Client: World Class Stratford
Type of works: value-engineered drainage scheme.

Managing the surface water across the £127million redevelopment of Stratford-upon-Avon’s waterfront, an area that includes the famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre, is an integrated drainage scheme created using ACO Water Management’s versatile ACO MultiDrain™ MD. By using different channel widths, depths and inlet configurations of the same system, designers have been able to ensure that the drainage network achieves both a consistent high level of performance and a complementary finish across a number of diverse and visually sensitive pedestrian, cycle and vehicle environments.

As part of the ‘World Class Stratford’ project a new traffic management scheme has been introduced across the streets and public areas around the theatre. Aiming to improve provision for pedestrians, footpaths have been widened and new traffic calming measures introduced to slow vehicles. In Theatre Square, the plaza outside the Shakespeare Theatre, the roadway has been raised to footpath level to improve disabled and pushchair access and the area re-laid with granite paving to harmonise the visual appearance with that of the tjavascript:void(0);heatre’s façade.

“To minimise disruption to residents and to the thousands of tourists who visit the waterfront area of Stratford every year, the works programme was split into three phases – each with it’s own tight schedule,” explains Ashley Tolley, Site Agent for main contractor, Morrison Construction. “Being able to install just one drainage system with the capacity and flexibility to meet all the different loading and surface finish requirements meant that our teams could work to maximum efficiency and keep within the timeframe for each phase.

For the adopting authority, Warwickshire County Council, the benefits of using a single system are also considerable as not only is a consistent, high quality finish guaranteed but ongoing maintenance costs are kept to an absolute minimum.” The innovative design of ACO’s MultiDrain MD gives it the highest strength to weight ratio of any product in its class. Capable of withstanding loads from Class A through to Load Class D, the lightweight MultiDrain MD increases the number of applications that can be covered by a single system.

There are three sizes in the range: M100D, M150D and M200D, providing channel widths of 100mm, 150mm and 200mm. Available in 0.5 and 1.0 metre lengths, the end of each channel section is cast with a male/female connector that allows rapid installation and, with the use of an appropriate sealant, a watertight joint. Complementing the heritage appearance A total of 980 metres of MultiDrain MD has been installed on the Stratford project: 300m of M150D and 680m of M100D. To complement the heritage appearance of the street environment cast iron gratings have been fitted to all the channels installed within the roadways.

In the new Theatre Square plaza and along the pavements that have been widened to accommodate the highest levels of pedestrians, the MultiDrain MD channels have been fitted with stainless steel heelsafe Brickslot gratings. Just 10mm wide, the brickslot grating inlets are virtually invisible when installed, blending perfectly with the new granite slabs which are laid right up to the inlet’s edge.

A full range of accessories is available across the entire ACO MultiDrain MD range. A multifunctional end cap enables channel closure or onward connection to outlet pipework; a compact, easy connection sump unit with silt bucket and triple lipped seals; an outfall universal gully, and, cross-footpath drainage units for the M100D system. All channels and accessories are CE marked, comply with BS EN 1433 and certified to Load Class D400.