GEA were appointed to carry out a desk study and ground investigation at the location of a new teaching facility at the Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Campus, the latest in a number of previous investigations for the university. We initially carried out a review of our previous projects to determine the likely ground conditions and found that the geology differs from what is show on published geological records, with glacial deposits of the Lowestoft Formation found to extend further to the south than expected.

As a result, and on the basis of the proposed development, GEA advanced a number of cable percussion boreholes to a maximum depth of 20 m, and confirmed the expected ground conditions in that the glacial Lowestoft Formation does indeed extend beyond the boundary shown by the BGS map and beneath this site.

The investigation was carried out whilst the campus remained active and additional measures, including a Ground Probing Radar scan of the site to identify, locate and create exclusion zones around existing buried services including all-important and difficult to detect fibre optic internet cables, were taken to ensure that normal practices could continue.

The findings of our investigation were used to assist with the design of the new building. In particular we provided parameters for piled foundations bearing into the Lowestoft Formation, without extending into the underlying chalk, to avoid disturbing the Principal Aquifer, and completed a contamination risk assessment.

The new facilities will include a 430-seat lecture theatre, teaching spaces, library ,research laboratories and staff offices.