Globe Civil Engineering delivers groundworks packages for housing developers, principal contractors and commercial clients across East Anglia and the Southeast. From the first dig to a finished slab signed off and ready for the superstructure, our teams work to the programme and the standards your downstream trades depend on.
We operate either as a subcontractor within a principal contractor’s site or as principal contractor in our own right. Either way, the priorities are the same: a programme that holds, formation and slab levels that are right first time, and the documentation that keeps Building Control, the NHBC and the warranty provider satisfied.
What we deliver
Our groundworks packages cover the full scope from site clearance through to a level, signed-off slab:
Our groundworks packages cover the full scope from site clearance through to a level, signed-off slab. That includes site clearance and demolition with staged mechanical demolition and segregation of arisings for recycling; bulk earthworks and excavation, from reduced level dig and cut and fill to formation set to the structural engineer’s design; foundations of every type, including traditional strip and trench fill, raft foundations, piled foundation caps and ground beams, and non-standard designs for insulated concrete frame (ICF) and modular builds; foul and surface water drainage with connections, soakaways and attenuation; hardcore sub-base placement and compaction, reinforced and unreinforced slabs and external hard standings; and reinforced concrete works, including steel fixing to engineer’s drawings, formwork and pumped or poured concrete up to large single pours.
The detail that matters at procurement
Developers and quantity surveyors aren’t buying “groundworks” — they’re buying programme certainty and a clean handover to the next trade. That’s where we focus:
Developers and quantity surveyors aren’t buying “groundworks” — they’re buying programme certainty and a clean handover to the next trade. We focus on formation sign-offs that don’t slip, with levels and sub-base set out, tested and signed off so the slab goes down right first time and the superstructure isn’t held up. We work to NHBC standards and coordinate Building Control inspections at the right stages, with the records to prove it, and deliver against site-specific RAMS under CDM 2015 whether acting as principal contractor or subcontractor. Our plant and crews are experienced in the chalk, clay and variable ground typical across Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex, and we plan the dig and foundation approach around what’s actually under the site. Routine CAT scanning before excavation, with hand-digging around identified live services, removes the risk of a strike.
How we work
Every package is planned forward in detail: demolition, excavation and substructure works are sequenced so the slab is delivered in time for follow-on trades to start without delay. We coordinate directly with the client, the structural engineer, the warranty provider and the superstructure manufacturer, cross-checking design inputs early to resolve inconsistencies before they reach the dig. Works are delivered against a defined programme and signed off at each stage, with mechanical plant operated by trained, certificated operatives.
Accreditations
CHAS, CITB and UK Power Networks accredited. Our operators hold CPCS and NPORS certification. All works delivered under site-specific RAMS with full PPE compliance.
Part of the Globe Group
Groundworks is the first package on site, which makes GCE the natural entry point for the wider Globe Group. Where we’re delivering as part of the group, we coordinate directly with Globe Cambridge (scaffolding) and Globe Roofing as the build progresses — giving developers a single point of accountability across the early and middle stages of a project, and continuity of standards from the dig through to the roof.
Groundworks FAQs
Do you work as a principal contractor or only as a subcontractor?
Both. Globe Civil Engineering can take on the groundworks package as a subcontractor within a principal contractor’s site, or act as principal contractor in our own right with full CDM 2015 responsibility. We’ll fit whichever procurement route suits the project.
What ground conditions do you work in?
Our plant and crews work across the chalk, clay and variable ground typical of East Anglia and the Southeast. We plan the excavation and foundation approach around the site investigation and ground conditions rather than applying a one-size-fits-all method.
Do you handle NHBC and Building Control sign-offs?
Yes. We work to NHBC standards and coordinate Building Control and warranty inspections at the appropriate stages, keeping the records needed to evidence compliance and protect the warranty.
Can you deliver non-standard foundations such as ICF or piled designs?
Yes. We deliver traditional strip and trench fill, raft foundations, ground beams and piled foundation caps, as well as non-standard designs for insulated concrete frame and modular construction methods, working closely with the structural engineer and warranty provider.
How do you protect existing or live services during excavation?
We complete a CAT scanner survey across the working area before excavation. Where live electric, water or other services are identified on the line of the dig, we adopt hand-digging around them to remove the risk of a strike.
How do you keep the groundworks programme on track?
Through detailed forward planning and sequencing of demolition, excavation and substructure works, and close coordination with the client and follow-on trades. Each stage is signed off so the slab is handed over level and on time for the superstructure to commence.
What happens after the groundworks are complete?
We hand the site back at finished slab level, ready for the superstructure. Where GCE is part of a wider Globe Group package, scaffolding (Globe Cambridge) and roofing (Globe Roofing) can follow on under the same group of companies, keeping standards and accountability consistent across the build.
Which areas do you cover?
We deliver groundworks across East Anglia and the Southeast, including Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Hertfordshire.
Get a groundworks package priced
Planning a development or need a groundworks package priced? Get in touch with the team to discuss your programme.
