommodate different levels of traffic and use. More than 5,400m² of CellPave HD was installed as part of the mixed surface, providing a truck-grade, permeable solution for areas subject to heavy vehicle movements.
As the construction industry moves towards Net Zero, the carbon footprint and environmental credentials of the materials used are becoming increasingly important considerations. CellPave HD is manufactured in the UK by Melba Swintex from recycled PVC and was developed through a joint venture with Groundtrax, now part of Origin Green-tech. For the Adswood project, the product was manufactured just 26 miles from the site.
The environmental credentials of the product were particularly relevant given the location. The depot sits next to a household recycling centre, where waste PVC from products such as electrical cable can be recovered and processed into material for manufacturing. The depot itself has also been constructed on a former landfill site, making the management of surface water and protection of the underlying site particularly important.
The project demonstrates how recycled materials, UK manufacturing and carefully specified surfacing solutions can come together to meet the practical and environmental requirements of a major council facility.
“From an environmental stance it was preferred to source a product manufactured in the UK from recycled materials, especially as the alternatives would have been imported from Europe. Zak Lithgow from Tilbury Douglas comments, “We are pleased with our decision to install CellPave HD on this site and it is already performing to the standard we required.”
THE PROJECT
The project was three years in the planning and around seven months in construction.
One of the key challenges for the teams involved was managing water run-off across the site. As a former landfill site, there was a need to ensure that all surface water was channelled into attenuation systems rather than down into the landfill below, so that drainage remained effective and efficient.
The team needed to ensure that the landfill capping layer was not compromised and installed an impermeable layer to form a base for the surface construction. The project therefore required a balance between standard construction on a brownfield site and the environmental requirements of the location.
The new depot covers a total of 15,000m² and includes offices for council employees, car parking and parking for council vehicles, including HGVs. There are also laydown areas for storing materials, including street furniture such as street lighting.
As a multi-use surface with controlled attenuation requirements, the project needed versatile solutions to meet the different requirements of the site. The materials were chosen to reflect the levels of traffic and storage facilities required to meet the council’s needs.
CELLPAVE HD – THE JOINT VENTURE
CellPave HD was developed through a joint venture between Groundtrax and Melba Swintex. Groundtrax was acquired by Origin Enterprises plc in 2024 and incorporated into Origin Green-tech in early 2026.
The joint venture combines Groundtrax’s experience in ground reinforcement with Melba Swintex’s UK manufacturing expertise. CellPave HD is manufactured at Melba Swintex’s facility, providing a UK-manufactured solution for heavy-duty applications.
The product has been tried and tested for a decade and in this time has been installed at over 1,000 projects across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.
One of the first projects supplied in 2016 was to a steel structural engineering company in Lincolnshire. A large forklift, which fully loaded weighs over 80 tonnes, regularly crosses the CellPave HD surface and is used for storage and laydown areas for large steel fabrications. The surface remains as good today as the day it was installed.
CellPave HD is manufactured from recycled PVC. This is the same material used in speed ramps and industrial fencing feet. The material’s durability is well established and has been used in manufacturing for over 40 years. It is also recyclable at the end of life.
It is the durability of the material and its environmental credentials that make it suitable for this type of surface. It is a true truck-grade paver and is independently tested to 40 tonnes individual wheel load (80 tonnes axle load), meaning it can withstand loads beyond standard road-going HGV vehicles.
At a Customs and Excise site in Kent, CellPave HD was installed and has thousands of trucks enter and exit via the Channel ports and tunnel weekly. The surface remains as good today as when it was installed in 2021.
Jade Dawson, Special Project Manager, Melba Swintex Custom Moulding explains, “CellPave HD has been part of our Custom Moulding production for more than a decade, so the Adswood Depot is a strong example of a proven product being used at significant scale. The 5,400m² installation reflects the strength of our long-standing partnership with Groundtrax and Origin Green-tech and our ability to maintain consistent UK production for major projects.”
THE INSTALLATION – ASPIRE CONSTRUCTION
Working to a detailed plan, Aspire Construction achieved a high standard of finish across a site that was far from straightforward.
The surface was installed over a bespoke attenuation system. As a combined surface, including concrete and block paving as well as the gravel-filled paver, the overall surface met the different requirements of the site and each area.
Attenuation is aided by the sub-base consisting of MOT Type 3, with the pavers themselves filled with 6mm angular gravel. Following the type of heavy rainfall often experienced in this area, the surface performs as it should, with surface water managed into the mixed permeable pavers and into the attenuation and drainage system.
The area is complicated by a number of different designs and shapes, and the installation team adapted the standard pavers, measuring 600mm x 400mm, to fit the various requirements.
Of note is how well the Aspire Construction team managed to lay the pavers where the levels fall away on the south-east boundary of the site, leading to a gateway.
There is no sudden, sharp change in levels. Instead, the transition is gradual, which works well with this type of paver. Sharp changes in levels can lead to disturbance of a butt-joint paver; however, in this installation the level change was graduated and well managed.
The quality of the installation is evident from how the curving kerbs have been dealt with. In poor-quality installations, a gap is often left between the kerb and the paver, whereas on this installation, the time was taken to cut the paver to shape, following the line.
As well as the obvious aesthetic qualities that this type of finishing achieves, shaping around the kerb ensures the stability of the paver.
Dan Foley, Contracts Manager, Aspire Construction Projects, adds, “Thanks for all your help in making the project a success. As seen from the site visit, both our client Tilbury Douglas and Stockport Council are extremely happy.”
THE OUTCOME
The Adswood depot brings together a number of practical and environmental considerations within a single project.
More than 5,400m² of CellPave HD provides a truck-grade, permeable surface capable of accommodating heavy vehicle movements, while the wider surface design incorporates attenuation and drainage measures to manage surface water across the former landfill site.
Manufactured in the UK from recycled PVC, CellPave HD also supported the project’s environmental objectives, with the product manufactured just 26 miles from the depot.
The project demonstrates how a proven ground reinforcement solution can be combined with UK manufacturing and recycled materials to meet the demands of a major council facility.
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