Public Places
“Martin recorded over 1100 mm of rain last year, and heavy rain continued into 2013, followed by snow and freezing temperatures, which resulted in a number of the winter sports fixtures having to be cancelled”
recent years, and since the building of a new housing complex adjacent to the ground, the pitches have not drained so well. Martin believes this may be due to the drainage pipes having been damaged during building works and that, over time, they have silted up resulting in the pitches lying wet and saturated after rain.
This has resulted in Martin struggling
to keep them playable and having to resort to applying a few tonnes of sand to restore levels and help surface drainage. The club’s only real option is to install a new drainage system when monies become available. Based on current costs, a new primary and secondary drainage system will cost in the region of £40,000- 50,000 per pitch and the club simply do not have the finances to cover that, so are looking into grants and loans to be able to undertake the work. The winter games pitches are in
constant use by several teams; the football pitches have to cater for four senior men’s and two ladies teams plus a raft of junior sides, whilst the rugby pitches are used by four senior men’s and one ladies team. Martin says that, when dry, they are some of the best playing surfaces in the region. Martin has a wealth of experience, having previously worked for fifteen years at Cirencester Golf Club, four years at Lillebrook Golf Club and two years at Puckrup Golf Club.
He trained as a mechanic which, he says, has come in handy as he is able to repair and maintain all his machinery on site. He reckons he has saved the club thousands of pounds in repairs and servicing bills alone, and he even sources secondhand machinery, restoring it if necessary to keep the costs down. One of his latest projects has been the restoration of a five year old John Deere
3225C five gang mower which will save him valuable time cutting the pitches. It now takes Martin two to three days to cut all the sportsfields and half a day to mark out all the pitches. The football pitches are maintained at a height of 25-40mm, whereas the rugby pitches are cut short in the summer at 25mm and left longer at 60mm in the winter. Clippings are left to fly to return nutrients.
An aeration programme is in place with the aim of slitting fortnightly using a Sisis outfield slitter, along with deep aeration, using a verti-drain, once a year in the autumn. Fertilising of the winter pitches is
carried out in spring, summer and autumn using a range of granular fertiliser products (6-8 bags per pitch). Last year he began with a 6:4:8 slow release, followed by a 12:0:9, and went into the winter with 4:12:12.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156