The Brewery Field Chronicles | Chapter Two | Digging into the detail

November 22, 2019
, 9:32 am
, News

Nobody ever said it would be easy. Turns out it’s a very complex process to get a pitch ready for action.
Dealing with the ‘root’ cause of The Brewery Field’s historical issues was far from a stroll in the park.
After the application process was completed and the cogs began to turn, we required a number of highly skilled and experienced companies were brought in to execute a plan which would make the dream a reality.
TGSM, a UK based Sports Surface Consultant, were the agronomists for the duration Spennymoor’s pitch transformation, while Cleveland Land Serviceswere the main contractors for the work. AV Irrigation, based in North Yorkshire, were also on board.
Over the course of a four-week plan, TGSM came up with a two-part process. Part A covered the new drainage aspects, while Part B focused irrigation.

HOW TO BUILD AND PROTECT A FOOTBALL LEAGUE PITCH

PART A: DRAINAGE

Remove existing vegetation
Cultivate and grade surface to reduce undulations
Install a drainage scheme.
Apply fertiliser
Apply sand
Establish turf from seed
Reinstate damage

PART B: IRRIGATION (DESIGN AND BUILD)

Install a fully automated pop-up irrigation system including a new tank and pump
Install a new ring main and lateral pipework into the pitch
Install sprinklers
Install controller

Tim Colclough, Consultant at TGSM, said: “We were responsible for the design and specification for the new pitch. This also included tendering the work and monitoring the construction and grow-in.
“The design and tender process took about six weeks in total. The aim was to remove all the major undulations, improve the drainage and install irrigation. We began work on Monday 20th May and the construction was finished by Thursday 20th June.
“The pitch is now smooth, the drainage is far better, and the automatic irrigation is working really well. We are delighted with the outcome of the work and it’s great to see the improvements it has made to the club.”
Director at Cleveland Land Services, Brian Dunn, said: “It was a big job from where the pitch was at previously. We came in and cultivated the top layer site before grading the topsoil layer. In order to get the required and precise finish we then laser graded the surface. Following that, we installed the primary drainage system which compromised of a 160mm main, 20mm laterals and a 3mm centre.
“Next came the irrigation system, which consisted of eight sprinklers at the centre of the pitch and eight on the outside of the pitch.
“The final stage was putting a 50mm sand layer on top of the pitch which linked the surface to the lateral drains. It was then we began the seeding process. At this stage, Mark Sleightholme took over, and he has done a phenomenal job with the pitch since.
“I think there have been 14 games or so at The Brewery Field since the first game in August, and we are over the moon with the final product. The project went really well, and we are delighted to have contributed to what is a fantastic facility.”
One man was at the ground throughout the entire process, witnessing the changes first hand. Club Secretary David Leitch, who has been at Spennymoor Town since 2009, said: “The pitch has been a task in the past shall we say, but over the summer, the CLS team came in and did a cracking job.
“It was amazing to see the pitch getting two inches skimmed off the top of the surface which revealed the layer of the pitch and how uneven it was!
“They had to go down further just to try and get all the turf off the top. A big part for me to recognise the scale of work we were getting done was seeing the laser guided bulldozer shift the earth. At one point it was pushing six and half feet of dirt just to try and level out the surface!
“It was fascinating to see the equipment throughout the drainage and irrigation process on a daily basis.”
Sometimes you need to dig deep to find the root of the problem. That was certainly the case for The Brewery Field.
But, thanks to the tremendous work of our contractors and consultancies, it’s a problem we don’t have to worry about anymore.
In the next chapter, ‘Let there be light’, we will be focusing on our new floodlights and the new electrical additions at The Brewery Field.
Check out Chapter One here!