The Towers Health & Racquets Club is a
premier leisure facility in Bedford, UK. As part
of a 2025 renovation, the facility required a
retaining wall to reinforce a hillside adjacent to
its property. Its retaining wall stretches approximately 200 m in length and reaches a maximum height of 1.5 m. The wall runs directly behind the facility’s outdoor tennis courts, continues along the club and extends toward the rear parking area.
The site sits directly below a large hillside, which increases runoff pressures during rainfall events.
Protecting the tennis courts, parking areas, and facility at the slope’s base required a wall with exceptional
strength and drainage. Access restrictions also shaped the project’s construction strategy. The work area was narrow and constrained, limiting the ability to bring in larger equipment. This typically slows installation progress, but precast mass hollow core blocks are lighter and can easily be built using compact equipment. This streamlined installation and reduced costs, especially compared to alternative solutions like gabion baskets, which require more time and labor.
The project features a gravity retaining wall design, further reinforced by interlocking gravity
extender units behind the blocks. These units add critical mass to the base of the wall without requiring deep excavation. This minimised disturbance to the hillside while maximising stability. HFW geostrip reinforcement was also used in select areas to help restrain the site’s fence and further strengthen the wall crest. Behind the tennis courts, the wall incorporated also few half-high units to provide flexible and subtle wall height transitions. The varying block sizes allowed for smooth stepdown features and a more natural integration into the facility’s landscape.
Drainage was a critical design component given the hillside above the wall. Additional gravel was placed directly behind the wall, separated from backfill by filter fabric, to slow runoff velocity and protect the structure.
