The Issue

Poor drainage of sports pitches since the start of the PFI contract in 2003 meant they were unusable for most of the year even in drier periods as repeated waterlogging led to poor surface quality. This problem was compounded by irregular maintenance.

Our Brief

We were asked by Lancashire County Council who are the PFI Authority to investigate, carry out site surveys and make recommendations to achieve all year availability of the sports pitches. 

Our Solution

Our detailed inspection and analysis of both the original PFI contracts and the site identified the following problems:

• There was no formal drainage provision
• The size of the hard-standing area did not meet contractual requirements
• The All-Weather pitch was deemed unsafe, following a recent resurfacing project which had been poorly executed.
• There was no area of ecological diversity available to support the curriculum, even though this was part of the contractor’s original proposal

Armed with this information, our team of specialists designed a site-wide solution. Although the SPV initially rejected the proposals, following further negotiation they agreed that the PFI provider would indeed fund fully the scheme of improvements, bringing the following benefits:

• The drainage on the pitches was fully rectified
• An additional area of hard-standing was constructed
• The All-Weather pitch was made fully safe and compliant
• An area of ecological diversity was created
• The scheme was completed in 9 months, rather than the 2 years which the FM provider originally proposed.

Benefit

Our involvement ensured that all works were carried out at the PFI Provider’s cost, with pitches available 15 months earlier than planned. Sports fields were made available for an extensive PE curriculum all year round, and an additional site was created for both quiet and raucous play during break times.