Bassingham Primary School which is part of the Aspire Schools Trust serves the children and community of Bassingham and surrounding areas. The school boasts a large outside space in which the children to play, alongside having the opportunity to engage in sports. A field to the side of the school provides the green space for the children.
Unfortunately, this green space had become unsuitable for sports event due to the uneven surface. The field had been affected by moles, leaving holes and mounds across the area. The soil had become extremely compacted meaning that the grass could not thrive, and this resulted in large bare patches where the field was used by the children. One side of the field had an old footpath, which separated the main field from an area that held old play equipment that had been previously removed.
In discussion with the school head teacher and the maintenance team, RSM were asked to provide a solution which would see the old play equipment foundations removed and the old footpath excavated and replaced with grass. The objective was to provide a large, level and safe space that could be used for future sporting activities.
Our proposal was that, alongside the removal of the footpath and old play equipment we would rework the soil across the whole site, removing the areas that were heavily compacted. The whole area was to be rotavated and levelled. This did require some additional soil to be imported to maintain the levels across the site. Once prepared the area was treated with Pre-Emergent Fertilizer to nourish the new seed, the seed chosen was of a tough wearing variety to help prevent premature wear.
The works were completed over a period of 15 days and as can be seen the results speak for themselves. Ongoing maintenance will be key to longevity and with that in mind the school were provided with some guidelines on future maintenance requirements.
When asked for comment the client said,
The guys have done a great job, and we look forward to having a much more suitable area for the children to play on as from next spring. On another note, I would like to say a big thank you to your guys who worked at our Sir William Robertson site cutting back the hedges and brambles, they too have done a great job and were fantastic.
