Abbey Lane Football Pitches Establishing Well

Added: 8th January 2015

Continuing its strong working relationship with Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Turfdry has completed the construction phase of the new sports pitches adjacent to Hanley Town F.C., on Abbey Lane, Abbey Hulton.

Consisting of a trio of football pitches – in senior, youth, and mini-soccer sizes – the entire complex benefits from the unique Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain to maximise the likelihood of year-round play. In addition to the pitch construction, Turfdry also reinstated an old pond on the site, which acts as an attenuation pond for the youth pitch’s drainage as well as providing aesthetic and ecological value.

Whilst it now evident that the facility will be something to be proud of, the project threw up its fair share of obstacles for Turfdry to overcome:

The site's history as a dumping ground for mining spoil left substantial amounts of rubble beneath the surface.

The depth of the 'cut' on the upper area of the site however, allows for the higher quality subsoil material to be layered on top of the mining spoil to create the foundations for a quality sports surface.

The site's unclear history also threw up other unexpected challenges, with substantial remnants of an old drainage system nobody knew existed having to be removed. 

As a consequence of the poor existing ground conditions, the site held a considerable amount of water. 

The underlying ground conditions were such that the team encountered significant problems with ground water and running sand, which meant that parts of the site could not even be walked on, whilst others felt as though the ground was a trampoline!

To combat the difficult ground conditions, a deep drainage system had to be installed before work could properly begin on the pitches. Following its installation, the deep drainage system successfully de-watered the site. 

The excavation phase of the pond construction was made more difficult due to buried boulders. 

The new pond provides ecological enhancement to the site. It is fed solely from water collected by the youth pitch's Turfdry Drainage System. 

Although these issues made the work at Abbey Lane more complicated the Turfdry team has learned that projects often involve unknown additional challenges. With 20 years of operation comes 20 years of experience, and the Turfdry team is well equipped to tackle even the most complicated projects to deliver difficult jobs every time.

Pitch layout, cut & fill plan

Re-topsoiling operations on the mini-soccer pitch.

Completed Turfdry Drainage System installation on senior pitch with Hydraway Sportsdrain at 2.5m spacing. 

Mini-soccer pitch with youth pitch at higher level in background. 

Youth pitch after seeding.

Existing trees retained and protected adjacent to senior pitch. 

Senior pitch after sand layering and seeding.

Mini-soccer pitch after first cut (December 2014).

Senior pitch after first cut (December 2014).

Youth pitch after first cut (December 2014).

Turfdry will undertake the initial maintenance of the site throughout the 'growing-in' phase for the pitches, and will hand over the site to Stoke-on-Trent Council in readiness for the start of the 2015-16 football season.

---