Good Afternoon,

A quick progress update:

You'll have noticed an increase in activity as of yesterday and the arrival of a 40 ton, telescopic crawler crane. The crane is working in conjunction with our silent pile press and is assisting in the installation of 10m length sheet piles. The Sheet piles the crane is currently installing will form a permanent retaining structure within the vale.

I have attached a video snippet of the silent pile press in action. I have to say, this being the first time I have worked with this bit of kit, I am suitably astonished as to just how quiet the operation is.

 As ever, with any queries please don't hesitate to contact me on colin.butler@jnbentley.co.uk or indeed my colleague Sarah on SarahJayne.Vickers@jnbentley.co.uk and we'd be more than happy to assist where we can.

Colin

Good afternoon, quick update with the progress of works. Over the last week or so we excavated the launch pit and inserted a thrust block for the machinery which installed the drain pipe using trenchless technology. Next Tuesday we plan on removing the temporary these works, this may cause some increase in volume activity as we break out the concrete thrust block. We will try to keep this noise to a minimum, we expect to take around 2 hours and will conduct this after 10am.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Sarah Jayne Vickers

Afternoon All, just wanted to let you know me and Joan have been out with the Friends of Flass Vale gang, what a lovely bunch of people. They didn’t expect too much of us today, we were given a grand tour of the vale by Val, and she showed us the hard work people had put into the area and the other hard work that is going to be needed over the coming months.  

We also bumped into Nicola on our way to meet the Friends of Flass Vale, who was at the allotments she allowed us a little look around. I have included some of the photos and think the face carvings are fantastic.

As well as helping in the vale, we also posted some letters to several properties located close to the site compound to inform them of the progress, and what they can expect to see next. I have pasted this below for your info.

I look forward to working with the Friends of Flass Vale over the coming months whilst our project is ongoing.

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                                                                                                                 Spectrum 5

                                                                                            Spectrum Business Park

                                                                                                                      Seaham

                                                                                                                Co. Durham

                                                                                                                    SR7 7TT

Our Ref:         SN017/0224   

Date:               16th May 2018            

Dear Customer

We want to keep you up to date with work in your area.

You may have noticed increased activity recently, particularly in terms of vehicular movements. We are nearing the end of importing quarried limestone to provide working platforms and an access road for our sheet piling works. These works are due to start in mid-June and will involve a piling press and a crawler crane. As these are large items of plant they require a substantial working platform.

Before we progress with this large operation we have some tunnelling work to carry out. We will install a 40m long tunnel, which will be 375mm diameter and located under garden land on Flass Burn Road. A manhole will be constructed so we can tie this into the existing sewerage network.

We will keep you regularly updated with progress and thank you for your continued patience. You can also find out more information about our project on our community portal at www.nwlcommunityportal.co.uk and following the link to ‘Durham City Sewer Network Improvements’ page. Regular updates will also be posted there and you will find advice and answers to some frequently asked questions.

If you require any further information or advice please contact our Customer Centre on 0345 717 1100 or visit www.nwl.co.uk to request a call back from the project team.

Yours sincerely

David Groark

Project Manager

Good morning All, another quick update to show you the progress we have made prepping the site.

We’ve had approximately 850 tonnes of a projected 2100 of quarried limestone which is used to provide a structurally designed access track and working platforms for the silent piling press which is due to commence in mid-June. The Limestone is compacted by a roller, each delivery truck carries 20 ton, and these deliveries have taken place since last week and continue to arrive. (We would like to thank all the residents as we understand this is a lot of additional heavy traffic and noise.)

The silt fencing and barley bales around the boundary are mitigation for any potential siltation to the watercourse from surface water run-off and have been implemented by MMB. We have also have the sedimats we’ve placed in the stream bed. These are designed to capture any silt that does enter and are fully bio-degradable so when they are fully silted up they can be placed on the bank of the stream.

Please see below a number of pictures i took on my visit, my favourite is the rock being released by the truck, as well as the beautiful woodland in the background.

Happy weekend 

Sarahjayne Vickers 

Good morning Ladies and Gents, I have just had an update from the team up on site.

'We have just finished setting up our site boundaries and cabin, this week we will be starting on the temporary combined sewer diversion'

They also included some photos of the site currently, what a difference from when i first visited a number of weeks ago. Space looks a lot larger than i had imagined.

We will keep you posted on progress as we move forward in the project on a regular basis. In the meantime if there any issues please contact me on here or via email sarahjayne.vickers@jnbentley.co.uk.

Thanks for your patience

Regards 

Sarah

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Sarah and I braved the April showers yesterday and visited Flass Vale. The weather was just awful which meant the site guys were limited on what work the could do. Due to it's location we were able to see the full site from the Heras fencing; currently located round the perimeter for health and safety. The foliage clearance has created the sense of more space and relocating the trees and shrubs has been very sensitively done within the Vale I'm so pleased to say.

Colin had pointed out to me there was to be a road closure by DCC on Fieldhouse Lane for the next three days, their contractor will be resurfacing the road, from Whitesmock to Back Western Hill so please be that little more vigilant.

Don't forget if you want to ask us any questions about our project just drop us a blog.

Thanks for your patience.

Hello, just thought I would introduce myself. My name is Sarah Jayne Vickers and I’m working alongside Joan Tatters as a Customer Liaison Coordinator.

I Joined J N Bentley a little over 2 weeks ago and now starting to play a more active role. If you see me out and about be sure to come and say hi!

Good Afternoon Everyone,

It was just great Colin and his team kept the community spirit going during the snow, you did a great job.

It did have an impact on our plans so the tree clearance you have seen this week was a little delayed, I do hope we haven't been too much bother.

Thank you to all for your patience during our presence and don't forget please feel free to drop me or Colin a line if you have any questions regarding the project.

Good Afternoon,

You may have noticed a few of our guys on Flassburn Road today shovelling snow and gritting footpaths. The lads had been scheduled in to carry out investigatory works within the vale prior to commencement of the scheme but due to the heavy blanketing of snow we decided that'd it'd be too dangerous to move around uneven terrain without being able to spot any trip hazards! With this in mind we thought it a good idea to use the time to try and do a bit to make the surrounding footpaths a little less treacherous and Darren, Scott and Simon were more than keen to go and collect snow shovels and rock salt and get to work! I've attached photographs of today's activities and a big thank you to the gentleman who is soon to become our new neighbour for providing the lads with a much appreciated cuppa!

As always, don't hesitate to contact me at colin.butler@jnbentley.co.uk with any queries and please be careful whilst moving around in the snow and ice!

Our company motto:

'If we cannot do it safely, we will not do it'

is of particular relevance here and has kept me working from home since Wednesday!

Have a great weekend,

Colin

Good Afternoon,

Thanks Joan for the introduction below and the questionable photograph.

My name is Colin Butler for those of you who're yet to meet me and I will be the Manager on site for the essential flood alleviation works at Flass Vale. I have been a Site Agent for JN Bentley for the last 18 months having spent my team before as a senior Civil Engineer and a Project Manager carrying out predominantly building works. I have a bit of a passion for the water industry and have been privileged enough in my short time with JN Bentley to help deliver two critical flood alleviation schemes in Castle Eden Dene for Natural England and in the De Brus Ward area of Hartlepool. I truly believe that the work we do in collaboration with Northumbrian Water and indeed, yourselves, the community is of great benefit and ultimately makes all of our lives a little easier and I look forward to getting my teeth into what is a very interesting scheme in a beautiful corner of the world. I've attached a couple of photographs from our brief attendance this week and please, don't hesitate to contact me either by email; colin.butler@jnbentley.co.uk or in person at our compound located near Sniperley Park and Ride from 26th March. If I can help you in any way I will be happy to do so. I wouldn't look too hard for the bloke in Joan's photograph however!

Thanks

Colin