Project Brief
Cambourne Retail Park was developed as a new commercial centre surrounding the existing Morrisons food store in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire. Delivered in two phases, the scheme comprises 31,400 ft² of retail space with lettings to Home Bargains, Iceland, Just for Pets and Co-Operative Foods. The development includes three single-storey retail units with associated service yards, car parking, landscaping and access roads. The site was previously undeveloped and required full infrastructure and groundworks to support the new buildings. Adept was appointed to provide civil and structural engineering services from concept through to completion.
Solution
We developed a suite of engineering solutions tailored to the site’s conditions and commercial requirements. Our structural design incorporated steel-framed buildings with ground-bearing slabs engineered to accommodate future mezzanine installations, offering flexibility for tenant fit-outs. Foundations were designed as concrete pads founded on competent natural strata, avoiding the need for piling and reducing construction costs.
We coordinated external works including service yard slabs, levels and access road tie-ins, ensuring compliance with Cambridgeshire County Council standards. The drainage strategy featured gravity systems, attenuation tanks and petrol interceptors, enabling controlled discharge to the public sewer network while meeting environmental performance targets. Earthworks modelling was used to balance cut-and-fill volumes, allowing reuse of site-won material and minimising import requirements. A borrow pit strategy was implemented to further reduce environmental impact and support cost efficiency.
The project was completed with full as-built documentation and a civil and structural engineer’s completion statement, with final detailing aligned to architectural requirements and long-term durability. Our integrated approach delivered practical, cost-effective solutions that supported the successful completion of the scheme.
