Ballygossan Park Regional Drainage Facility

The best drainage infrastructure is often the infrastructure you barely notice.

The Ballygossan Park Regional Drainage Facility (RDF) is a great example of how sustainable infrastructure can deliver multiple benefits from a single design. DBFL provided civil design services with sustainability as a key focus in this nature based drainage solution.

Designed as a detention basin, wet swale and linear open space, the RDF manages, slows and reduces rainfall runoff before it reaches the downstream public network, helping to minimise flood risk for three neighbouring residential developments and the surrounding area.

The central drainage swale allows any sediment present to settle and pollutants to be filtered naturally before large scale storm events overflow to the receiving public network. By working with natural drainage processes rather than against them, the scheme helps mimic the natural water cycle and provides a more resilient approach to stormwater management.

But its value extends beyond flood mitigation. The project includes mammal passes beneath the central link road and a 10-metre riparian buffer on either side of the watercourse, creating a thriving wetland habitat while enhancing biodiversity. The linear open space also provides an attractive amenity for the local community, demonstrating how engineering can support both people and nature.

Project Team:
Civil Engineers: DBFL
Architects: MCORM Architecture and Urban Design
Landscape Architects: Doyle + O’Troithigh Landscape Architecture
Client & Main Contractor: Twinlite

Read more about DBFL Sustainable Nature Based Drainage Systems