CLIP-TOGETHER PAVERS SOLVE OUT-OF-TOWN PARKING PROBLEM

An easy-to-lay plastic paving system from Netlon Turf Systems has provided an instant and cost effective answer to a temporary problem of insufficient parking facilities at an office complex on the outskirts of Peterborough.

Located on Peterborough's Thorpe Wood business park, the office block provides employment for nearly 2,000 people working for two separate companies. Due to recent expansion, the parking facilities had become severely limited and a considerable number of drivers were forced to park their cars on the site roadways. The lack of spaces meant that people were having to park some distance away from the main building, and as the area is quite isolated, this obviously presented a safety concern, particularly for women starting or finishing shifts after dark. A car sharing scheme would be difficult to implement as staff in both companies work shifts, and the problem was exacerbated when the local bus company withdrew its service up the drive to the building.

To alleviate the situation a central area of grassland was earmarked to provide additional temporary parking while an application for planning permission to convert a larger area into hard surface parking was lodged with the local council. Until the application is approved local planning restrictions mean that the grass surface has to be retained and no excavation work or any permanent alterations to the land are permitted. Parking directly on the grass would have provided a temporary solution, but the volume of traffic involved meant this was not an option during wet winter weather.

The solution came from Netlon Turf Systems in the form of Netpave 25, an easy-to-lay plastic paving system designed to protect turf from both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The half metre-square paver units were laid on top of the existing grass and were simply clipped together to form a stable surface suitable for parking. When they are no longer required, the pavers will simply be lifted and removed. Netlon also provided white plastic markers specially designed to slot into the cells of the mesh to mark out individual parking spaces.

The options available to the company whilst the planning application was being processed were very limited and Netpave 25 has provided extra parking facilities which comply with all the regulations and helped solve the problem. It can all be taken up again when the planning application has been approved, which makes it an ideal solution for the problem.

Thorpe Wood's new parking area is one of the largest single applications of Netpave 25 since its launch in the UK last year. The clip-together product has enjoyed considerable success since its introduction because of its effectiveness in a wide range of applications.

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