Lanes for Drains wins big at new Plymouth Life Centre

Leading national drainage company Lanes for Drains has joined the team working on the prestigious £46.5 million Plymouth Life Centre, being constructed by Balfour Beatty.The company’s engineers have been called in carry out CCTV video drainage surveys on the site, which is due to become one of the largest centres of sporting excellence in the UK when in opens in early 2012.

The surveys are required as part of the contract sign-off process as work is completed.

Andy Aldred, Sales Manager for Lanes for Drains in Plymouth, said: “We are very proud to have been asked to work on such an important project. It’s one of the biggest capital schemes in Plymouth in recent years and will be a huge boost to the city. We’re very pleased to play a part in its success.”

The Plymouth Life Centre, being built for Plymouth City Council, has a 50 metre by 25 metre 10-lane swimming pool, one of the top four diving pools in the UK, a family leisure pool, a 12-court multi-use sports hall, a unique climbing zone comprising  four climbing walls and an aerial assault course, and an eight-rink indoor bowls centre.

The main swimming pool and diving pool will, together, contain 5.1 million litres of water. The centre’s drainage system is equally impressive. If put end-on-end, its main channels would be a mile long. From this underground network, there are more than 100 lateral connections leading into the building.

Engineers from Lanes for Drains’ depot at Plympton in Plymouth have been working at the site. They have been using the company’s highly-sophisticated ‘ROVVER’ camera system which travels along drainage channels, providing the onsite engineers and architects with clear, high quality 360 degree video footage to assess the new pipework.

Where necessary, Lanes for Drains has also been clearing blockages and pumping out debris, ready for the drains to become operational. The contract was awarded by G:works, which is carrying out all groundworks for the Plymouth Life Centre for the main contractor, Balfour Beatty.

Pete Roberts, Managing Director of G:works, said: “We’ve been impressed with Lanes for Drains’ approach to the task we set them. The quality of what they do has been consistently good and they’ve shown excellent teamwork with our people on site.”

Andy Aldred said: “The scale of the site, the type of building involved and the requirements to carry out the surveys without disrupting construction means we’ve been well placed to carry out the work.

“We’ve been able to draw on expertise and experience gained from large projects across the country to get the job done efficiently and effectively.”