News
05/01/2022
Highwood’s Sustainable Drainage System features on BBC South Today
Highwood Group is committed to build sensitively and sustainably and a great example of this is our landmark development at North Stoneham Park in Eastleigh. This magnificent community of charming homes is designed amidst landscaped grounds and open green spaces punctuated with picturesque swales, ponds and wetland areas, which also effectively serve the purpose of a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) – as featured on BBC South Today!
Our SuDS scheme at North Stoneham Park is an environmentally friendly, natural solution to manage stormwater locally and encourage its infiltration, attenuation and passive treatment. SuDS help slow down the flow of water, reducing the risk of flooding, improving water quality, and both protecting and enhancing plants and wildlife.
Managing Director, Steve Matthews, explains to BBC South Today how our SuDS scheme works
Managing Director, Steve Matthews, explains to BBC South Today how our SuDS scheme works
How it works
At North Stoneham Park, our Managing Director, Steve Matthews, explained to BBC South Today how we have designed and installed 18 ponds, of which four are permanently wet, and five swales, to effectively and sustainably manage surface water run off for 1,200 new homes, primary school, local centre and café, office buildings and a care village.
The interconnecting ponds and swales are carefully designed to collect, attenuate and treat the surface water run-off generated by the development and thus slow down the amount of surface water run-off going back into local watercourses at Monks Brook, as well as help combat excess stormwater going into the sewerage systems.
Improving water quality and biodiversity
An additional benefit of the SuDS scheme at North Stoneham Park is that its planting acts as a natural purifier with many other environmental and biodiversity benefits.
The position, size and sector placement of the SuDS ensures that every single millimetre of run-off that is generated by the development will benefit from at least three stages of natural treatment, passing through multiple interconnecting ponds prior to entering Monks Brook.
The ponds are filled with marginal and aquatic plants such as reed beds and floating islands to purify and enrich the treatment process of the water run-off. The adjacent banks and footpaths also feature long grasses and wildflower meadows to enhance biodiversity and encourage natural habitat and wildlife.
A pond filled with reeds at North Stoneham Park
The ponds interconnect to help slow down and purify water run-off
The ponds create a beautiful place to live at North Stoneham Park
Other benefits for the whole community
The community benefits too… the Park’s attractive, public open space, ponds and wetlands not only create a beautiful place to live and enhance the development’s aesthetic appeal, but they also help create better communities through social cohesion and improve the health and wellbeing of the local community.
Little ones can also learn from the scheme! The ponds are regularly used for education purposes, providing a fantastic outdoor learning opportunity and additional recreational space for the local school – Stoneham Park Primary Academy.
To read more about our landmark development and homes at North Stoneham Park, click here.