Witham Fourth District IDB: Project Hobhole

Hobhole is the pumping station at the bottom of the Witham Fourth District near Boston, and the water from 37,000 hectares of the Fens ends up there before it's pumped out to sea. It's been doing that job for 70 years and it's coming to the end of its life, and Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board needed a film that makes the case for replacing it.

We filmed at Hobhole and across the district with the board's team over two days in July, then went back at the start of September to pick up the last few pieces once we knew exactly what the edit needed. The line we kept coming back to was that in a big storm like Storm Babet, Hobhole can pump the equivalent of Rutland Water out to sea, with mechanical and electrical equipment that's well past its best. We built the film around the board's team explaining that in their own words, with drone footage to show the size of the station and the land it protects.

Alongside the four-minute film there are 30 and 60 second versions for social media, each one cut around a single message, and a set of stills from the footage and the drone. We also made a film for the board about who they are and what they do, which is in our work as Witham Fourth District IDB: The silent service.

Produced in association with MA Marketing.