Livestock Mart Take The High Road

Relocating a livestock auction from the centre of a Highland town to a sensitive greenfield site has been helped by the use of "sympathetic" roofing from Eternit Building Materials.

More than 7,000m2 of the manufacturer's Farmscape fibre cement profiled sheeting was specified by the Building Design Unit of the Scottish Agricultural College for the roof of the replacement Dingwall auction mart in Ross-shire, Scotland.

Highland planners, aware of the massive scale of the quadruple-span building alongside the main A862, had asked that the colours of the building materials used were sympathetic to the surrounding countryside.

And the Building Design Unit knew from vast experience that Eternit's Farmscape in the colour Anthracite would meet not only that criteria but allow natural ventilation of the livestock buildings.

The original mart had evolved over centuries in piecemeal fashion as funding allowed and many of the facilities were nearing the end of their serviceable lives.

In addition, the impact on the town centre of the twice-weekly sale days was adverse, with serious traffic congestion.

In environmental terms, the existing operation required major reorganisation, and when a major retailer became interested in the town centre site the option to relocate to a greenfield one became viable.

Extensive research revealed a site on the southern outskirts of the town and Dingwall and Highland Marts Ltd, a firm of auctioneers, valuers and estate agents, purchased 250-acre Humberston Farm.

Preliminary survey work with a full topographical analysis identified a cross fall of more than 15 metres towards the A862.

This posed concerns over the suitability of the site for a building with a floor area of more than 100,000ft2 but following a geo-technical site investigation and a desk top study it was determined that a massive cut and fill operation to provide a near-level plinth running parallel to the trunk road was achievable.

Construction, which took less than a year, was by main contractor Tulloch Civil Engineering Ltd.

The site works proved a mammoth operation, with large volumes of top soil and rock encountered but this was aided by - surprisingly for Scotland - the low levels of rainfall during the critical months when the ground levels were being shaped.

RIM Fabrications installed short sheets of Farmscape along with GRP rooflights and guttering from Hunter Plastics, Eternit's sister company within the Etex Group.

The Scottish Agricultural College's Building Design Unit, as lead consultant and designer, specified Farmscape for its more natural look compared to traditional gloss paints.

This is achieved by applying a surface pigmentation to the top face of the sheet that allows the distinctive texture of the fibre cement substrate to show through - giving the product a very natural appearance.

The substrate also helps prevent condensation forming on the underside of the roof and dripping onto the livestock.

The unit worked to a brief for a building which could accommodate up to 2,000 cattle or 10,000 sheep at any one time, with a penning system which allowed for rapid movement of stock and wash down facilities.

The decision to locate the front end of the building towards Maryburgh was reached following discussions with Highland Council planning officials who wanted to create an attractive, functional building with a commanding position at the entrance to the town that nevertheless sat into the landscape.

The heart of the building is a central galleried concourse that provides access to the penning area, sales ring, sales hall, public toilets and office suites as well as being a place where buyers, sellers, mart staff and the general public could congregate.

The sales hall is a multi-purpose space used principally for sheep sales but with the ability to provide accommodation for displays and so on.

The main sales ring was designed to accommodate up to 250 people seated, with a further standing area, and includes a hipped roof complete with ventilation features to provide an external focal point.

Dingwall and Highland Marts were keen to ensure the space had an intimate feel and that it did not lose atmosphere on small sale days.

As well as asking that the colours of the building materials were "sympathetic" to the surrounding countryside, local planners stipulated that all surface stormwater from the car and lorry parks on the five hectare site be drained to fairly large retention swales on site to allow for gradual percolation into adjacent water courses.

All the roof water is collected and used for the pressurised washing of the stock pens.

Mike Strachan, head of the Building Design Unit, said: ""The board of Dingwall and Highland Marts should be congratulated for their enthusiasm and desire to provide a quality development to service the community in the 21st Century and we were delighted to have acted as lead design consultant in assisting them in realising this exciting venture.

"The type and colour of external materials ensures that while not fading into the landscape totally, the building is at ease with its surroundings.

We nearly always specify Eternit's profiled fibre cement as the roofing material for naturally ventilated stock buildings.".

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