Manchester April 2017

MANCHESTER

the northern powerhouse dream or reality?

INTERVIEW

DAVID BINKS LANDSTRUCTION

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transforming

Birley fields

campus gillespies 20/03/2017 16:26

Helping you achieve the perfect outdoor space CED Stone Group Welcomes Corfe Stone to “the Family” Stone Group announces that it has acquired the Corfe Stone sales centre and distribution depot in Hooton, Cheshire. While the new site will continue trading under the respected Corfe Stone name, it will be known internally as CED North West - Corfe.

Adding to CED’s existing five nationwide depots, the acquisition works towards Managing Director Giles Heap’s ambition to position CED Stone as the leading UK supplier of top quality natural stone & hard landscaping products. It is part of a growth initiative put in place for the period up to 2020, which includes a goal to substantially increase market share.

Giles Heap comments, “I have been looking to add another depot to the company for a while now and it became apparent that a depot in the North West of England would be ideal.

When we discovered a small, reputable natural stone company was up for sale, about eight miles from our perfect location, we leapt at the chance.

“Like CED, Corfe Stone is a family-owned company, which has been trading for over thirty years. Its products, traditions and customer service ethos are very similar to ours. The business is a great fit for us and we look forward to serving Corfe’s loyal customer base.”

Corfe Stone’s existing staff of ten will remain at the heart of the business, bringing with them highly valuable experience, knowledge and customer relationships. Giles Heap adds, “Having met the team, I am certain that we will all work together very well. I look forward to seeing what they will bring to our rapidly growing CED family.”

Showrooms Nationwide

enquiries@ced.ltd.uk

London East

London East

Midlands

North West

01895 422411

01773 769916

01513 275555

(West Thurrock)

01708 867237

(West Drayton)

(Langley Mill)

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(Corfe Stone)

www.ced.ltd.uk Scotland

Ireland

01324 841321

02882 258457

(Castlecary)

(Omagh)

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CONTENTS

FROM THE

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EDITOR

elcome to our Manchester Supplement.

As part of our series of regional focuses, the spotlight this month falls on Manchester and its surrounding area. This supplement will give you an insight into this diverse region, which has a real mixture of regeneration projects, new builds both domestic and commercial, and what seems like the transfer of the UK media world.

Landscaping and the green environment are playing a key role in Manchester’s development.

Eljays44 Ltd

3 Churchill Court, 112 The Street, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 2DA Tel: 01903 777 570

Jim Wilkinson – Managing Director jim.wilkinson@eljays44.com

04 agenda 07 NEWS

Lisa Wilkinson – Editorial Director lisa.wilkinson@eljays44.com Joe Wilkinson – Managing Editor joe.wilkinson@eljays44.com

interviews 08 landstruction 12 inleaf 14 beech landscapes 16 Butler landscapes

Nina Mason – Deputy Editor nina.mason@eljays44.com Jamie Wilkinson – Business Development Manager jamie.wilkinson@eljays44.com Luke Chaplin – Group Sales Manager luke.chaplin@eljays44.com Susie Duff – Production Editor susie.duff@eljays44.com

PORTFOLIOS 19 stephen martlew 22 gillespies

LANDSTRUCTION David Binks

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Jim Wilkinson @jimeljays

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We hope you enjoy reading this supplement and that it shines a light on so many fantastic companies working within the area, and gives you an insight into some of the projects that have been undertaken where landscaping plays a central role. It’s also worth checking out our agenda feature, looking at the what the government’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ scheme means for landscaping.

Happy reading.

Charlie Cook – Subeditor charlotte.cook@eljays44.com Published by ©Eljays44 Ltd – Connecting Horticulture

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Birley Fields Campus

Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, Gwent, UK Pro Landscaper is published 12 times per year by Eljays44 Ltd. The 2017 subscription price is £95.00.

Subscription records are maintained at Eljays44 Ltd, 3 Churchill Court, 112 The Street, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 3DA, UK. Articles and information contained in this publication are the copyright of Eljays44 Ltd and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publishers. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for loss of, or damage to, uncommissioned photographs or manuscripts.

Whilst every effort has been made to maintain the integrity of our advertisers, we accept no responsibility for any problem, complaints, or subsequent litigation arising from readers’ responses to advertisements in the magazine. We also wish to emphasise that views expressed by editorial contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers. Reproduction of any part of this magazine is strictly forbidden.

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AGENDA

AGENDA Q: DO YOU THINK THE NORTHERN POWERHOUSE WILL BECOME A REALITY AND WILL IT BENEFIT THE LANDSCAPING SECTOR?

Danny Crump Director of urbanism, Broadway Malyan For the Northern Powerhouse to ful l its promise and potential it must overcome myriad challenges, but most importantly, it will only succeed if there is true political collaboration across the region s key cities.

A uni ed voice and pan-regional thinking are essential elements of leveraging the funding and investment necessary to deliver the major infrastructure projects that are fundamental to the Northern Powerhouse vision, and although heading in the right direction, we re probably not there yet.

Nevertheless, the tangible bene ts of a Northern Powerhouse are already clear, with strong anecdotal evidence that investors are increasingly attracted to the long term potential of a uni ed region.

However, uni ed doesn t mean uniform.

Individual cities must strive to develop their own identity through high quality placemaking to ensure they provide a contextual, engaging and healthy environment for residents and workers alike.

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Chris Whittingham

Matthew Spedding

Commercial director, Hultons Landscapes The Northern Powerhouse vision of a vibrant and growing economy across the region is an exciting opportunity for all sectors, including landscaping. For us, it s about when, rather than if, the Northern Powerhouse becomes a reality as we are already seeing major projects underway, especially in the Manchester area.

We believe the landscaping industry will bene t greatly from the in ow of initiatives across multiple sectors, including a host of major transport and infrastructure projects, the attraction of blue chip businesses to the region and the upturn in residential developments.

We have already bene ted directly with the award of a multimillion-pound public realm landscaping package as part of the rdsall hord rail enhancement project to link Manchester s main stations.

Managing director, Turf Group From our head o ce in Lancashire, around 0 of all arti cial grass orders are delivered south of the Midlands. I strongly believe that landscape material suppliers in the north of ngland are perfectly placed to service the K as a whole. We run our own eet of delivery vehicles allowing us to be in central London tra c permitting within four hours, and in Glasgow within three hours. ur largest customers are positioned in heshire, however due to funding within the educational sector the majority of their work is in the south, which has a direct impact on where we ship materials to. ver the next ve years I expect to see a shift in the location of distribution centres as companies look to capitalise on the ourishing cities in key northern locations.

Landscaping as a whole is booming, and this is excellent to see

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20/03/2017 13:09

AGENDA

David T. Binks Daniel Binns

John Meehan

Business development director, Mitie Landscapes espite signi cant changes around the cabinet table, the government appears to be steaming ahead with the Northern Powerhouse and published its strategy in November 2016. This promises signi cant investment in infrastructure, the establishment of new enterprise zones across the north, and the devolution of power to directly elected mayors. This can only be a good thing for the landscaping sector if economic growth is realised and capital projects come to fruition.

As a national supplier, Mitie Landscapes is able to respond to clients’ needs wherever they are based in the UK. We are advocates of the local economy and directly employ horticultural staff within their own localities.

I believe the Northern Powerhouse will become a reality, but since 2016 we have learnt that nothing is certain in politics.

Associate landscape architect, Sweco We are positive that the Northern Powerhouse concept can contribute to a bridging of the gap between the north and south.

However, we have to set our sights high, and if the Northern Powerhouse is to truly mean something it requires both enhanced policy support and increased investment from the private sector to shield it from local authority budgetary constraints. The BBC’s move to Salford Quays has been an example of how a shift of attention away from London and how a development, which gives its full attention to its surrounding external space, can change the perception of an area.

The aim for the north should be to reach a point at which budgets attributed to the landscape element of schemes matches the creative ambition of landscape architects – perhaps something which is only truly achieved in London at present.

Managing director, Landstruction Ltd The chance to devolve more responsibility, autonomy and budgets from London is perhaps a once in a generation opportunity, which I rmly believe would be of bene t to the north of England and Wales.

This ambitious strategy continues to build on the existing success of northern cities which have already seen signi cant funding committed by government. Hopefully the additional resources would allow wider conversations between complementary industries, such as architects and landscapers, on how the monies could be effectively used both in urban and rural environments. Improved transport infrastructure would also enable northern businesses to access wider markets and increase their pool of resources.

Construction is very strong across the north and the landscaping industry can certainly play an integral part in any future success. It also presents an opportunity to raise the pro le of northern based landscape designers.

“IT WILL ONLY SUCCEED IF THERE IS TRUE POLITICAL COLLABORATION ACROSS THE REGION’S KEY CITIES” www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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MANCHESTER

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20/03/2017 13:09

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Wide range of turfs available immediate for all applications including despatch Full rolls, cut lengths and all landscape, sport, play ancillary products Wide range of turfs available available for and commercial immediate Dedicated for all applications including despatch trade account managers and landscape, sport,Wide playrange of turfs available technical expertise available from for all applications including our installation and commercial managers Dedicated landscape, sport, play trade account managers and and commercial

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on average there are strong candidate applications per job

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official job board:

visit the website at horticulturecareers.co.uk call liam today on 01903 777570

Manchester_ads.indd 2

20/03/2017 11:55

NEWS

NEWS

Civic Engineers results show year of amazing growth

CW Studio’s Ellesmere Street scheme under construction Construction has commenced at Ellesmere Street, astle eld, where Manchester based W Studio has designed the public realm and private courtyard associated with this 1.25 acre residential development.

A stepped granite terrace with striking metallic planters and stone seating steps provides an attractive public open space and a welcoming entrance to the development, while visually appealing planting will provide year round interest.

The courtyard garden will provide a relaxing space for residents. Raised planters allow plants and multi-stem trees to be grown on the roof, while oversi ed pebbles create sculptural seating.

Planting includes clipped yew hedging, ornamental grasses, perennials, ferns and spring bulbs. arolyn Willitts, director of W Studio, said This is such a wonderful project to work on. We are excited about creating bold public realm and a special outdoor space for residents to enjoy. www.cwstudio.co.uk

Civil and structural engineering practice, Civic Engineers, has announced its results for the end of its nancial year to February 201 . Between March 2016 and end of February 201 , the company saw its turnover increase by over 5 , from 1. m to 3.4m. The headcount also reached 60, up from 30 a year ago. The practice has its largest studio in Manchester, as well as studios in London and Leeds.

Founding director ulian Broster commented We are delighted to be able to announce such signi cant growth during this nancial year. It has been an exciting year for us expanding the business, in particular opening a new Leeds studio and recruiting more highly talented team members. www.civicengineers.com

Gillespies supports new Metrolink in heart of Manchester

Hultons awarded multimillion-pound Ordsall Chord project

Gillespies has supported the planning, design and TWA consenting for the Manchester Second ity rossing M2 , a new Metrolink line running through Manchester ity entre.

The new line traverses some of the city s main public spaces and passes through Conservation Areas and sensitive buildings such as the Royal xchange Theatre and Grade I listed Town Hall.

Gillespies has been responsible for driving forward the aesthetics of the alignment and structures, ensuring a sympathetic and complementary integration with the urban realm and streetscape. www.gillespies.co.uk

Hultons Landscapes has announced that it has been awarded a multimillion-pound public realm and landscaping project in the centre of Manchester.

Part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative aimed at boosting economic growth in the north of the country, The rdsall hord project forms part of Network Rail s over 1bn rail upgrade plan for the north, providing better connectivity, faster journey times and improved capacity to major cities across the region. The rdsall hord project will provide a new section of railway linking Manchester s main stations.

Works across a large public realm area will include natural stone paving with

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associated ground works, installation of bespoke in situ press cast concrete units, soft landscaping and lighting.

Managing director Lee Webster said We are delighted to be involved in what is an iconic project for the region.

With our head o ce located local to site it gives us great pride to be contributing directly to the Northern Powerhouse vision.

This is another milestone in the progression of our business. www.hultonslandscapes.com

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INTERVIEW

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LANDSTRUCTION DAVID BINKS david binks talks business, domestic and commercial work, rhs shows and his core beliefs when it comes to staff

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INTERVIEW

What made you want to get into landscaping?

You could say horticulture’s in my blood – my grandfather had a tree nursery and my father is a Hillier trained nurseryman, with a landscaping company in the north east. Since I was a child I’ve had a pair of secateurs and a wheelbarrow.

Following university, I was working in the e-commerce department at Tesco and realised that being office based wasn’t for me, so I decided to pick up my trusty secateurs and wheelbarrow again. At this point I had a really good grasp of soft landscaping principles, but then focused on hard landscaping detail and construction. During this time I was fortunate enough to work with Paul Hensey at RHS Tatton Park.

It was during my time working at Tatton that I met my wife – one thing led to another and I decided to leave North Yorkshire for Cheshire.

Tell us about the company.

Landstruction was set up in 2010 as a team of two – it was myself and one of the now contract managers.

Despite being a tiny company at the time, we were approached in 2011 regarding a show garden at RHS Tatton Park. The designers (Howard and Dori Miller) were friends of a friend and the client was Oxfam.

There was pretty much zero budget, so we sponsored the construction of the garden.

It’s quite a risk to sponsor your first show garden…

Yes, it was a bit ballsy. But I loved the design and the message behind it. We won a Gold medal and received a lot of press coverage from it, so the gamble paid off.

space, so it’s quite a luxury. We received our third successive Gold medal in 2013 for the ‘NSO: Watch This Space’ garden, at which point the RHS floated the idea of building a Fresh garden at Chelsea.

Following rounds of funding qualifications and rigorous checks with Howard and Dori, the Science and Technology Facilities Council agreed to sponsor the ‘NSO: Dark Matter’ garden in 2015; it was a representation of ‘us’ on earth looking into space, analysing how light particles react to dark matter. The garden was a big hit with the BBC and won Best Fresh Garden and our fourth Gold medal.

Does doing RHS Chelsea help you day to day?

There’s nobody else in the north west that has Gold from RHS Chelsea as far as I’m aware. Whilst the details are on our website, we haven’t actively publicised our awards in the past. Our show gardens have demonstrated our expertise which we hope speaks for itself. However, I am delighted that we have recently appointed Charlie Du Pré as our new marketing and business development manager.

Charlie will be responsible for the creation of the company’s first ever marketing, public relations and events strategy. It’s a real coup for the business and testament to our ambitious plans for the future.

“HOWARD MILLER IS AN ARCHITECT BY TRADE, SO HE COMES UP WITH THE MOST ABSTRACT, WACKY CONCEPTS, AND BETWEEN US WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUILD THEM”

How many staff do you employ now?

We currently have 25 people on the ground and six office staff, but we’re actively recruiting at the moment.

Are you in a good catchment area for staff?

We’ve got people with half an hour drives to work – when you’re working physically, anything beyond that

Has this helped your business in the long run?

The quality of enquiries improved, and as workload increased we started taking on a few more guys and running another van. We did Tatton Park again in 2012 building the ‘Q-CAT World Without Torture’ show garden which won another Gold medal.

In 2013 we built another show garden at Tatton, which was sponsored by the National Schools’ Observatory (NSO) and designed once again by Howard and Dori. The steer of the garden was to raise awareness of astronomy in school children – it was a really cool set up. Howard is an architect by trade who’s now become a landscape architect, so he comes up with the most abstract, wacky concepts, and between us we figure out how to build them.

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How long do you get at Tatton?

RHS Tatton is a two-week build and you get a lot of

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isn’t sustainable. As I know from experience, there’s nothing worse than doing a ten hour day, then driving an hour back from site, to then have another hour’s drive home. We aim to recruit locally to make it viable for everyone. We have a real focus on how we operate as a team, with a strong ‘recruit and retain’ philosophy.

Do you find it easy to recruit?

We’ve changed our approach to recruitment over the past 12 months – we now have a day’s induction, so we can assess a candidate’s knowledge base from the outset. From a health and safety perspective they need to be up to speed with how we do things, and from a customer service point of view they need to know how we expect them to interact with other members of staff and clients.

Having skills is one thing, but having the right attitude is fundamental. You can teach someone to plant trees, install fences or lay paving, but you can’t teach someone to be trustworthy, approachable and friendly. For me it’s as much about the client experience as the end product.

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Are you in a competitive area?

I’d say I’m very aware of who our competition is.

There are only a handful of names that crop up when projects go to competitive tender. I’m not going to take on a contract just for the sake of saying ‘we won it’.

It’s got to be worth everyone’s while.

Do you find your work is primarily in Manchester?

It’s Manchester, Liverpool and Wrexham. We’re based in North Wales, just off the M56, so we’re ideally located for servicing a large area. The Welsh market and the process in which money is spent is completely different from that in England, and it’s interesting to see how different governments allocate funding.

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There are some nice money pockets around there, too.

Yes, we’re really lucky from a private landscaping point of view. But in 2014, when I realised it wasn’t sustainable for me to be on the ground all the time as well as trying to expand the business, we took a step back from private work. There just weren’t enough hours in the day for a business trying to grow.

We then focused purely on commercial builds until we had enough strength and depth in our external works team that I was happy putting my name to the hard landscaping. That’s what I really wanted to focus on. In 2016 we did some fairly big hard and soft landscaping schemes, and then got back in touch

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INTERVIEW

with designers and architects that we used to work with to let them know we were back in the top end domestic market. We’ve been really fortunate in that respect – even though we haven’t worked with them for a few years, they were still keen to work with us.

Is there a lot of commercial work going on around here?

I’d say so, yes, it’s quite a buoyant market.

Is that new builds or redevelopment?

It’s quite a lot of new build and infrastructure work.

We’ve just finished a large scheme at a development called HQ in Wilmslow working with the talented Carolyn Willitts. The build involved the installation of bespoke granite paving, kerbs and setts supplied by Hardscape, along with some stylish planting. It was a great scheme to be involved in.

Do you do maintenance as well?

Yes, we believe that if a client has made the investment in their external space, without a prescribed programme of maintenance and aftercare the value of that investment is going to dwindle. We ensure that sites continue to develop according to the specification, with enhancements in appearance leading to an increase in value over time.

So, the plan is to now move back into the domestic market?

I think it would be a small percentage of the overall business but it’s something I’m really passionate about. From a build point of view you end up doing a bit of everything, and it’s quite interesting

skills wise. I just need to make sure I don’t get too involved again!

The companies you’re looking to work with are all big names, aren’t they?

In 2014 when the decision was made to step back from private schemes, it made me really focus on the infrastructure of the business. We went through CHAS, Constructionline, Investors In People and BALI membership last year as they are all strong associations and accreditations; the companies we’re wanting to work with need to see a sustainable framework to the business. We’re doing ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 this year to add even more weight to the business.

How is your supply chain in terms of nurseries?

We made a decision last year to refresh our supply chain as we’d become a little complacent. This was a really useful exercise and opened our eyes to the number of quality nurseries in the region. We love using Ladybrook Nurseries in Stockport, they’re truly passionate about the plants they supply. For semimature trees Specimen Trees near Knutsford is hard to beat for quality and product knowledge.

How active is BALI in the north west?

Prior to us becoming members, I was invited to a BALI dinner near Manchester by Chris Swan from Green-tech, and there was a really good buzz there.

Since becoming a BALI member last year, these events seem to happen less regularly, so it would be great to see some more events in our region – they’re a great platform for meeting other people passionate about our industry.

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“HAVING SKILLS IS ONE THING, BUT HAVING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE IS FUNDAMENTAL. YOU CAN’T TEACH PEOPLE TO BE TRUSTWORTHY, APPROACHABLE AND FRIENDLY”

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INTERVIEW

INLEAF CHARLOTTE ATHERTON charlotte atherton, co-founder of interior landscaping franchise inleaf, discusses why businesses is booming in manchester

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INTERVIEW Charlotte, when did you set up Inleaf and why?

Myself and my husband started Inleaf as we were looking for a new opportunity. We felt that the combination of our skills and backgrounds was ideal for the interior landscaping business – plants and design are a real passion of mine. Inleaf is in its fourth year now and we’re loving every moment.

What was your background?

From an early age my ambition was to become a landscape architect, so I pursued this straight out of school, working part time at a local garden centre to grow my knowledge of plants whilst at college and then whilst studying landscape architecture at university. After graduating I worked within the landscape architecture departments of two large PLCs for several years, involved in large commercial schemes. I left to co-found Inleaf.

How is the company set up?

Myself and my husband Daniel are still at the forefront of driving the business forward and we have a small team that works around us that look after maintenance and administration. I look after a lot of the creative aspects of the business whilst Daniel focuses on the commercial aspects.

We set Inleaf up with the intention to create a great business in Manchester and Lancashire, and then franchise throughout the UK and beyond. Having spent the last few years testing and developing our territory our first franchisee is now coming on board.

How is your work split?

Whilst most of our work is commercial, we also service the high end residential market too. We have a good mix of projects ranging from large living walls with an initial upfront fee and maintenance thereafter, to workplaces which usually prefer rental and maintenance of their installations.

What percentage is within central Manchester?

Whilst we cover Manchester and Lancashire, the largest single cluster of our work is in Manchester city centre – making up around 33% of our work.

Manchester is a city we know very well and our maintenance team are constantly there looking after our installations.

What are your favourite projects to undertake?

As well as our day to day interior landscaping projects, we particularly enjoy larger and more creative ones.

In particular, we have developed an expertise in living walls. These projects allow us to bring together

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my horticultural expertise as a landscape architect and my husband’s background in engineering.

We feel that specialist and designled projects are where we come into our own. Our commercial background means that we have the skills to add real value.

What are Inleaf’s plans for the next few years?

Whilst our territory in Manchester and Lancashire is going from strength to strength, our main focus for growth is development of our franchise network throughout the UK. We’re building a fantastic business and we’re looking for driven and committed professionals that want to start their own business with our support.

How will the interior landscaping industry progress and develop?

I see the trend for living walls and green roofs continuing with the growth of premium office spaces and buildings. We’re also seeing biophilia as a key driver for the design of workplaces in the UK. Whilst architects, designers and fit-out companies continue to specify green workplaces, expert interior landscaping is key to successfully turning those designs into reality, and then ensure the vision over the longer term with effective maintenance.

What do you see as the benefits of efig?

We joined efig early on as we immediately saw the benefits of membership. Aside from being a trade body that is recognised in the industry, efig is good at spreading the word about interior landscaping. It’s also a good point of contact when looking for assistance on more unusual projects.

Do your clients see the value of interior landscaping?

We still get enquiries for interior landscaping where price is the main driver, but we’re finding more and more clients are looking beyond headline price to instead focus on excellent design and great value.

Increasingly, companies are realising that a green, healthy workplace offers a real competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining fantastic staff, and providing an environment where they can produce their best work. That’s what we have created Inleaf to focus on. www.inleaf.co.uk

“WE HAVE DEVELOPED AN EXPERTISE IN LIVING WALLS. THESE PROJECTS ALLOW US TO BRING TOGETHER MY HORTICULTURAL EXPERTISE AND MY HUSBAND’S BACKGROUND IN ENGINEERING”

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INTERVIEW

BEECH LANDSCAPES NICK ABBOTT Pro Landscaper caught up with Nick Abbott, director and founder of Manchester-based BALI accredited landscape company Beech Landscapes, to talk about the history of the company, business in Manchester and the future for landscaping in the region Nick, tell us about the history of the company and how it got started.

Beech was formed in 1995 with two employees.

I had worked in the industry for 20 years, starting as an apprentice and working up to the position of contracts manager. I started the company with my own funding due to lack of support from the bank. We started initially doing private garden work, but as my previous connections knew l was available, the offers of commercial work came in and we soon needed to increase staff and vehicles to keep up with demand.

What types of contracts do you go after?

Commercial contracts range from £1k to £750k.

We don’t carry out private garden work as l believe it’s better to focus on one or the other. Our average contract value is £25k to £50k, roof gardens are £10k to £25k and maintenance averages £10k.

How many staff do you currently employ and what’s the turnover of the company?

We now have 24 directly employed staff; all of our employees are fully qualified and experienced with full CSCS accreditation. We have a turnover of £1.3m.

How do you source your work?

We actively seek out new clients but 90% of our work is repeat business. We put this down to providing clients with the level of service they require whilst ensuring cost targets are met. We provide a comprehensive service for landscape design which has proven very popular with developers, and aims to provide a one stop shop for planning through to completion.

Who are the key staff members at Beech Landscapes?

There’s myself as director and Janice Bromley in admin.

Kevin Butler, Kevin Cook and Harold Mather are our contracts managers, and our maintenance managers are Paul Wren and Ian Gray.

How do you structure your teams and why do you choose to do it that way?

We have two and three man teams to allow for contract size and programme dates. This can be increased by additional teams if the programme dates need to be met – it’s not uncommon to have three or four teams if the site requires.

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What areas does most of your work come from?

We work predominantly within the north west region but also travel further afield. We are carrying out works in Leeds, Birmingham, Cumbria and Northumberland.

How do you source the products you use and how do you choose your suppliers?

Suppliers are chosen on reliability, service and price. We have built up good relations with our supply chain. Equipment is chosen by our specialised knowledge – we have tried and tested numerous types and makes of equipment, and by a process of elimination have the right formula for both reliability and effectiveness in doing the job we require. So many companies buy expensive equipment that is not suitable for their needs.

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20/03/2017 13:39

INTERVIEW

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“THE DESIGN AND BUILD WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP – LANDSCAPE PROJECTS ARE STARTING TO RECEIVE BETTER PRIORITY”

What’s it like working in Manchester?

Working in Manchester presents many challenges, with traffic being the main one – the workload is good but logistically we have to pre-plan to allow for congestion.

The situation does not look like it will improve, and in the long term we may need to consider working out of hours to help with getting to and from sites. Pricing has to be competitive as we’re always in competition with other landscapers in the north west.

What are the local trends?

We believe market trends will lead to more partnering systems with companies, as it makes good sense. The design and build will continue to develop; landscape projects are starting to receive better priority.

What is your pricing like in the area?

We’ve managed to allow for costs where the Euro and fuel have impacted, but rates in general have not really changed much in the last 10 years.

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Is recruiting staff in the area easy?

Staff recruitment is very difficult. Finding good staff is always a challenge – people have a misconception of what professional landscaping actually involves. The industry needs qualified staff, but it’s difficult for young people to gain experience. We have taken on three apprentices who we’re training, and this is something we’re aiming to develop in the coming years.

What do your future projects look like?

The future will be more contracts based on housing, given the demand, and schools will also play a large part. We completed 16 schools during 2016 and have more this year. Retirement homes are also becoming a large part of our business – we expect 2017 to see a big increase in this sector and landscaping is a very important consideration on these schemes. www.beechlandscapes.co.uk

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1 Beswick Grange, Harrogate 2 Great Moor Street, rooftop garden 3 Liverpool police headquarters 4 Churchill Retirement, Formby 5 Great Moor Street, rooftop garden

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BUTLER LANDSCAPES PAUL BUTLER Paul Butler, owner of domestic landscaping specialist Butler Landscapes, talks about setting up his business with his wife Sharon and his experience of working in manchester

1 Basement courtyard with tier system water feature, designed by Liz Ackerley, Poppyhead Consultancy 2 RHS Tatton 2001 Moroccan Garden, Gold medal 3 Cottage garden with lower barbecue area immersed in planting 4 Covered seating area overlooking linear stone water feature, designed by Liz Ackerley, Poppyhead Consultancy 5 Graphic visualisation of terraced garden 6 nd of a good da s work

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20/03/2017 12:48

INTERVIEW

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INTERVIEW When did you start Butler Landscapes?

I served six years in the Royal Navy up until 1986 and then became a darkroom technician for a commercial photographer. During my time working there I began maintaining gardens, which set me up to start the business in 1990. Around the mid to late Nineties I went into full time landscaping, and during this time I qualified as a brick layer and garden designer. Over the following few years we started exhibiting at RHS Tatton Park and we’ve managed to become triple Gold medal winners with two Best in Show gardens.

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What’s the size of the business now?

It’s myself and my wife Sharon as directors. We recently employed a landscape architect who joined us at the end of 2016, and the rest of our team are subcontractors that have been with us for many years, covering all aspects of landscaping.

Why have you structured your business this way?

This structure allows us to grow our business and also allows us to undertake all types of contracts as and when required.

How do you structure your teams?

We generally have teams of three or four per site, which helps us to maintain efficiency in our work.

What contracts do you typically go for?

Ninety per cent of our work is in the domestic market, 95% of which is in the design and build sector. Our average contract value is between £25k and £30k.

What locations do you work in?

Most of our work is in Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire but we’re flexible and can work wherever our services are required.

How do you find work?

We advertise locally, use our website to good effect and attend industry networking events to make contact with designers and architects. A lot of our work has come through our appearance at the RHS shows too.

How do you choose your suppliers?

We tend to keep our eyes out when looking through magazines such as Pro Landscaper, but we also ask for recommendations from our peers too.

What’s in like working in Manchester?

Like most big cities, one of the main problems is the rush hour traffic, which can be a real nightmare. We’re

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competitively priced in the area so we get our fair share of work, although we would like more! We’ve found filling our job vacancies isn’t a problem too.

What trends are you coming across more often?

We’re seeing a real increase in enquiries about rooftop gardens and smaller spaces, they are becoming more popular by demand.

Where do you stand price wise?

We’ve got better over the past year since being heavily squeezed during the recession period.

What about recruiting staff, how do you do it?

We’ve used industry job pages such as Horticulture Careers and the Pro Landscaper magazine to good effect. We’ve also used non-industry sites like Indeed.

What do your future prospects look like?

We think a lot of our jobs in the future will come from our industry peers, as well as more work coming from the promotion we do around the time of the RHS shows. We’re updating our website and expect more work to come from that, as well as enquiries from word of mouth and the self-promotion of our business. www.butler-landscapes.co.uk

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20/03/2017 12:48

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ITV STUDIOS PUBLIC REALM TRAFFORD PARK, MANCHESTER Stephen Martlew Landscape Architecture

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1 he brief was to create a predominantly hard surfaced public space and link to the Manchester Ship Canal and Media City.

Site context Strategically this site forms a new link in the development of Media City as a centre for media and communications industries in the Manchester area, with the BBC and now ITV spawning associated production and media companies.

This has led to an in ux of people working in and visiting the area.

Design development Because the site had heavily contaminated surface strata over an underlying aquifer the original brief had required an impermeable hard surfaced area to prevent contaminated water percolating through. To achieve a high quality hard surfaced space was both beyond the budget and somewhat incongruous in terms of the location, which is quieter than the Media City area on the other side of the ship canal and has no real active building frontages.

The scheme developed as a predominantly green urban space with a park-like quality, with elemental constituents of landform, specimen trees www.prolandscapermagazine.com

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and a clear public walkway through to the ship canal and bridge. The design intent was to create a dynamic, robust urban green space which matched the scale of the adjoining buildings and canal side waterfront. The scheme radiates towards the canal and bridge in a direct way, recalling the searchlights which illuminated the sky during the blit in Trafford Park. xisting macadam surfaces were retained – permeable areas are lined to divert surface water run-off into a swale, and then discharged into the ship canal. Landform using existing uncontaminated spoil from the site was used to create a more sheltered valley effect and give su cient depth for large trees. The approach meant that savings were made on exporting contaminated soil off site as well as minimising excavations.

The site partly consisted of a 1940s concrete wharf from the era when ships from Canada and the Saint Lawrence Seaway unloaded their cargoes. The original intention was to overlay the wharf with a resin bonded nish to match the rest of the canalside areas. Due to budget restrictions this element was cut, though the end result was positive in that the scheme retained a strong element of authenticity and a connection with the history of the site. Various existing artefacts such as bollards

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Size of project 1.01 ha Build time Six months Project value £1m

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were cleaned and painted. An old concrete crane housing which would have been di cult to break out due to vibrations affecting the concrete deck was retained and clad in dark grey basalt with lighting to form a podium for seating and other activities.

Street furniture was kept to a minimum with simple lighting columns and low level lighting integrated into walls. Pre-cast concrete Elementale benches and retention units were used to give a coordinated approach with a rugged, raw appearance. Paving is generally buff resin bonded gravel with bands of grey blended Kellen block paving.

The planting philosophy was to have strong elements such as the semi-mature aspen trees along the main walkway, providing graceful shimmering foliage and vivid autumn colour with purple beech hedging de ning the edge of the space. The grassed landform gives a sheltered feel and the impression of a pathway through a shallow valley.

Challenges Dealing with a large but constricted site was logistically di cult, with building work such as scaffolding hindering initial progress. ompletion of the hardworks on site in anuary 2014 meant that there were failures with the resin-bonded areas

due to temperatures being too low, which were subsequently recti ed as defects.

An unusually cold spring followed by a heat wave in late une hindered germination of grass seed, with the result that it took two years for the grassed landform to establish successfully, as well as putting the new trees under some stress. Fortunately, despite this there were no losses from the 56 semi-mature aspens in the main public realm area. There were 10 losses of 50 birch planted, possibly due to the exposure to high winds along the ship canal frontage.

Plants Low groundcover A simple palette, chie y Lonicera pileata and Vinca minor with meadow seed mixes along the swale. limbing plants Aiming to soften the perimeter wall are Pyracantha rodgersia and Parthenocissus tricuspidata.

Purple beech hedging Fagus sylvatica Purpurea .

Trees Aspen Populus tremula and semi-mature white birch Betula utilis supplied by Specimen Trees Knutsford.

The scheme contains 10 new trees 64 semi-mature and 42 light standard .

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1 (Previous page) Design section across the public realm showing landform aspen planting and swale 2 (Previous page) View looking towards the Manchester Ship Canal 3 Feature lighting at the entrance 4 Connection to the bridge and BBC buildings 5 Detail looking across the landform with purple beech hedging and meadow planting beneath semi-mature aspen trees 6 View along the old wharf from the bridge

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references

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Landscape architect Stephen Martlew Landscape Architecture www.stephenmartlew.co.uk Structural engineers SKM www.skmpad.com Main contractor and project managers Mace www.macegroup.com Lighting engineers Troup Bywater and Anders www.tbanda.co.uk

before/during

Civils contractor Carey’s www.careysplc.co.uk Landscape subcontractor acific andscapes www pacificlandscapesltd co u Resin surfacing Ronacrete www.ronacrete.co.uk ArborRaft System Green-tech www.green-tech.co.uk

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Trees Specimen Trees www.specimentrees.net A special thanks to Mark Corrie for Specimen Trees' proactive approach and advice on the installation and aftercare of the tree planting.

about STEPHEN MARTLEW LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

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Stephen Martlew Landscape Architecture is based in central Manchester. The practice has a track record of projects for a variety of clients from social housing providers to private individuals, commercial clients and community groups.

T: 0161 907 3226 W: www.stephenmartlew.co.uk

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All images © Gillespies

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BIRLEY FIELDS CAMPUS MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY GILLESPIES

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Project name: Manchester Metropolitan niversity, Birley Fields Campus Location: Hulme, Manchester Size of development: 64,000 sqm Start Date: 2009 Completion: 2014 Client: Manchester Metropolitan niversity Landscape Architect: Gillespies LLP Architect: Sheppard Robson Main Contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine Contract Value: £60m, single stage design and build

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1 New focal plaza and terraced lawns 2 The retention of key groups of existing trees has helped retain existing habitats 3 A wetland habitat absorbs surface water with a reed bed and pond to attract wildlife 4 Large urban plaza 5 Banks of flowering plants introduce colour and scent

A new 12 acre green landscape provides a distinctive setting for the new Birley Fields Campus in Hulme, a state-of-the-art university building. With sustainable design at its heart, the university aspires to be the greenest campus within the UK. This high pro le project for Manchester Metropolitan niversity MM and Manchester ity ouncil creates a new uni ed campus for three faculties in Hulme, South Manchester. As part of the continuing urban regeneration of this area of the city, the Birley Fields Campus is designed to the highest possible sustainable design credentials.

As landscape architects for this £60m development, Gillespies masterplanned a new landscape infrastructure which connects with the local community and the needs of the establishment.

The design A focal plaza and formal lawns provide space for academic celebration and community events and an eco garden contains wild owers and wetland habitat.

A herb garden provides produce for the adjacent dining room, and an orchard has been planted as a long term university and community project.

The university was very keen to support the development of a sustainable public realm design for the new campus. Biodiverse planting types and sustainable urban drainage designs were developed in conjunction with academics and students.

A major driver for the design concept was creating a ‘green’ campus in an urban location, encouraging access by the local community and retaining as many mature trees as possible. The wetland habitat that was created is fed from surface water run-off from the car park. A reed bed has been planted to help remove any pollutants and already this area has attracted new wildlife. Plants were selected to provide year round interest, good groundcover and nectar sources for bees and butter ies.

There was a concern that the local community would not support the development due to loss of trees; the design aimed to retain as many mature trees as possible and the reasons for tree removal were carefully communicated to the local community. This resulted in a high level of community support.

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We like to encourage our customers to bring their clients along to see our paving display and browse around the plants whilst enjoying some free refreshments in the pure air of Lancashire!

Based in Preston just five minutes away from the M6 we also offer a full delivery service to the Manchester area with our own fleet of hiab/tipper lorries and vans.

We recognise that being able to choose from an allencompassing selection of hard and soft landscaping materials is absolutely vital to project design.

Every time you begin work on a new contract, you're not just carrying out a landscaping project - your transforming your customer's outdoor environment. That's best achieved when you have a single point of contact who it available to advise and supply you with materials at the right price.

Vans Dutch Bulbs

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www.bannisterhall.co.uk www.pietrapave.co.uk www.nexusprosystems.co.uk 20/03/2017 15:24

PROFILE

BANNISTER HALL LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES provide. One of our unique products is PietraPave, granite and porphyry stone setts that are pre-glued to a robust backing mat which allows you to lay a driveway in a fraction of the time of traditional methods. We offer a CAD design service for bespoke schemes.

Tell us a bit about Bannister Hall.

The roots of the BH group were formed in our landscape contracting business that began trading in 1986. Our site at Potter Lane was initially used as a base for our contracting work. We gradually began to develop the site and started growing simple low risk plants for our own projects. I seem to remember that dwarf conifers and heathers were very popular back then, and naturally every job we did had a good smattering of these included!

How long has the business been going?

We actually opened Bannister Hall in August 2000. This was as a result of my past frustrations of having to visit so many suppliers to source the different materials needed for a landscaping scheme. I suppose the old adage holds strong here: ‘See a need and meet it’. Since those embryonic days we have grown to become a multi-faceted group that is a single source supplier of a huge range of landscaping products.

How diverse are you as a company?

We have two sites in Preston our head o ce is at the Potter Lane site where we have a well-stocked cash and carry nursery, our hard landscaping materials department and a busy trade counter. The other site is our production nursery where the actual growing takes place, as well as dispatching larger orders.

From this site we also operate Vans Dutch

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Bulbs, a business that we acquired in 2005 as a specialist wholesale bulb supplier selling to garden centres, landscapers and local authorities. The other side of our business is called Nexus Surfacing Systems that is based near York and sells resin jointing products, sealants and resin bound surfacing, all of which are stocked in Preston and York.

W at t pe o products do ou o er We have always been very focused on the speci c needs of landscapers, looking for new trends and innovative ideas to make the job easier. Within each facet of Bannister Hall we offer a good balance of premium products against a solid background of more economic solutions to help our customers ful ll the brief and their clients’ expectations. This is accompanied by all the basic elements required to put them in place. We supply such a wide range of products it would be a lot easier to ask: what type of products don t you offer Some that spring to mind are lighting, barbecues, garden furniture, ower seeds and interior plants. We don t even sell coffee and cake because that’s available free of charge at the trade counter.

What’s unique about your products or the ser ice ou o er to landscapers Having so many products available from one supplier, supported by in depth industry knowledge and backed up by the strong service values that a family business can

How important are landscapers and designers to your business?

Hugely important, they provide us with our livelihood. BH customers are now being rewarded for their purchases with us through a loyalty programme where they can redeem points against a wide range of products. We like to encourage our customers to bring their clients along to see our paving display and browse the plants, whilst enjoying some free refreshments in the pure air of Lancashire!

How many branches do you have in and around the Manchester region?

We re based in Preston, just ve minutes from the M6 and offer a full delivery service to the Manchester area with our own eet of Hiab tipper lorries and vans.

aLAN LOVELL managing director

contact Bannister Hall Landscape Supplies Potter Lane, Higher Walton Preston, Lancashire PR5 4EN T: 01772 877087 E: sales@bannisterhall.co.uk W: www.bannisterhall.co.uk

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gtSpecifier 210x265mm Ad_Feb2017_vAW copy.pdf

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Landscape solutions for architects and specifiers gtSpecifier is the leading solutions provider for the landscape industry. wing areas: Providing technical information and experience in the following

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20/03/2017 11:59

PROFILE

GREEN-TECH about

projects Project 1 Name of project: St Peters Square, Manchester Installer: Blue Wigwam Ltd Products supplied: Tree grilles, tree pit components, Mona irrigation

Green-tech is an award-winning landscaping supplier offering a huge range of innovative landscaping materials and wholesale garden products to enhance, protect and improve plants and their environment. Green-tech holds stock of over 6,000 products for landscape contractors, architects and designers. Whether your project includes maintenance of a public open space, tree planting in a woodland or creating an urban landscape, Green-tech has a range of products to suit.

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Project 2 Name of project: Coronation Street, ITV Studios Installer: Specimen Trees Products supplied: ArborRaft System, ArborRaft Soil and tree pit components

Project 3 Name of project: Elk Mill, Retail Park Installer: NT Killingley Ltd Products supplied: ArborRaft System, ArborRaft Soil, tree grilles and tree pit components

1 Chairman

Richard Kay

2 Managing director

Rachel Kay

3 Head of sales

Richard Gill

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4 Brand development

manager Mark Wood

5 John Chambers

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Wildflower sales manager Stuart Ball 6 gt Specifier product

specification manager Richard Wexham

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development manager Barry Browne

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contact Green-tech Ltd, Rabbit Hill Business Park, Great North Road, Arkendale Knaresborough HG5 0FF T: 01423 332 100 E: sales@green-tech.co.uk W: www.green-tech.co.uk

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