The Watford office was delighted to see the recent completion of Vanguard Logistics Park, a £23m project to re-develop a former military maintenance base in Hampshire, located in the South Downs National Park area with significant adjacent military land uses, including encampments and firing ranges.  The scheme delivered 2 new single sided ambient warehouse units (totalling 345,000 sq. ft) with associated service yards, office hubs and car parking areas.

The Client’s sustainability and well-being requirements were a key focus for the design team, especially given the surrounding landscape. The masterplan called for extensive use of green living walls, EV vehicle charging, the use of timber for cladding elements and the creation of external amenity space for staff and visitors. The car parking areas have been formed using cellular mats with gravel infills for the parking bays to soften the visual impact. Along the southern boundary a swale has been created as part of the overall SUDs features and a series of steel post with tie wires were incorporated to allow foliage to grow on the frames and provide screening to the development.

A number of site constraints had to be considered within the scheme design. The adjacent Cadet Facility discharges its Foul Water through the site and so a drainage diversion was designed to remove the on-site elements and run along the southern boundary. Due to the presence of mature trees, directional drilling techniques were used to avoid disturbance of tree routes and also avoid digging up of the road, minimising disruption to nearby residents.

Significant buried tanks were discovered during the demolition works and a method of demolition was developed to ensure safe removal of the tanks and infill of the 5m deep excavation to allow a ground bearing foundation solution to be maintained throughout.

Significant stakeholder engagement was carried out through the course of the project including with the military, local parish council, residents and the local conservation society.

The scheme was awarded BREEAM Outstanding and has been chosen to be featured in the 2025 RIBA Commercial yearbook, both of which are significant achievements.

 

Learn more about Fairhurst’s experience in the logistics and distribution sector 

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