GaNTIP UPDATE
“Every cloud has a silver lining!” Silverdale Athletic FC’s determination for continual pitch improvement, coupled with a commitment to follow maintenance recommendations from the Pitch Improvement Programme, has resulted in the club winning the 2020 Staffordshire FA 2020 Grounds Team award ONE CHALLENGE facing clubs that have requested help from The Football Association’s Pitch Improvement Programme (PIP) is having sites with complex geological backgrounds and inherently poor soil and drainage. There are numerous areas of the Potteries, for example, where there are ‘restored soils from open cast and quarry spoil’ – and that includes the Silverdale district of Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Silverdale Colliery was established in the Kent’s Lane area in the 1830s and was operational until 1998 when, as a result of the Coalfield Regeneration Project and collaboration with Newcastleunder-Lyme Borough Council and Barratt Homes, a community centre was planned with two football pitches (11 v 11 and 9 v 9) and a training area. But developing the site was extremely challenging – primarily because mineshafts directly
beneath the pitches had been capped by thick concrete slabs and covered with several metres of heavy engineering clay. The subsurface conditions were also far from ideal, with no topsoil layer and very little subsoil. This presented substantial problems in achieving the appropriate gradients to assist with natural drainage. Turfdry was appointed for pitch construction and it arranged to use excavated subsoil from the adjacent Barratt Homes development and incorporate it as a suitable subsoil layer. Good quality topsoil was ameliorated with sports sand to complete the upper soil profile. The pitches were constructed to a high specification, including lateral geo-textile membrane drains at 2m centres.
Problems appear For a number of reasons, the pitches were left unmaintained for 15 months and were finally brought into use by Silverdale Athletic FC in January 2014. However, by May 2014, the club reported significant issues – such as poor pitch levels due to sunken drain lines, significant
Built on difficult ground, Silverdale Athletic’s pitches are now in good condition
20 GROUNDS MANAGEMENT | JUNE 2020
Kevin Duffill Regional pitch advisor West Midlands
moss presence, an anaerobic soil profile, poor sward quality and high levels of weed.
Renovation work As a result of PIP/Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme involvement, an intensive renovation programme was instigated, comprising significant topdressing (to restore levels and repair drain lines), a turf nutrition programme, intensive deep and surface aeration, and regular weed control. By 2015, the pitches had improved significantly to being able to support 60/70 matches per season with minimal postponements. The typical annual maintenance budget is £10K-£15K and, fast forward to 2020, the club continues to follow the PIP recommendations with limited mowing and aeration equipment – a ride-on mower plus the use of a slitter and drag mat. Contractors are used to undertake key operations such as deep aeration, weed control and end-of-season renovations. Now, says club chairman Marko Djukic, “we have playing surfaces we can all be proud of”. ■
Visit www.thegma.org.uk for details of the Grounds & Natural Turf Improvement Programme
