Great Denham Country Park

Great Denham Park is a consortium housing development with David Wilson Homes (DWH), the lead developer, building over 2,800 homes during a 12 year period. Following an extensive landscape consultancy project working alongside DWH and their retained architects (Golby and Luck), our colleagues at TCL were appointed to deliver a multi-faceted £2.5m project creating play areas, sports facilities and a 150-acre country park including wetland areas.

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We were involved from the early planning stages of the development since 2009 and have had a key role in the extensive consultation with both DWH and Bedford Borough Council (BBC). DWH selected TCL to support this project both as a trusted long term partner but also due to the level of experience of multi-year, multi-service projects of this magnitude. Our project team were then able to utilise their expert knowledge to seek cost efficiencies through value engineering various aspects of the project.

Their work has helped us deliver significant operational cost savings and create an exceptional environment in which to live. Ian Bennett, DWH Project Manager

Through TCL Group’s integrated offering of a broad range of services, we were able to provide a service to DWH that helped deliver a more cost effective overall solution, saving over £1.5m versus the original project budgets. Quality of installation was ensured using TCL’s own directly employed colleagues throughout the project. Recognising the impact long term projects of this nature sometimes have on early occupancy residents, TCL worked hard to ensure disruption was minimised. In addition, many community initiatives, including tree planting workshops and play area openings, have created exceptional relationships with residents and helped deliver a development that DWH and occupants alike are proud of.

Scope of works

Consultancy: Consultancy assignment on behalf of DWH to work with BBC to agree a palette of play equipment, street furniture, fencing and estate railing provision, and to negotiate key landscape design changes with BBC.

Play Areas and street furniture: Installation of 27 play areas on site including LAPs, LEAPs and NEAPs, including a 6000 square meter, £0.5m central ‘Play Hub’, construction of 3 junior football pitches and 3 adult football pitches.

Cycleway and Footpaths: Installation of 1.5 kilometres of tarmac cycleway connecting to Bedford’s existing cycleway network, forming part of National Cycle Route 51, 2.2 kilometres of self-binding gravel finish footpath.

Native Planting/Seeding: Creating a series of formal and wild flora seeded areas, 35,000m2 in total, planting 12,000 transplants and trees within the Country Park, planting for all public open spaces, including trees and scrubs, amenity grassland and wildflower meadows, avenue tree planting and structural woodland planting.

Wetlands Area: Creating a series of ponds with linking streams, ditch clearing and maintenance, pedestrian and vehicular access bridges.

Water bodies and balancing features: Creating water features, fishing platforms and bridges, associated planting to promote habitat and biodiversity.

Fencing: Over 6000 meters of timber post and wire stock fencing to protect planting, stiles, pedestrian and vehicular access gates, play area safe fencing.

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