Ebsford had geared up for two weeks of screening in York for a relatively new client, John Sisk & Son. The site due to be developed had become overrun with Japanese knotweed and required a complex solution to rid the site of infestation.
The planned project began, and everything was in place for the introduction of a great project, but the ground water had other ideas. It was discovered the ground couldn’t be excavated further than 500mm without creating a pond from an unknown source, requiring the original scope to be reconsidered.
The project was complex due to a restricted access, a built-up location, numerous invasives and a watercourse on-site, requiring a solution that allowed the large infrastructure works to continue on schedule whilst managing the expectations of the stakeholders. This involved shallow targeted excavations and the installation of a copper membrane to prevent root ingress. The Copper Root Barrier is a Geocomposite root barrier system consisting of a copper sheet mechanically encapsulated between a woven polypropylene geotextile and a high strength nonwoven polypropylene geotextile. The copper acts as a signal layer that all plants/roots avert their growth from. The copper foil only releases minute quantities of the copper ion and does not impact ground water which was essential due to the land drainage and watercourse.
Upon completion of the membrane installation, 800t was imported to reinstate the area for the local community, reprofiling the embankments to form the park area as part of the York’s Millennium Green. Ebsford are to be further involved with biosecurity talks and community engagement with York Council as part of their initiative educating the city on sustainability and the environment. As Invasives often work on residential construction sites, it’s rare to have a scheme that we can watch establish and be utilised, so this is certainly one we are proud of and excited to continue monitoring.
The chairman of the council said the following: “Special mention to the Site Manager for the way he handled the whole of the works and traffic, he was courteous and a very pleasant man and nothing was too much trouble for him. He is a credit to your company, and it was a pleasure to meet him. Once again thank you for a very good job.” Sometimes it’s the projects that don’t quite go to plan that end up being the most rewarding.
