Challenge

Locating a main supermarket within a dense residential area makes a great deal of sense in terms of serving consumers living in the local community. But it brings with it a unique set of considerations, not least shielding local residents from the noise associated with the running of a major mixed retail outlet. This was the conundrum faced by a leading supermarket in Leicestershire that is located in the middle of a flourishing housing development. Due to the setting of this supermarket there was a growing concern in relation to the unavoidable noise created by the constant flow of delivery vehicle traffic and movement of goods within the site.

Architects recommended installing acoustic fencing, both around the perimeter of the staff car park that backs onto housing, and around the yard where deliveries are received. Also, two new acoustic gates were required, one to span a 9m opening for HGV access to the main loading bays and one to provide authorised personnel with entry to the waste compactor.

After recognising the specialist and bespoke nature of the task in hand, the contractors and architects were keen to deliver a solution that met both the performance and aesthetic considerations of the project. A decision was made to contact Jacksons Fencing, who is not only the designer and manufacturer of the revolutionary “Jakoustic” acoustic barrier system, but as a company, is committed to working in partnership with architects, specifiers and contractors to deliver inventive solutions to site-specific problems.

Solution

Following an initial site visit by an acoustic engineer and a Jackson's Fencing manager, Jackson's design team reviewed outlined plans. Concerns were flagged, the most significant being 4m high double automated swing gates for the 9m opening, deemed unsuitable as it could be subject to high wind loading and potentially be a health and safety risk. Also, the gates would not meet required acoustic levels and represented an unsuitable solution in restricted space.

The smaller gate for access to the waste compactor required more thought. A single leaf automated gate was suggested for the 3m opening, but it was thought that the opening would not be wide enough for easy skip manoeuvring. An outward automation was suggested but presented a safety risk to people accessing the area in front of the gate.

The Jacksons design team came up with solutions to these two problems. For the large gate that was needed for the 9m opening, a 4m high x 13.2m long sliding gate was designed and approved. This gate was likely to be one of the largest acoustic gates ever produced and was certainly not a standard construction. The single leaf automated swing gate that was to provide access to the waste compactor was replaced with a 4m high x 3.5m wide double leaf manually operated gate. Both these gates were constructed with the absorptive backing panels facing the loading yard and waste compactor to maximise the high levels of noise protection.

In addition to the gates and a compound of two-sided fencing around the service yard, 185m of 2.4m high Jakoustic reflective barriers was installed to segregate the staff car park from the housing. Whilst the reduction of noise was paramount, attention to detail in terms of delivering an attractive fence was needed. Working on an uneven surface, the fencing had to be stepped and raked to accommodate the changing gradient and contours.

Outcome

The entire installation took approximately five weeks to complete. It represents a major engineering feat achieved as a result of combining the skills of various specialists to deliver a highly effective, attractive fencing and access solution with no compromise on aesthetics or the operational effectiveness of the site. The efficacy of the acoustic barriers has been universally well received and numerous favourable comments have also been made on the attractive and natural appearance created by the new acoustic barriers.