GREEN & BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE
STUNNING SOLAR
POWERED PARK & RIDE
GOES GREEN IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
Stakes , belts and ties secure newly planted trees
Background : Green-tech has made a significant contribution to the UK ’ s first fully solar powered Park & Ride facility on the outskirts of Leeds in West Yorkshire . Designed by Mott Macdonald in partnership with main contractor BAM Nuttall , the brand new Stourton Park & Ride heralds in a new era of clean , green public transport .
Served by a fleet of fully electric buses that run into the city centre every ten minutes and forming part of the Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme , the Park & Ride will help towards a netzero carbon economy for the city by lowering carbon emissions , improving air quality , and reducing congestion .
A photovoltaic solar canopy covers a third of the site , which powers the terminal building , street lighting and vehicle charging points , and feeds excess electricity back into the local grid . The site provides 1,200 parking spaces along with 26 fast electric vehicle charging ports and 4 rapid chargers .
Care was taken to reduce the visual impact of the site from all directions ,
and over 11,000 trees have been planted in and around the park & ride site with an impressive 54:1 replacement ratio . The main central area includes raised Corten steel planters , shrubs , hedges , specimen and evergreen trees to provide yearround coverage , creating a soft , open and welcoming environment .
Green-tech involvement : Green-tech has a good working relationship with both Mott MacDonald and BAM Nuttall , and supplied all the stakes and crossbars , canes , tree belting and blocks to support the trees in the central area . All Green-tech square-sawn softwood and machine round stakes are FSC Certified and available from stock .
To protect the new perimeter planting from browsing animals and the elements Green-tech supplied 6,000 re-cyclable tree and shrub shelters , 450 square meters of 100 % re-cycled jute Ecomatt mulch matting , as well as 275,000 litres of ornamental bark for the planters and beds . The Ecomatt allows air and water to pass through the layers whilst suppressing weed growth and acting as valuable insulation around the root area .
To ensure the best chance of successful establishment , Greentech supplied 200,000 litres of soil improver to help optimise the structure and fertility of the soil , as well as over 300 sets of irrigation pipes with Aria inlets and Mona reservoir tanks . On the more exposed trees , Green-tech DropMan anchor systems were used , holding the tree stable without the risk of soil contamination from sleepers or kerb stones .
Finally , 1,000 square meters of impermeable gtRootBarrier ® 325 was used where there was a need to deter roots from spreading too far .
Well thought-out planting schemes enhance the main area
www . green-tech . co . uk
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