Construction & Restoration

The trenched areas after backfilling

If, like me, you have not been able to visit Brockhampton Park due to the present travel restrictions, you may be wondering what was the fate of the garden areas affected by the installation of the heat pump pipework leading from the basement to the lake. The damage to the lawns on the north side of the east garden was extensive. Not that it could be avoided, a large excavator was needed to dig the sizeable trench containing the pipework and getting that tracked machine to and from the location of the pipework created its own problems and damage. After the trenches were backfilled and the machines were removed from the site the damage was less shocking, though restoration presented a daunting task.

A considerable amount of skill and effort was required from our grounds contractor to merge the replacement grass with the original and adjust any discrepancies in ground level. The third photograph was taken in August and speaks for itself. No doubt there will be some further minor subsidence as the ground settles over time and that will need attention, but it is already difficult, after only one season, to discern where the trenches ran.

 

The restored lawns at the end of August

The left image below of tracks formed by traffic access for the heat pump work was recently circulated in a report by a member, however must have been taken earlier in the season. The middle photo shows the same set of tracks as they are in October, filling in well. The third photo on the right shows a second set of tracks, similarly recovering. Soil subjected to compaction takes time to recover, but will be encouraged by winter frost action and the grass is already re-establishing. Visual marks like these may be discernable even as long as next growing season, but will eventually merge in.