Background:
Formally an airfield, the site of Alconbury Weald was acquired by property company Urban & Civic in 2009. Currently in development, and with a 20-year timescale, the site will boast a 3 million sq. foot Enterprise Zone, 5,000 new homes, 3 primary schools, community facilities and 700 acres of open spaces and sporting amenities when completed.
The work:
The principal Landscape Architects, Bradley Murphy Design (BMD), met with Wildflower Turf in Hampshire in the autumn of 2014, to request tailored advice as to the most appropriate products to specify as part of the initial development designs for a very discerning client, Urban & Civic.
Urban & Civic have very high standards of delivery and wanted to ensure that everyone involved in their supply chain completed as much due diligence as possible to ensure that the results on site were exactly as they envisioned. This resulted in BMD requesting a series of small pilot sites of a wide range of Wildflower Turf products (Wildflower Turf® and Wildflower Earth, both ‘off-the-shelf’ mixes and bespoke mixes) a full year in advance of installation, to assess the results before choosing the final specification and products to be installed as part of the development.
Landscape contractors Whiting Landscape Ltd completed a very thorough job in setting up, installing and pictorially tracking the multiple pilot sites over time. The planting trials commenced in May 2015 and concluded the following winter 2015/16, with the first permanent installations starting on site in the spring of 2016.
As part of their commitment to ensuring that the wildflowers were installed correctly, Whiting Landscape Ltd attended training at Wildflower Turf Ltd and have since become an Accredited Partner.
One of the top performers in the trials was a bespoke Woodland Edge Mix, designed specifically by BMD to blend beautifully with the existing woodland area and provide a seamless transition from the woodland into open public green space.
Since 2016, approximately 2,500m² of Wildflower Turf and approximately 5,000m² of Wildflower Earth has been shipped to site, with more shipments planned for the future.
The results:
Working closely with the contractors, and with the ability to develop unique and individual blends based on specific requirements, Wildflower Turf have delivered product solutions to ensure that the landscape of Alconbury Weald is, and remains, impactful and sustainable, just as the client planned.
Testimonial:
“Working closely with Wildflower Turf Ltd in the development of an approach for Alconbury Weald was fundamental to the success of wildflowers implemented throughout the scheme.
Utilising the range of products available and bespoke mixes, we’ve been able to ensure a balance between instant impact in targeted areas and cost effective delivery, with some great responses from the client, local residents and visitors to the site.”
Harry Powell, Bradley Murphy Design Ltd