Page 5 - W M Donald Newsletter - Edition Eleven

If only all projects were that straightforward! Forty miles to the southwest of Spynie lies Westercraigs, the location of Craig Dunain Hospital, originally the Inverness District Asylum. As described in a previous newsletter, the now redundant hospital was a palatial building, standing on a raised site.
Bulk excavation works, adhering strictly to a remediation strategy, were needed on site due to the presence of contaminated ground. Hydrocarbons had polluted the site due to a longstanding leak from the fuel tank feeding the laundry and boiler buildings. The leak only became apparent when black diesel started to seep into a river some 2km from the site.
In addition to the hydrocarbons, the site was also contaminated by asbestos and heavy metals. A specialist contractor was brought in to remediate the ground and an environmental contractor undertook regular testing of the soils to ensure safety limits were met.
The earthworks themselves were complicated by the compact nature of the site.
General ground conditions were poor, and piled foundations were required to create a stable construction base. The piles were around 6m in length, fabricated from steel with a concrete cap. In contrast to traditional foundations, the properties on site are being built on ground beams which span between the piles.
Colin Crichton praised the efforts of the teams on both sites:
‘Both teams have done fantastic jobs under very contrasting conditions.’
Two projects for Roberston Homes being run by Kris Brown and Shaun Sweeney from W M Donald’s Inverness office highlight why civil engineering and construction is so varied, challenging, and exciting.
Spynie is a parish in County Elgin, north of the town of Elgin and south of Lossiemouth. Spynie Palace, the fortified seat of the Bishops of Moray for 500 years, lies within its boundaries. Spynie Palace was sieged in 1640 and 1645, first by the Covenanters and then by the Royalists.
According to Colin Crichton, the housing development in Spynie has run smoothly from start to finish:
‘The project has been ongoing for over a year. It has been an excellent job all the way through. We’ve had a steady team on site undertaking all the earthworks, access roads, plot works and infrastructure.’
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Two projects, two very different experiences