urrey County Council was successful in their bid to host the 2012 Olympic cycle road race during the 2012 London Games, a thrilling event that will live in the memories of all the spectators for years to come.
The beautiful 156-mile route takes in some of the most beautiful tree-lined roads in Surrey and so, with the eyes of the world watching, and thousands of spectators expected to line the route, the appearance of the landscape and the maintenance and safety of the trees themselves, were paramount.
Connick Tree Care (CTC) has long had a relationship with Surrey County Council having delivered Strategic Maintenance across Surrey’s highway network for many years and were invited to submit a tender for the reactive and planned maintenance to the trees adjoining the Olympic route.
The work required fell into three categories: Firstly, Highway landscape improvement projects. Secondly, following safety inspections tree defects needed to be resolved, and finally, in order to meet the council’s specifications, vegetation around signs and traffic signals needed to be cut back.
Surrey County Council chose CTC as the lead contractor for several reasons including:
- Approved Arboricultural Contractor status with the Arboricultural Association.
- A proven track record of delivering similar work solutions to SCC on their highway network.
- All treeworks undertaken in accordance with standards as laid out in BS3998:2010 Treework Recommendations.
- All works undertaken on the highway in line with legislation defined in the New Roads and Street Works Act 1990 inclusive of re-instatement in both hard and soft surfaces after stump grinding operations.
- Signing and guarding of highway worksites in line with legislation defined in the Department of Transports Traffic Signs Manual 2009 Chapter 8.
- Full traffic management services as required, delivered by CTC through the SCC Streetworks Team.
- All material waste to be removed offsite or managed as specified.
- Services to be delivered in full by 1st June 2012.
- Arboricultural works team available for emergency works during the event.
There were several factors that were essential in the decision making process for Surrey County Council. One was that the company must have adequate labour and machinery to carry out the work required, and, with over 50 employees and a catchment area that spans the Southeast, CTC were able to meet this requirement.