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In several locations, the newly constructed flood wall ties in to Penwortham Old Bridge, a Grade II listed structure and scheduled monument. This contractor decided to bring in the skills of a concrete artist to create a surface for the flood wall that replicates the aged sandstone of the 266-year-old crossing. Although it wasn’t a requirement that the new wall…
Attempts to raise appearance standards helps to improve the profile for the site and industry as a whole. Sites should strive to improve first impressions in order to generate a high level of appearance for site visitors, the public and their own workforce. The example below demonstrates how a site developed an innovative approach to maintain an exceptionally clean and well-presented compound…
Litter – What is the problem? The appearance and condition of a construction site and its perimeter is often the first, only and lasting impression that members of the public who live and work around the activity have of the construction industry. The Considerate Constructors Scheme regularly receives complaints regarding litter on and around construction projects. This instalment of Resolving…
As part of routine maintenance of highways we need to cut extensive amounts of grass along the highway verges including on uneven ground and up and down embankments. We know that slips, trips and falls are some of our bigger risks, and that alternative plant to carry out these tasks can include use of vibrating tools (e.g. strimmers) with associated…
The A64 Whitwell dual carriageway trunk road suffers from sub-standard horizontal and vertical geometry, leading to increased maintenance such as grass cutting being required each year, some years more than others depending on weather patterns. With designing for maintenance principles in mind, we developed a permeable verge hardening solution which removed the grass and topsoil from visibility splays and replaced…
As part of the PDM Plant Upgrade Project, the site team used an integrated approach with the Client areas of the site, which included additional landscaping in order to provide a meaningful legacy of the site activity. These areas included: A landscaped berm at the waste water treatment works A landscaped area including sections of wild flower seeding over an…
A new artist-designed play area created from soil excavated from the high speed railway’s Chilterns Tunnel was commissioned by the contractor and opened at Rickmansworth’s Maple Cross JMI school late last year. The initiative was sparked after a Year Six pupil wrote to the contractor asking whether soil from the nearby project works could be donated to create a new…
Natural capital refers to the elements of the natural environment which provide valuable goods and services to people. For example, a woodland can be regarded as a natural capital asset, from which flows valuable benefits, or ecosystem services, such as flood risk reduction and carbon capture. This contractor is creating 9 new woodlands in partnership with Blenheim Estate in Oxfordshire,…
On this project the new road cuts through areas of peat which is waterlogged and operations in this area are carefully managed to ensure zero impact on people, plant or the environment. As part of their Great Crested Newt license issued by Natural England, there is a requirement for habitat manipulation within 250m of Great Crested Newt inhabited ponds, in…
The Urmston Leisure Centre team planted 45 trees with the carbon offsetting initiative Trees for Life. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recommends 30,000 hectares of woodland should be planted every year in the UK, and this may even need to rise to 50,000 hectares if other carbon reduction targets are not achieved. Planting trees helps to tackle climate change,…
Trees play a central role in not only maintaining nutrient-rich soil, providing shelter and habitat for animals but they are also important for their carbon sequestration. This contractor has installed a tree and nature corridor protection zone along the entire east boundary of the project adjacent to a railway line maintaining a link between a wooded area to the north…
In keeping with current best practice and to reduce adverse environmental impacts from the use of plastic products, the project is using a biodegradable product instead of plastic tree shelters. 5000 non-plastic shelters are being installed at four locations with diverse micro-climates which allows their environmental specialists to monitor and understand the performance of the shelters in different conditions. The…
During works to construct a new 65-bed hotel adjacent to the existing golf club, it was necessary to reduce the ground over a 620 metre squared area by between 1.6 metres and 3.6 metres. This produced over 2800 metres cubed of soil which was originally planned to be removed to landfill. We decided to revise the plan in order to…
In 1989, the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust identified roadside verges in Gloucestershire that were deemed most valuable in terms of their botanical interest. Chipmans Platt roundabout was one of the areas identified with having over 16 species of wildflower, including orchids, and is classed as a lowland meadow with rich invertebrate diversity. As part of our works, we had to install…
Whilst considering what could be included in their site handout leaflet this contractor realised that a lot of paper would be used that would damage the environment if it was not recycled. To combat this issue they have invested in plantable seed paper. All of their leaflets have been and will be printed on this paper with “plant me” logos…