TOPSOIL helps community charity rejuvenate pitches
Pitches at the Nene Valley Community Centre and Sports Complex in Peterborough are being rejuvenated, thanks to the Peterborough Football & Sports Development Foundation (PFSDF) and local businesses, including British Sugar TOPSOIL.
The lease for the Nene Valley facility has recently been acquired by the PFSDF, who are working closely with businesses in the area to rejuvenate the site for the benefit of the local community.
Constructed in 2009 and covering one hectare, the pitches have become compacted and heavily worn. Cambridgeshire-based Sports Surface Consultant and qualified groundsman Mel Pooley recommended that British Sugar TOPSOIL’s Sports & Turf dressing be used to open up the pitches’ soil profile, improve drainage and help with seed establishment.
Sports & Turf is a blend of 80% sand and 20% of British Sugar TOPSOIL’s BS3882:2015 certified topsoil. The sand is predominantly medium to coarse (67%) and sub angular in shape, which assists free drainage and promotes good integration into the surface of the turf. The soil within the blend contains both phosphorous and potassium, which contributes to soil fertility and encourages healthy growth.
80 tonnes of Sports & Turf were delivered to the sports complex in 8-wheeled lorries on 19th April 2017 and stockpiled, ready for loading into a spreader. The dressing was then applied by Mel Pooley once overseeding with a disc slit seeder had been carried out, ensuring good soil to seed contact. This aids germination and protects the seed from birds.
The seed is already establishing well and it is anticipated the pitches will be back in use this coming autumn.
Wendy Newey, Secretary of the Peterborough & District Football League, said: “The object of the PFDSF charity is to benefit the pubic generally, both in the UK and overseas, but in particular the inhabitants of Peterborough and its surrounding areas. We aim to promote community participation in healthy recreation by providing facilities for the playing of association football and other sports capable of improving health. The support received from British Sugar TOPSOIL at Nene Valley has been first class and we couldn’t have got to the stage we are currently at without them.”
National TOPSOIL Manager Andy Spetch said: “Sports & Turf is the newest product in the TOPSOIL range and I am delighted that we have been given this opportunity to show what it can do whilst supporting a terrific local, sports-focused, charity. Trials of the product at the Sports Turf Research Institute in Bingley end in June but we can already witness the beneficial effects of Sports & Turf at Nene Valley.”
