WEEK 15 - Day 59 End of Enabling Works

Today is the last main work day of the Enabling Works. We still have a few tidying up jobs to complete, but William Anelays Ltd will hand back the site to Cheshire West and Chester Council on Monday 9 November 2009.
Lionel is on holiday from today but will post updates on his return. In particular look out for the new entrance gates.
Many thanks to all our contractors and sub-contractors for helping the work programme be completed. It was a daunting task but has been completed with grateful thanks and appreciation. Lionel would also like to extend a special thank you to Site Manager, David Marsh who kept everything running smoothly, on time and with great humour and dedication to achieving a first rate job. A full list of all who participated in these Enabling Works will be posted later.
Thank you.
Despite the rain on this morning we got a great send off with a rainbow over the Brine Tank. We all look forward to starting Phase 2 - the full restoration works - in 2010.

WEEK 15 - Day 58 Views from the Garden

Most of the contractor's work today has been all about moving plant and machinery off site. This extended into the early evening dusk now that the hour has changed as we move from summer time to winter. We also made further preparations for the erection of our entrance gates. Meanwhile Sue, Isabel and Tim have been continuing the preparations for our Butterfly Garden, which helps us look forward to next spring when the main garden planting will take place - and we hope to be able to make a firm announcement about the timetable for the full restoration works.

The garden will feature buddlias in partnership with George Martin and Butterfly Conservation-Peaks and Plains.

The design is by Sue Beesley and Isabel Brooke with help from Tim

Links : - http://www.lodgelanenursery.co.uk/

The garden is funded through a Landfil Grant donated by ineos-Chlor and administered by the Mersey Forest.

WEEK15 - Day 57 Final Preparations

As our Enabling Works draw to and end we received fresh deliveries for our Butterfly Garden this morning. 15 tons of soil improver were tipped at the entrance to the emerging garden. Sue Beesley and Isobel Brooke will distribute this through the flower beds tomorrow and make preparations to spread the top surface gravel onto the paths.



More details on the garden in tomorrow's posting.



The racking in our timber store has been filled with timbers from the dismantled Stove House 5. It is also holding our new front gates over night as the post holes are prepared for the concrete supports.
The framework to attach the wrapping sheets are almost completed. The green material gives the interior an unusual, and artistic light.

WEEK 15 - Day 56 Painting, Wrapping, a Delivery and a Visit

Our warm and dry autumn weather broke over the weekend with heavy rain, cooler air and strong wind. To give the salt pan time to be cleaned down and dried off the painters from George Boocock Decorators Ltd moved from painting Pan 5 to painting our new fence.
All the leaves from our mountain ash trees were stripped off leaving only a few berries for the starlings.

Phil and Simon carried on constructing frames to attach sheeting to in order to keep out the worst of the winter weather. Much to our surprise the new delivery of sheeting material (which comes from Sweden!) is green and not clear. even though the supplier states that it is the same as the first delivery!

Manufactured in Manchester our new steel gates have started to be delivered for installation later in the week.
They will be painted black after they have been set in new concrete bases.

The work to install them wil feature during the rest of the week.

Henry Thompson dropped in at lunchtime to look at the progress since his last visit. He was taken through the warehouse floors on the new scaffold access platforms. It is some years since he last stood in front of the crushing mill located in Warehouse 4. Henry dismantled this mill from its earlier location in Warehouse 2.
He brought with him a faded black and white photograph of himself standing in front of Stove House 5 during its construction. Henry is shown standing in front of the roofing boards which are stacked ready for nailing in place on the roof. Click on the images to enlarge them.