Viridis Building Services, in Collingham, part of creation of Ministry of Defence’s new carbon-neutral training Beckingham Cadet Training Centre

A building firm has hit on a ‘wheely’ good idea to reuse spent tyres as part of a drive to decarbonise an army cadet training centre.

Viridis Building Services, based in Collingham, was approached by the Ministry of Defence to create a new carbon-neutral training centre at its rebuilt training base in Beckingham.

The firm, one of the first net zero companies in the UK, looked not only at future sustainability, but also at how the Army could achieve a major cost benefit due to a reduction in their bills, and even generate potential income.

The MOD disposed of thousands of tyres each year from its huge fleet of vehicles, and in a first for a commercial environment, the Viridis team set about devising a way of incorporating old tyres into the rebuilding of the cadet training centre, which dates back to the 1940s.

Pillars were created out of recycled tyres as the base for the foundations of five accommodation buildings and a large mess hall. Each ‘pillar’ was then to be infilled with recycled crushed aggregate.

The ground-breaking idea has reduced the potential concrete usage on the site by around 85 per cent, and saved the British Army an estimated £80,000 alone by using recycled tyres instead of concrete.

It also meant that far less ground needed to be dug out and removed, helping to protect the ancient ridges and furrows on the site, which are the remains of farming methods dating back to Anglo-Saxon times.

Lee Marshall, managing director of Viridis Building Services, said: “Our task was to achieve net zero without breaking the bank and meanwhile impacting as little as possible on the environment.

“Using recycled tyres as foundations instead of tonnes of concrete is one solution, though it was significant that there are local sources which can supply the old tyres.

“This, combined with the enormous environmental and financial cost of manufacturing, transporting and pouring concrete, really put the wheels in motion for achieving our net zero brief.”

Viridis has also included the use of sustainable materials, such as timber frames for the buildings and the creation of low-impact walkways between the buildings to further avoid excessive ground disturbance.

Gabion walls have been proposed to the front of the main building. This will have a further knock-on benefit of this inexpensive “air conditioning” method is that the four-to-six-foot walls provide the mess hall with a means of overheating protection.

Lee added: “What we’ve learned on the Beckingham Cadet Training Centre project is hugely valuable in terms of decarbonisation on a really affordable level.

“The recycled tyre foundations certainly set a benchmark and are perhaps something that the MOD can look to roll out at other bases in the future.”

A spokesman for the East Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association, which is overseeing the development of Beckingham’s new Cadet Training Centre, said: “It’s a fantastic development that will be a huge boost to Lincolnshire Army Cadets and Cadets across the country.”