Greenwich Park
The 73ha park is London’s oldest Royal Park, created in 1433, and has been a World Heritage Site since 1997. It was a gift from King James I to his wife Queen Anne, who commissioned a home for herself on the site, now known as the Queen’s House and providing the backdrop to the main arena.
It has numerous archaeological features, veteran trees and protected species, and is home to many historic buildings include the Royal Observatory, Royal Naval College and National Maritime Museum.
LOCOG has worked closely with the Royal Parks, Natural England, English Heritage and Sport England to ensure that all their needs are met during the construction phase.
After the games, the park will be restored to the Royal Parks’ satisfaction, with the final sign off in 2015.
Veteran trees
Greenwich Park has more veteran trees than any other park in the country, and protecting their roots from damage is essential. No vehicle heavier than a golf buggy can drive in their root area, and their surrounds are woodchipped to avoid damage by the horses’ hooves.
Bowser irrigation behind GPS tractor and safety requirements.”
They also found themselves taking on a PR role. The decision to host the equestrian events in Greenwich Park had been controversial from the start, with protesters concerned about damage to the park and impact on the community. Despite a concerted publicity campaign and the backing of the council, formal protests took place at the test event and objectors have continued to make their feelings known to the media. “We would get fifteen to twenty people a day stop us and ask what was going on. Local objectors have made their feelings known but, in general, we found people to be very positive. We aimed to make any disruption minimal and most residents are excited by the potential benefits,” commented Lee. LOCOG Equestrian Manager, Tim Hadaway, said: “LOCOG engaged
STRI as its contractor because of their expertise in ecological work, and they have worked a miracle, taking sparse, desert-like terrain to a lush green surface resembling a golf course. “The standards required for equestrian sport have risen dramatically since Sydney 2000, when I first became involved at this level - the quality of riding surface has to be as good as a racecourse, or better.”
He added: “ The FEI’s technical delegate walked the course with me before the test event and he was highly impressed with what has been achieved.”
Lee added that the surface is performing at about eighty percent of the quality that it will be for 2012. “We are almost there with the turf establishment but, as it is not a closed site, we have to deal with damage from public use. Charlton
The all weather arena
All weather competition and practice areas have been installed by contractor Andrews Bowen to give the consistent footing required for high traffic during dressage and jumping events
The main arena, constructed by The Structure Group, is on 2,000 stilts to avoid penetrating the surface of the park. Each stilt can be adjusted for height via a screw mechanism. A membrane and blinding layer is overlaid with a plastic box section drainage layer, and then topped with a sand and fibre mix. This can be harrowed to provide a ‘fluffy’ surface for horses, but was also rolled and compacted for the running and shooting phases of the modern pentathlon test event.
A grandstand with 2,000 seats was installed for the test event but, in 2012, 22,000 spectators will enjoy a birds’ eye view across London from their seats.
Not just turf
The cross country course makes full use of the park’s undulations, and this downhill run between fences was too heavily shaded to support a stable turf surface. So, the contractors sourced a crushed stone skin – but this had to match the pH of the local acidic soil. Northamptonshire company, Bennie Stone, supplied the right material and this was mixed in and graded.
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