Building Parkside Yards

The Brief

Parkside Yards is a section within Berkeley Homes’ development, The Green Quarter. Upon completion the site will achieve a 93.6% biodiversity net gain, and Parkside Yards pioneering new tree nursery, woodland trail and play space will contribute to over 13 acres of parkland throughout the site. Elite Landscapes have delivered this area prioritizing our own sustainable methods such as use of electrical tools and HVO fuels.

The Strategy

Elite Landscapes are proud to have built and now maintain the landscaped grounds at The Green Quarter. Over the next 15 years The Green Quarter will form part of one of the biggest regeneration projects in West London, transforming a former gasworks and overflow airport car park into a sustainable, unique and nature-rich place where communities thrive. With nature and biodiversity at its heart, 13 acres of green open spaces include two new parks, 4.5-acres of Central Gardens, wetlands and beautifully landscaped gardens. Upon completion, over 50% of the development comprises of green open space, which is to boost carbon restoration and flora and fauna habitat. While the regeneration of Southall is in its infancy, Elite have played a valuable role in the work that has gone on so far in developing the Tree Nursery and community area.

The key objective of this space was to create somewhere residents can visit, enjoy and learn from. The trees will eventually be planted on site but for now they form part of the urban greening with educational value and the obvious benefits from carbon capture, biodiversity and ecology regeneration.

Delivery

The delivery of this small part of the wider development, focused on creating a tree nursery and community space. Elite delivered the scheme over a 4 month period from January 23 – May 23. The initial works accounted for setting up the tree rows, receiving potting and growing materials, and establishing irrigation systems. The trees were delivered in mass to minimise delivery costs and help manage our sustainable build. The material used for hard standing was site generated crushed material and therefore no need to import this surface. The trees were potted using air pots and reduced peat free compost. The machinery used in creating the nursery planters and pergolas was mostly electric or used HVO fuels.

Where other sites had issues planting trees as the areas where not ready, Southall took these in addition to the existing stock to ensure they can be called off in the next growing season. This was an unseen benefits of the nursery but has since been utilised across various client locations.

The work Elite have contributed to at Southall goes above and beyond usual practices and can be directly aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals such as building sustainable communities, life on land, innovative infrastructure and good health and well being.

Alongside Berkeley, Elite have contributed to creating a new sustainable community bringing to life a variety of outdoor spaces from what was originally brownfield land. These green spaces will provide opportunities for the community to come together and celebrate the areas biodiversity which has been heightened by the installation of insect, bird and bat boxes. The innovative tree nursery is surrounded by a children’s play area, in addition to an interactive wildlife trail that runs through the nursery to encourage discussions regarding sustainability. Local schools have already benefitted from the area, coming to learn about the different tree species and wildlife they attract.

The site itself improves work and economic growth throughout the area by creating employment opportunities for locals through new amenities available to the community. Elite also maintain the area creating stable job opportunities and locally sourcing labour where possible.

This project has been launched as a pilot to trail on other large scale regeneration projects across the Berkeley group. Measuring its success over the next few years will provide valuable data on the sustainable benefits creating a green hub in the middle of an otherwise disused space brings. The site is in the early stages of development however early signs have shown the space has created a hub of sustainable improvements and community focus.