New
Hall School, a long-established Catholic boarding and day school, and
former Tudor palace, has recently installed a new 1.5km entrance
pathway using Langford Direct Ltd’s specialist Trailflex flexible
porous paving system.
Located
near Chelmsford in Essex, the New Hall estate was the Palace of
Beaulieu - home to Henry VIII and Mary Tudor. The school has occupied
this magnificent site since 1799.
The
idyllic location, surrounded by an immaculate landscape and protected
trees, was an important consideration for the school when choosing
the right material for the main pathway. Trailflex was specified for
the project due to its ability to adapt to the contours of the
terrain, whilst requiring very minimal disturbance to the landscape.
Nigel
Floyd, Estate Manager at New Hall School, commented, “Having
considered many different products, we decided to use Langford
Direct’s Trailflex material to create our new foot and cycle path.
It not only looks good, but the application did not come into contact
with the protected trees that surround it. We were impressed with how
fast and environmentally-friendly the application was.”
He
continued, “Since the new path was created it has been regularly
used and this hasn’t compromised the performance or appearance of
the surface. By using Trailflex we have been able to provide a
durable, hazard-free foot and cycle path for our students that also
benefits the landscape of the school.”
Applied
in a Silver Stone finish, the compact resin bound material also
presents a surface that complements the aesthetics of the historic
site, whilst giving the illusion of a natural gravel path.
Trailflex
was applied to the 1.5km pedestrian and cycle path which runs
parallel to the school’s main road entrance. The tree-lined pathway
carries a preservation order requiring the trees to be untouched or
undisturbed during any groundwork carried out. Requiring just 150mm
of digging, the application was able to avoid all damage or contact
to the tree roots.
Another
key benefit of Trailflex for the school
is its flexible qualities,
which will allow the material to flex with any movement of tree roots
without creating any damage to the surface. The material is created
using recycled car tyres to give it the flexibility, if needed, to
bend to 90° and cover any tree roots that may rise to the surface,
for a solid and seamless finish. This not only eliminates the trip
hazard of large cracks to pedestrians, but ensures the pathway will
not deteriorate and compromise its appearance.
Trailflex
is also SUDS compliant and offers a porous alternative to standard
asphalt surfacing material. The rubber aggregate is bound using a
specialist resin binder to create an unrivalled porous paving
solution that can filter up to 50,000 litres of water per square
metre of surface per hour to offer the fast and efficient natural
drainage of rainwater.
With
full 360° attenuation Trailflex allows rainwater to percolate
naturally back to the water table to replenish the groundwater that
is needed for the tree roots and surrounding plants to thrive, which
will ultimately prevent them from rising to the surface in search of
moisture. As all rainwater is quickly absorbed into the ground, the
likelihood of water build up and puddles is eliminated to make the
pathway a generally more pleasant route all year round. The tight
rubber and stone mix used to create Trailflex requires virtually no
maintenance and is clog free to ensure the drainage system remains
fully efficient.
Trailflex
is a one-part cold pour system and can be applied to new or existing
landscapes using minimal equipment and a time efficient process. The
material’s properties help it to set quickly once applied so that
the surface area can be reopened and used within 16 hours to keep
public and business disruptions to a minimum.
Further
information on Trailflex is available from the company on 0161
2121617, by emailing: info@sudstech.co.uk
or by visiting the company’s website at www.trailflex.co.uk
