Coach park underway!
Sophie Nash is Project Officer for the Westonbirt Project. She organises the logistics of the project, working with architects and project managers for various elements to deliver the works.
You may have seen work starting on the car park as you drive into the arboretum. But what you wouldn't have been able to see, screened by an existing Cypress hedge, is the work on the brand new coach park, which is much further advanced.
The coach park is formed by using a digger and a roller (image above shows work taking place on 22 February). The digger scrapes the top soil away to reveal the limestone just below the surface - we were fortunate that this limestone was so close to the surface as on many construction sites stone is imported from quarries to create a foundation layer. The fact that the limestone at Westonbirt is so close to the surface meant that we were able to use a roller to compact it and create the hard initial layer.
The image above (4 March) shows the surface compacted, ready for drainage and surfacing. The drainage will protect the local water source by using an oil interceptor.
For more details about the Westonbirt Project
