Irrigation News | The Landscaper Magazine

The Blues choose

The final match pitches at Chelsea Football Club’s Cobham training ground are now open. Built by White Horse Contractors, the opening of these pitches represents the culmination of phase four of the Cobham training ground project, a multi-million pound development aimed at providing the most comprehensive facility of its kind in the world.

White Horse Contractors’ involvement in phase four of the Cobham project originally comprised a £1m contract to build a full size natural turf match pitch to the exact dimensions of CFC’s Stamford Bridge pitch, an adjacent goalkeeper training
area, two natural turf training pitches and a third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch.

For the main match pitch, the topsoil was stripped, the subsoil re-levelled and a depth of topsoil replaced. An extensive pipe drainage system was installed and rootzone mix was laid as the final layer. For the adjacent goalkeeping area, the same construction was reinforced with Fibresand. The two training pitches were constructed on the site of former college sports fields but required level improvements, so the new pitches were constructed using cut and fill, with sand incorporated into the topsoil to improve its quality. A full pipe drainage system was also installed.

In order to maintain appropriate levels of irrigation for the natural turf, CFC planned to build an irrigation reservoir on site, to cut the costs of water use. As is standard industry practise, the original plans called for the excavated soil to be transported off-site for disposal. White Horse Contractors recognised an opportunity to improve additional facilities whilst simultaneously achieving cost savings for its client, and so proposed re-using the soil on-site.

This allowed White Horse Contractors to raise the level of some further natural turf pitches, installing a new drainage scheme, whilst saving the 3,000 lorry movements, which would have been required to remove the arisings from the site. The recycled sub-soil also allowed White Horse Contractors to build a running hill and additionally a basketball court was constructed to be used for player rehabilitation.

Alan Shaw, Company Secretary for Chelsea FC, commented: “White Horse worked really well with our own staff and met all the deadlines imposed by the demands of our footballing schedule. The end product is something of which we can all be proud, thanks in no small measure to White Horse’s client care, ethics and especially its staff.”

White Horse Contactors,
Tel 01865 736272,
www.whitehorsecontractors.co.uk

Access IQ

All gardens benefit from a well designed irrigation system, but irrigation is
vitally important in a newly landscaped garden, helping to speed up
establishment and reduce losses.
Until now landscapers requiring irrigation had to send off plans to a specialist
irrigation company then await a design and price.
However IrriQuote, launched by Access Irrigation, allows landscapers and
garden designers to provide clients with an instant price for an irrigation
system, using either existing scale plans of the garden or by measuring up
while on site. Providing a price while still with the client allows the opportunity
to quickly close the sale.
To make the task even easier, prices can also include the cost of the
landscaper installing the irrigation system for the client. Once the customer
decides to go ahead, Access Irrigation provide full parts and installation plans.
Access Irrigation are looking to partner reputable landscape contractors with
this exciting opportunity.

01788 823811
sales@access-irrigation.co.uk
matt@access-irrigation.co.uk

Irrigation professionals

This year Landscape Watering Systems held the first of a series of workshops offering contractors a rare opportunity to improve existing skills, learn new practises, brush up on system troubleshooting and motivate staff by providing an opportunity for continuing professional development. The workshops, hosted by Rain Bird’s technical staff, cover a wide range of disciplines that can make a positive difference to irrigation businesses whether they are Rain Bird users or not.
LWS specialise in the supply of professional garden and landscape irrigation products to contractors and installers and are key suppliers of Rain Bird irrigation products in the UK. Manager Simon Edginton was pleased that the first event, held at Sandford Springs Golf Club near Newbury, had attracted a very positive response with most delegates attending the full three days. “We tailored the event so that the topics covered each day would stand alone for those only able to attend individual days. However, we were delighted that work commitments didn’t prevent the majority of the participants from completing the three day comprehensive course.” He explained the purpose behind the workshops; “There are courses you can attend which cover a wide spectrum of interests. What we’ve tried to do is narrow the field to be specific to irrigation and then target companies which have similar work remits and areas of expertise. Our workshops are designed to encourage best practice, improve personal development and most importantly to provide a forum for networking and exchanging ideas with other like-minded individuals.”
To attend a future Rain Bird Academy
simon@lws.uk.com
www.lws.uk.com
TEl 01722 716969

Other contacts

www.h2o-irrigation.co.uk
Tel: +44 1788 510529

cityirrigation.co.uk
02084624630 Bognor:01243 827178
stores@cityirrigation.co.uk

www.lifeirrigation.co.uk
Tel 0208 905 1892
Info@lifeirrigation.co.uk

www.watermaticltd.co.uk
Tel 01923 839 988
info@watermaticltd.co.uk

www.londonirrigation.co.uk/
Tel:-Peter Mobile:-07710 330 874
admin@londonirrigation.co.uk

www.ocmis.com
tel 0870 6005131
Info@Ocmis.com

www.javelinirrigation.co.uk
Tel 01507 607175
http://www.javelinirrigation.co.uk/html/contact.html

www.easywatering.co.uk
Tel 0844 736 15500

www.arcadiairrigation.co.uk
Telephone: 01252 714986

www.northstaffsirrigation.co.uk
tel 01785 812706

www.wrightrain.com
Tel: +44 1425 472251
sales@wrightrain.co.uk