Millwood Way, King’s Cliffe
Engineering-Led Delivery on a Complex Sloping Residential Site
Snowdon Homes is delivering a highly engineered residential development at Millwood Way, King’s Cliffe, in partnership with Midland Rural Housing and East Midlands Housing Group.
While modest in scale, this project is defined by significant level changes, constrained site conditions, and complex infrastructure requirements, making it a strong example of Snowdon Homes’ capability to deliver technically challenging schemes through a fully integrated Design & Build approach.
housing partner
Building on a successful partnership with Midland Rural Housing and East Midlands Housing Group.
delivery
10 homes (social rent)
Long-Term Delivery Certainty
JCT Design & Build 2024
sustainability
EPCA, ASHP, Battery storage, EV charging and PV Panels etc – all as set out in your Sustainability item.
Project Overview
Located at Millwood Way, King’s Cliffe, the development comprises 10 new social rent homes, delivered under a JCT Design & Build 2024 contract.
The scheme transforms a constrained and topographically challenging site into a high-quality, sustainable residential development, carefully designed to integrate with the surrounding environment.
Key Challenges Solved
King’s Cliffe is fundamentally an engineering-led scheme, where development is driven by site conditions rather than standard housing layouts.
Key challenges include:
1
Significant level differences across the site, requiring extensive structural and levels design
2
Tight boundaries within an established residential setting
3
Tree constraints influencing layout and build sequencing
4
Complex drainage requirements linked to site topography
Our Process
Design & Build - A Fully Integrated Approach
Delivered under a Design & Build contract, Snowdon Homes has taken full responsibility for:
- Levels design and site-wide engineering strategy
- Retaining structures and boundary solutions
- Drainage design and optimisation
- Build sequencing and constructability
Working with Welland Design, who provide architectural, civil and structural services, the scheme benefits from a fully coordinated, single-source design approach, reducing risk and improving delivery certainty.
Retaining Structures – A Critical Success Factor
Given the steeply sloping nature of the site, retaining structures form a central part of the project’s success.
Snowdon Homes has implemented a coordinated retaining strategy utilising Tobermore Secura systems, supported by its integrated groundworks capability, providing:
- Engineered and indemnified retaining wall solutions
- Manufacturer-backed technical support and design input
- Efficient dry-stack construction, improving sequencing and programme reliability
- High-quality finishes suitable for residential environments
This integrated approach ensures that retaining structures are not treated as a standalone element, but are fully coordinated with drainage, plot levels and external works, reducing interface risk and improving buildability.
Value Engineering – Gravity-Led Drainage Solution
A key differentiator on this project has been Snowdon Homes’ proactive value engineering of the drainage strategy.
The original design incorporated pumped storm and foul drainage, introducing:
- Ongoing maintenance requirements
- Mechanical and operational risk
- Increased infrastructure cost
Through early-stage design review and coordination, Snowdon Homes:
- Designed a fully gravity-fed foul drainage system
- Eliminated the need for two private pump stations
- Simplified the overall drainage infrastructure
- Reduced long-term maintenance and operational burden
This solution delivers clear benefits to the Client:
- Reduced whole-life cost
- Improved system reliability
- Elimination of mechanical failure risk
- Simplified long-term asset management
This approach demonstrates Snowdon Homes’ ability to go beyond standard delivery—actively enhancing schemes through practical, cost-effective engineering solutions.
Programme and Delivery
Start on Site: December 2025
Programme Duration: 76 weeks
Completion: June 2027
Delivery is driven by:
- Early-stage engineering coordination
- Sequencing of retaining and substructure works
- Integrated infrastructure and superstructure delivery
On a site of this nature, programme certainty is achieved through detailed planning and sequencing, rather than speed alone.
Commercial Performance
The project demonstrates Snowdon Homes’ ability to maintain strong commercial discipline while delivering technically demanding schemes.
Sustainability & Building Performance
King’s Cliffe sets a strong benchmark for sustainable delivery:
- Target EPC rating of A
- Air Source Heat Pumps for heating and hot water
- Photovoltaic panels installed to all plots
- Battery storage to improve energy efficiency
- Electric vehicle charging provision
This ensures reduced running costs for residents and long-term asset performance for the Registered Provider.
Digital Delivery & Transparent Governance
Snowdon Homes is delivering the project through its Procore-led Integrated Management System (IMS), ensuring full transparency and control across all aspects of the development.
The system integrates:
- Procore – project governance, document control and reporting
- Breadcrumb – health & safety and site compliance
- Asta Powerproject – programme and sequencing
- Sage – financial governance
This provides:
- A single source of truth across all project information
- Time-stamped, auditable decision-making
- Real-time visibility for Clients and Employers Agents
- A clear golden thread of communication from design through to completion
Why Millwood Way Demonstrates Snowdon Homes’ Capability
Deliver engineering-led Design & Build schemes on complex sites
Manage significant level changes and retaining strategies
Apply intelligent value engineering to improve outcomes
Integrate design, engineering and construction into a unified solution
Maintain programme certainty on constrained developments