UK’s 'largest ever pipe liner' installed in Corby

A drainage and wastewater maintenance firm has installed its largest ever ultraviolet liner in Corby – which could be the biggest to have been installed in the UK.

The pipe liner by Lanes Group ran along the top part of Kestrel Road and was 1800mm in diameter, tall enough for a man of average height to walk along without having to stoop.

It is the first 1800mm UV liner installed by Lanes and the first to be supplied in the UK by its German manufacturer, IMPREG.

Lanes installed the 42m-long liner into a storm drain for developer Urban and Civic to prepare it to be adopted into the public sewer system.

The drain had been found to have deformities and open joints so had to be strengthened before it could be handed over to Independent Water Networks, which would own and maintain the asset.

Sue Kenyon, Lanes’ reline division manager, said: “The technical challenges created by the size of the liner make this one of the most complex lining projects we’ve ever undertaken.”

Lanes carried out enabling works for the project, which required a road closure and traffic management on an adjacent road.

A team exposed two 3m-diameter concrete chambers beneath the road, between which the liner would be installed.

In an 18-hour operation, a ten-person team carried out the installation, pulling the liner through with a 10-tonne winch.

IMPREG UK technical manager Jack Talbott added: “This is the largest diameter UV liner we’ve supplied to a UK contractor and we haven’t heard of any as big as this being installed in the UK before.”