MediaCity, Manchester

Manchester has recently been given £650 million to construct a 40,000m² paved area for the high profile development project, MediaCity. Located in Salford Quays, on the banks of Manchester’s ship canal and home to over 2,500 BBC staff, 400 apartments and a five-acre piazza, reliable products were needed in order to complete the project. 

The project is one of the largest public realm paving schemes in Europe. Over 2000 tonnes of UltraScape Pro-Bed HS bedding mortar was applied in bulk silos which provided a perfect base for the stone to be laid on. Pro-Bed HS creates the ideal foundation for laying paving elements where a rigid or bound base is required and is specifically formulated to meet and exceed the strict demands of BS 7533. UltraScape’s Pro-Prime slurry primer and the innovative rapid setting Flowpoint flowable rapid setting grout were also used throughout the development. Flowpoint is the ideal solution for any sizeable scheme, enabling large areas to be grouted with this pourable material and simply washed away with no staining.

In response to sustainability and environmental issues, there has been an increase in demand for dry mortar silos for supply of British Standard bedding mortars such as UltraScape’s Pro-Bed HS. The silos help to reduce dust, disposal of packaging and haulage whilst increasing productivity. MediaCity UK are committed to providing ‘a vibrant and sustainable environment’ and UltraScape’s products, with their fast-track use and high specification characteristics, were an ideal addition to the site’s development.

From fine bedding concrete and slurry primers to high performance flowable grouts and surface protection liquids, all UltraScape materials conform to the British Standard (BS 7533 parts 7 & 12, pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers). With the simple addition of water, the UltraScape range facilitates ease of use and early trafficking to ensure minimum disruption within town and city environments.

English Landscapes have commented that UltraScape’s paving system was exceptional and the quality of the products and speed of application enabled easy bedding of the paving stones on a very busy working site.