Belton Gardens Pumping Station

We’ve just completed a much needed refurbishment at Anglian Water’s pumping station in Belton Gardens, Southend, replacing badly corroded steel floors, walkways and handrails with long-lasting GRP versions.

The project comprised a 64 sq.m main floor with access hatches to the pumps below and two staircases leading down to two 11m gantries on two lower levels. We cut and fabricated most of the components in our Suffolk workshop before sending them to the site. Installation was completed by Anglian Water operatives, supervised by one or our GRP-qualified fitters – on hand to advise on how best to make any adjustments required.

The flooring and stair treads were made from QuartzGrip 38mm Open Mesh Grating in hi vis yellow with green mesh hatches to make them easy to spot. We added composite signs to the hatches identifying the pump below each one. The GRP SafeRail Handrail installed throughout included SafeScreen mesh in the lower sections to prevent tools from being knocked over the edge of the walkways. Minimum Safe Working Load was 5 kN/m2 to meet WIMES 9.02 specifications, with handrail meeting BS 7818.

Dave Bridges, Step on Safety’s Utility Sector Manager was really pleased with the project. “it was a dirty, dingey hole when we got there” he said. “It not only looks so much better now – it’s a much safer place to be.”

The before and after photos below show exactly what he means.

In the grounds of the pumping station we also installed some smart new storm tank fall arrest covers using QuartzGrip Solid Top grating to keep escaping odours to a minimum.

Find out how GRP can improve your working environment – get in touch today.