4th July 2020
Although the ripping operations have successfully removed the extraneous and dangerous material from the pitch plateau, the work to finish the construction of new sports pitches at Orleton Lane continues to develop complications. Fortunately, Turfdry didn’t develop its sterling reputation for pitch construction by shying away from a challenge!
Whilst the pitch composition no longer represents a health & safety concern, with the subsoil and topsoil layers now levelled and free from construction detritus, problems stemming from saturated and soft ground conditions have posed a challenge to the drainage installation. The pitch construction site borders another construction site, where a housing estate is being built. Surface water from the neighbouring site has flowed towards the pitch site, and become trapped along the line of the heras fence that separates the two; this has precipitated significant softening of the ground in the adjacent areas, making the ground impassable by the tractor-mounted trencher.
As though to mock Turfdry’s efforts to combat the spongey, saturated ground conditions that plagued their pitch construction site at Orleton Lane, Telford, the record-breakingly wet autumn weather was so dramatic that it necessitated the temporary suspension of operations due to the impossibility of construction work on the sodden ground conditions.
Although frustrating at the time, this delay may have been a blessing in disguise, as by the time Turfdry returned to the site earlier this year, it had dried out quite nicely. This allowed not only for tidy and efficient installation of the drainage system, but also offered an opportunity to revise some of the pitch levels to better accord with Sport England guidelines – with the torrential conditions necessitating a degree of re-levelling anyway, it seemed sensible to try and produce a silver lining from all the (rain)clouds!
Subsequently, the project has progressed well, with cultivation and seeding works having taken place last week. Turfdry will be managing the sward development, as well as handling the initial maintenance of the pitches, and are looking forward to updating you with some lush and green pictures of its progress. In the meantime, why not learn about some of the challenges we faced at this site, or take a look at some of our other sports pitch construction projects?
