Project Details
Project
Market Place
Location
Bishop Auckland, England
Date
July 2023
About The Project
The market town of Bishop Auckland was once one of the jewels in County Durham’s crown. A thriving centre for manufacturing and engineering, and an ideal hub for South Durham, featuring the majestic castle, home over the years to the Bishops of Durham.
Over the past 10-15 years a great deal of funding and planning has been put in place to bring Bishop Auckland back to its former glory, and position it as a destination for both business and tourism.
As part of Phase 2 of the Renaissance works, funded by Durham County Council’s Capital Programme and Urban & Rural Renaissance Initiative, the Market Place underwent a comprehensive update. Additional full-sized parking bays and taxi rank, improved pedestrian access, and an overall increase in amenity space in front of the Town Hall for civic and community activities was added, as well as the bustling weekly Food Producers and Crafters Market, held on the last Thursday of the month.
What was done
As the UK’s largest supplier of landscape products and services, Green-tech works hand in hand with many of the District Councils throughout the UK. Over 30 trees were planted around the Market Place, and due to a combination of pedestrian and vehicular over-run, geo-cellular units were used to protect the soil in the tree pits from compaction.
This enabled the use of a good quality, organic topsoil to be used, as opposed to a structural tree sand, and Green-tech supplied over 300 tonnes of their manufactured British Standard topsoil for the tree pits, along with tree anchors, Mona irrigation with cast aluminium inlets, and root barrier where required.
To fit subtly in with the York stone paving slabs, Durham City Council opted for Green-tech’s GT Resi-Grilles. A mix of resin bound aggregate set within a custom-made, recessed tree grille, that supports the trafficking load and protects the rootball.
Green-tech’s Resibond is an easy to install, porous, resin-bound surface layer. It is ideal for tree surroundings in hard landscaping areas as it reduces the build-up of litter and negates trip hazards. Classed as a “hard surface”, once installed, it is durable, able to withstand pedestrian footfall, wheelchairs and prams, and is practically maintenance-free.
The ResiGrilles can be supplied with the Resibond already in place, or it can be mixed on site, whichever the contractors prefer. Resibond can also be used freeform without the grille tray, simply set within kerbstones or paving. The aggregate is available in a choice of five standard colours, and being porous, allows the transmission of both air and water into the tree pits.
