Shepheard Lodge is an estate of 31 social houses and apartments, built on a greenfield site, in Bettystown, Co. Meath.
Summary
Roughan & O’Donovan (ROD) provided civil and structural engineering services for the Shepheard Lodge development, an estate of 31 social houses and apartments on a greenfield site in Bettystown, Co. Meath.
The project was delivered in two phases, with the initial 16 units in phase one handed over to Meath County Council in 2016.
Phase two consisted of 9 houses and 6 apartments in a single block, with associated external and site development works. Work began on phase two in January 2019, and the development was handed over to the council in 2020.
The project team included O’Mahony Pike Architects, Mulcahy McDonagh & Partners (quantity surveyors) and Semple & McKillop Consulting Engineers (mechanical and electrical services). The contractor was McParland Bros Ltd.
Approach
ROD worked closely with O’Mahony Pike Architects and Meath County Council to ensure that the layout was fully compliant with the Design Manual for Urban Road and Streets (DMURS) and that shared surfaces for both pedestrians and vehicles were provided. This passively safe arrangement mimics European best practice and is part of a progressive move away from the twentieth century’s car-dominated housing estates.
Solution
The scheme comprises a mixture of two and three-bedroom homes and special needs dwellings. Each unit has its own front garden and front door, with a private, secure garden to the rear.
The buildings are arranged to ensure that the bright living spaces overlook the public open space, which is enhanced with large areas of grass, trees, public exercise and play equipment. A shared surface was implemented within the development to enhance the public space and permeable paving was integrated into the surfaces, as needed.
As part of the scope of works, ROD produced a detailed flood risk assessment (FRA), which was implemented on-site to resolve the localised flooding that had previously occurred outside the site. The flood risk assessment was used to implement site specific measures, including additional storage due to constraints downstream that were outside the scope of the project.
Services provided:
- Civil and structural engineering
