Trailflex leads the way to historic school
New Hall School, a long-established Catholic boarding and day school, and former Tudor palace, has installed a new 1.5km entrance pathway using Langford Direct’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 degrees 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
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Langford Direct
http://www.langforddirect.co.uk
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