Elite Pitch Opens at Leicester City Hockey Club

Surfacing Standards Limited

SSL were delighted to recently attend the official opening of the stunning new hockey venue at St Margaret’s Pastures, the proud home of Leicester City Hockey Club.

The opening of the facility marks the outcome of over 3 years of work by the SSL Team, not to mention several more years of dedicated work by club members and other key stakeholders. In addition to taking on the design role and leading the contractor procurement process on behalf of the club, SSL successfully secured the required planning permission and were on hand to offer support throughout the construction phase, carrying out a series of quality control checks at each key stage of the works.

After making use of various facilities across the city in recent years, the club, one of English hockey’s most successful, now boasts an elite level new pitch located in a central location within the city.

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It’s clear the new pitch will have a significant impact, as the club’s Vice President of Development Sarah Treanor explained;

“It’s going to inspire a whole new raft of hockey players across all ages and abilities. It’s the catalyst for our site development as we move into the next stages of the programme to make this one of the leading community facilities for multi-sport in the city. All our members love the pitch and we cannot wait for next season to start. It’s exactly what we hoped for.”

Sarah, who was an integral part of the project team, also provided an insight to SSL’s involvement;

“The support, advice and knowledge provided enabled us to get comfort that our specific needs and requirements would be met in an open and honest way. We were advised properly with regards to planning permission and environmental management and formal designs were produced that enabled the chosen contractor to price their work incredibly accurately. Transparent charges, fair costs, a wealth of knowledge, skills and a highly professional service meant our project was a huge success. We would highly recommend SSL.”

With the club boasting 5 senior women’s teams and 3 senior men’s teams, not to mention many junior teams and with growing demand for walking hockey, SSL look forward to the new facility providing a safe, high quality environment for hockey player development for many years.

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Covid-19 Statement Update

Surfacing Standards Limited

At SSL Health and Safety is our primary consideration. The continued well being of our staff, clients and members of the public is taken very seriously. Following a detailed operational review by Company Directors, together with our Health and Safety Consultant, we confirm as follows;

The vast majority of our services (such as feasibility studies, design work, planning applications, construction specification, project tendering) are desktop based and measures have been taken to ensure SSL continue to provide these services during the current situation.

In terms of services that are not desktop based, SSL continue to carry out site surveys/visits where needed. Where on-site survey work is not required, ‘face to face’ meetings will be accommodated using Zoom/ Microsoft Teams or other video conferencing platforms.

The scope of works that our site surveys normally encompass is possible in accordance with current Government guidelines. Prior to the day of any site visit, an assessment would be taken on a site-by-site basis to ensure this.

On the day of the site visit, our procedures involve making a telephone call to a designated site contact to let them know when we arrive so the facility can be unlocked as required. Another telephone call is then made when we leave site. Appropriate PPE would be worn. We are fully self sufficient in terms of not requiring any services to be able to carry out our site survey/site visits.

Our site survey work is entirely outdoor based and normally involves only one SSL surveyor. On the few occasions that two SSL surveyors are required, social distancing will be followed and our surveyors travel to and from site in separate vehicles.

SSL will continue to monitor the evolving situation on a day-by-day basis and ensure that Government guidelines are adhered to in these exceptional times.

Happy New Year!

Surfacing Standards Limited

As we commence the new decade, the SSL team would like to say a big thank you to all of our clients.

Over the last year the SSL team has developed and delivered a wide variety of high quality sports facilities to further emphasise our position as one of the most respected consultancy practices in the industry.

Over recent months the team have also been working hard on some very exciting new company developments which we look forward to announcing shortly.

Happy New Year to all our past and present clients and here’s to delivering more first-rate facilities in 2020!

Glowing Feedback for Bolton Pitch Refurbishment

Surfacing Standards Limited

Great feedback from another happy SSL client following the refurbishment of the synthetic pitch at Canon Slade School in Bolton!

The synthetic pitch, now in it’s 20th year since being constructed, is now benefitting from a complete refurbishment. Since re-opening the pitch has been used as a training base for Bolton Hockey Club as well as hosting a club initiative to get adults to learn to play hockey.

SSL were initially engaged by a key local funder of the project, who saw the value of engaging with a specialist consultant at an early stage. SSL carried out an extensive survey of the old synthetic pitch and provided the school with independent advice and options, including outline costings, of how the facility could be refurbished.

Following the tender process, administered by SSL, the construction phase commenced on 18th March. The old short pile synthetic turf and prefabricated shockpad was removed, some minor repair works carried out the pitch base, before a brand new insitu rubber shockpad and sand dressed synthetic turf was installed. To help protect the investment, drainage improvement works were also carried out given the facility had suffered from water ingress from an adjacent grassed bank for several years.

18th March 2019 – Works About to Commence

Following various quality control checks carried out by SSL throughout the works, with regular reports provided to the school, on 26th April the revamped facility was handed over for the school to use. With the works being deliberately programmed to coincide with the Easter Holidays, that ensured the pitch was only out of action for 20 school days, meaning minimal disruption to the school’s PE timetable and external community users.

26th April 2010 – Completed Refurbishment

Rachel Costello, Head of PE commented “The new surface is brighter and the two tone colour to distinguish the areas is a great idea for both staff and pupils. The work on laying the new surface was completed to a high standard and the new surface and shockpad is of excellent quality. Currently, the pitch is occupied 86% of available time by football and hockey clubs. We are really pleased with how efficient the team was in completing the project.”

SSL Deliver 3G for Cambridgeshire School

Surfacing Standards Limited

SSL played a key role in enhancing Hinchingbrooke School’s already extensive range of leisure facilities by overseeing the refurbishment of their 3G pitch.

The school is part of the ACES Academies Trust whose vision is to raise aspiration and achievement for the communities they serve.

Our detailed survey of the old pitch identified important information from which SSL could provide the Cambridgeshire school with a Feasibility report including accurate outline project costings. SSL then put together a schedule of works and contract specification on which to tender the project to several specialist pitch contractors.

SSL’s involvement didn’t end there with quality control inspections throughout the construction phase as well as chairing progress meetings and project handover.

Hinchingbrooke School has an extensive range of fantastic sports facilities that are available for hire when not in use by the students. We are pleased to see a fantastic end result with a 3G facility that will benefit both the school and the local community.

SSL Achieve Quality Accreditation

Surfacing Standards Limited

SSL are delighted to have achieved a prestigious quality accreditation

ISO 9001:2015 is an internationally recognised benchmark that specifies requirements for an effective quality management system within an organisation. 

Following an independent assessment, our range of consultancy services consistently exceeded both client and statutory requirements and this accreditation provides recognition of this fact.

At SSL we regularly receive excellent feedback from our clients. To achieve this positive feedback, and continue to ensure the service we provide rises above client expectation, involves a great deal of work from the SSL team.

The ISO 9001:2015 accreditation is a reflection of the excellent quality procedures in place at SSL.

Striking Night-time Images of SSL Facility

Surfacing Standards Limited

Maximising community usage is a key consideration for the majority of 3G pitch installations. And these striking night-time images of the Madeley Ski Centre facility in Telford show just what can be achieved.

It’s now over 9 months since construction was completed on the SSL designed facility that meets both FIFA Quality & FIH Multi-Sport performance standards. The state-of-the-art floodlighting system incorporates the latest LED technology. As these images illustrate, light spillage is carefully controlled to keep light pollution over surrounding areas to a bare minimum. This has ensured that the facility, despite being in a rural setting, can be used outside daylight hours.

The project represents another carefully designed SSL synthetic pitch project that is now benefiting hundreds of community users and has been used for training purposes by AFC Telford United FC.

If you have a project requiring feasibility work and specialist sports pitch design input, contact us to discuss how our experienced team can assist.

Images courtesy of Musco Lighting.

Hockey Club Delighted with SSL Consultancy

Surfacing Standards Limited

SSL were pleased to be chosen as specialist sports pitch consultant by Chelmsford Hockey Club and Chelmsford City Council, for a joint project to resurface two synthetic hockey pitches.

Chelmsford Hockey Club boast 16 senior sides and the support provided by SSL throughout the project was vital. As Club President Spencer Wilcox explains; “From a hockey perspective, we’re delighted with both pitches. They play consistently well and have drawn favourable comments not just from members, but also visiting sides. Our pitch is used by juniors aged 5 right up to vets in their 70s so it is genuinely supporting hockey across the generations!…We’re also hosting the O40s regional finals for the second time in June – and hope to get the same favourable comments from the guys (some of whom are ex-internationals) as we got last year. Our pitch is also used by Essex HA for junior and development coaching. As for SSL, we and the council wouldn’t have wanted to enter into this joint project without the support of a consultancy firm – and SSL did an excellent job for us at a sensible cost. So many thanks for that!”

Having been engaged to carry out a condition survey on both facilities, SSL first provided outline costings for different possible design solutions before preparing a construction specification to enable a competitive formal tender process to take place.

Several tenders were received by contractors bidding to secure the contract. SSL completed a detailed commercial analysis of each bid to ensure like for like comparison before assessing each bid against quality criteria.

When works commenced onsite, SSL were on hand to complete a schedule of key stage inspections and also ensure material samples were collected and laboratory tested to confirm compliance with the specification.

With the performance of the shockpad layer being so critical to hockey performance, SSL ensured the existing shockpad layers to both pitches were thoroughly tested as part of the project.

The double pitch resurface provides another important hockey pitch project completed by SSL. And we’re pleased to once again receive such positive feedback from a UK hockey club!

SSL Committed to UK Sport Development

Surfacing Standards Limited

Surfacing Standards are pleased to be backing UK Sport development having recently provided sponsorship to the Sheffield team competing at the British Diving Championships 2019.

Hosted at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh, the event is the most prestigious domestic diving event in Great Britain, with GB’s top divers competing for British titles.

Steve Wilcockson, Managing Director of SSL has a longstanding interest in the sport having previously reached the final of the Armed Forces Diving Championships. As Steve explains “My interest in diving started from the age of 14. That interest continued as I got older, even giving up my time to work as a volunteer at the Aquatics Diving Arena at Ponds Forge, Sheffield during the World Student Games.”

Nikki Smith of Sheffield Diving Club commented “Sheffield Diving had a team of 15 divers competing at the competition, comprising of both junior and senior athletes. We are very grateful to receive the support of Surfacing Standards, it’s fantastic that a major sports facility consultant in the UK is putting something back into UK elite sport. Athletes face many challenges and it’s brilliant to see Surfacing Standards commitment to encouraging and supporting young people.”

The British Diving Championships is often used as a selection meet for the Great Britain senior team. This year the event is the selection competition for several International events including the 2019 World Diving Championships.

As an established sports facility consultant, Surfacing Standards are keen to help support British sport and wish Sheffield Diving every success in the future.

SSL exhibiting at ISBA Conference 2019!

Surfacing Standards Limited

We are delighted to confirm that SSL will be exhibiting at the ISBA Conference 2019.

The ISBA (Independent Schools’ Bursars Association) includes more than 960 independent school members and offers a range of services to bursars and senior management staff on all types of school matters.

As independent sports pitch consultants with substantial experience in the independent school sector, SSL provide design and project management services for ISBA members throughout the UK.

The conference takes place at the Manchester Central Convention Complex on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May. If you are attending the Conference and have a potential sports facility project you would like advice on, feel free to visit stand Number 100 to meet SSL’s experienced team.