In the rolling countryside of Bedfordshire, a new community is beginning to take shape. Housebuilders Bellway and Redrow have jointly acquired 96 acres of land in the village of Sharnbrook to deliver a landmark 500-home development, a scheme that promises not just housing, but a fully integrated neighbourhood.
Appointed as principal contractor for the infrastructure works, ECL is leading the charge on what will become the Sharnbrook Neighbourhood scheme. The development will feature a blend of private and affordable homes, a new primary school, sports and leisure facilities, and major highway upgrades, including a new roundabout on the A6 and additional improvements along Mill Road. But before the homes rise from the ground, the foundations of an entire community must be laid.
Arriving for a site visit in February, one detail stood out immediately: the parking. For the first time on an ECL project, site parking isn’t physically on-site. Instead, vehicles are stationed a short distance away on land generously provided by the local farmer. It’s a small but telling sign of how this development differs from others, with collaboration, compromise, and community consideration at the heart of everything that takes place here.
Catching up with Roads and Sewers Manager Kieran Devane, it’s clear the scheme holds both professional and personal significance.
“We started here at the very end of October. It was actually my dad, John Devane, who was pictured breaking ground here in the last issue of the magazine. He spent a week here, and then, in early November, the heavy cavalry moved in from SW Milton Keynes, managing over a week of heavy plant movements.”
From the outset, this was never a modest undertaking. The scale of the project is considerable, encompassing extensive areas of public open space alongside a series of complex Section 278 highway works delivered as part of the wider infrastructure package.
All of this is being delivered through a single site access point, adding a further layer of complexity to an already demanding scheme.
“That’s been the most challenging part,” Kieran explains. “There’s so much activity happening at once, and Mill Road is tight. It’s a sensitive route with a close-knit community nearby, so we’ve had to think creatively and adapt our approach.”
The traffic management plan has undergone several revisions throughout the project to optimise operations while accommodating community needs, site requirements, and strict time restrictions. This iterative approach has been key to maintaining both efficiency and positive relationships with residents.
To keep traffic flowing safely and minimise disruption, ECL has deployed three traffic marshals positioned strategically along the A6, at the end of Mill Road, and at the site entrance. Deliveries are restricted to post-8:30 am slots, while a full-time road sweeper maintains carriageway cleanliness. In addition, a jet washer and wheel wash system ensure that mud and debris are not carried into the village.
“Our traffic management plan is exceptional,” Kieran adds. “It’s been fully embedded across the project, from site teams to our buying department and suppliers. Everyone understands the rules and their role in making it work.”
Community sensitivity hasn’t stopped at traffic control. The off-site parking arrangement with Mark, the local farmer, whose farm shop now supplies fresh eggs, potatoes and more to the site team, has become an unexpected highlight of the project. “He’s been an absolute gentleman,” Kieran adds. “True to his word.”
BATTLING THE ELEMENTS
Winter had been relentless. “We had terrible weather,” Kieran says. “It felt like it had rained every day.”
Positioned at the bottom of a hill, the site demands meticulous water and silt management. Man-made ponds, excavated early in the programme, serve dual purposes, providing material to raise road levels and acting as sustainable drainage basins. “During the wet period, we incorporated extra pumps and a silt buster so we can pump clean water,” he explains. “Water management is key, and we’re on top of it.”
Unexpected rock layers beneath the surface have slowed progress in places, adding yet another technical challenge to an already complex operation. But if there’s one constant on site, it’s forward momentum.
With more than 50 ECL personnel now working across infrastructure and plot operations, and numbers expected to rise, the site is a hive of activity. Heavy plant moves constantly across the landscape, supported by ECL’s 5,000-litre Mercedes fuel truck, reducing downtime and improving efficiency. “It’s brilliant,” says Kieran. “A real time-saver and better for the environment.”
Unlike many large-scale projects, where contractors have the early stages largely to themselves, this development is different. ECL is delivering infrastructure for both Redrow and Bellway, while also carrying out plot works for Bellway and sharing access with another contractor working for Redrow, all of which require constant coordination and collaboration.
“We’ve got roads and sewers teams, heavy infrastructure crews, plot gangs, everyone working together. It’s busy, but we’ve got an amazing team here.”
JUNE UPDATE
Despite the mud, the rain, and the logistical hurdles, the programme remains firmly on track. “The programme doesn’t scare me,” Kieran says confidently. “We very rarely miss a schedule.” Yet for him, deadlines are only part of the picture. “The priority is maintaining the quality of our work at the high standards we set ourselves and, more importantly, ensuring nobody gets hurt. Everything else follows from that.”
It’s an ethos that defines ECL’s culture: safety first, quality always.
Key milestones to date include the completion of a foul connection on Templars Way in March, followed by the delivery of a new roundabout on Mill Road in May. These works were led on site by Scott Lunnon, whose expertise in managing complex Section 278 schemes has been instrumental throughout. A further major roundabout on the A6 is to be constructed pending final technical approval.
The Sharnbrook Neighbourhood scheme will continue over the next 2-3 years, with infrastructure and roadworks targeted for completion by the end of July, before focus shifts fully to plot construction.
For Kieran, though, the greatest reward lies not in the timelines but in the transformation. “The best thing about this project is being able to see light at the end of the tunnel now. I’ve really enjoyed working with Scott Lunnon, our 278’s Site Manager for this site and Brian Prickett, Project Manager, who’s done a sterling job steering things from the office. Even Chris Barber (despite being a Chelsea fan) has done a brilliant job on the plots. It’s been a tough winter, no doubt about it, but when we step away from this one in early July, with a couple of miles of road in and everything starting to bed in, I think we’ll look back with real pride on what we achieved.”
Because winter is always the test.
Perseverance.
Stamina.
Teamwork.
And in Sharnbrook, those foundations are already firmly in place.
