Sureset Resin Bound Surfacing Shows The Way For The Trans Pennine Trail At Hornsea - And With A Guarantee Now Extended To Ten Years |
The Trans Pennine Trail stretches 215 miles from the coast at Southport in the West to Hornsea in the East. There has never been anything to actually celebrate the end or beginning of the trail in Hornsea, only a seafront waymarker similar to that at the Southport end. To rectify this The Hornsea Area Regeneration Partners (HARP) raised funding to develop a disused plot of land some 150 metres inland from the shore and formerly the Hornsea Railway Station forecourt. HARP group consulted with Andrew Muddiman, Landscape Architect with East Riding of Yorkshire Council who, in conjunction with the group, the town council and local residents designed a striking ‘marker’ based on a railway theme to reflect the sites past and which provides, amongst other things, references to all locations along the trail’s route. The ground surface design prominently features a large directional arrow pointing the way back in the direction of Southport, 215 miles away.
Andrew Muddiman takes up the story: ‘ When I began researching material for the project and trying to realise the types of surfaces and colours ideally required I started by looking at a variety of surfacing, from pavers to coloured macadams and concrete, along with resin bound materials. To me the resin bound surface treatments appeared more vibrant in colour and texture. The extensive range of materials available also increased my options and would fit comfortably alongside the pallet of other materials being utilised throughout the project. The clients were initially sceptical as a previous ‘award winning’ scheme on Hornsea sea front using ‘resin bound’ materials had suffered huge problems and received considerable criticism, so too had another major scheme undertaken at Sewerby Hall, Bridlington.
Amongst the ‘resin bound’ companies approached SureSet appeared to be well ahead with its seven-year guarantee (now increased to ten years) and the laying technique was much different to that used on the failed schemes. The colours and material offered fitted with my scheme and what I was hoping to achieve and so felt confident at including SureSet in my specifications.
Both the East Riding Clerk of Works for the site and myself were equally impressed when visiting the site to monitor progress. We could see from the techniques being used and the thickness of materials being laid this would be a quality product. We could also see immediately this was a totally different surface to that which had failed elsewhere.
HARP, as the client, are extremely pleased with the final outcome, as are local residents.’
BONDED OR BOUND SURFACES – IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?
There is sometimes confusion between resin bound SureSet and resin bonded competitive systems and this would appear to be the reason for material and surface failure at the two previously mentioned projects. A resin bound system is impregnated all the way through in its entirety, each particle of material being fully coated with resin, giving durability and, most importantly, a safe finish with no loose material. Resin bonded treatments invariably only have a base coat of resin upon which the aggregate is laid, with a top sealing coat. This treatment requires removal of loose aggregate subsequent to laying and, obviously, lacks the integral strength of SureSet. Depth of material also differs greatly; bonded surfaces are only laid to 3mm with SureSet being laid to 12mm to 24mm, not just for increased durability but the company consider this depth essential to give an acceptable even surface.
Although the Trans Pennine Trail project highlights the potential of SureSet as a versatile surfacing system for the unusual other application possibilities are endless with the system having been used extensively elsewhere for access roads and car parks, driveways, footpaths and cycleways, patios and pool surrounds and even internally. In addition to natural gravel 1,000 plus formulae are available, including recycled glass in a variety of colours, imported marble or even crushed CD’s. SureSet believe the features their system offers are second to none and, as mentioned previously, come with a guarantee recently extended to ten years. From this range Andrew Muddiman selected 6mm Autumn Tan gravel and 6mm Atlantic Blue Glass for the directional arrow and 6mm Tuscan Terracotta for an adjacent ‘railway track’ feature approaching the ‘marker’.
SureSet also installed 100 metres of metal edging to create the shapes, a facility that again increases scope for the imaginative designer.
SureSet provides a nationwide supply and lay service for the larger contract and for designers and specifiers comprehensive data in PDF format can be downloaded from the company’s web site www.sureset.co.uk
