Spencer’s Access Mats division gaining ground

The past few months have seen the use of access mats supplied by Spencer significantly increase, with more and more contractors and organisations all over the British Isles choosing Spencer to provide timber or composite mats to protect ground from being damaged by the movement of vehicles, plant or equipment.
These are three of the most recent projects, each quite different in their application:

Central London boutique hotel

Mace Construction are getting close to completing the £70m Quadrant 1 hotel project, which is being built on the site of the former Café Royal at the lower end of Regent Street, near Piccadilly Circus. And, with the surrounding land - which is owned by Crown Estates – needing to be protected, Spencers were called upon to provide over 400 square metres of composite mats to cover the pathways and paving around the site.

The five-star boutique hotel is scheduled for completion at the end of the year and is due to be opened in the spring - in time to welcome guests who are visiting London for the 2012 Olympics. Needless to say, Spencer is delighted to be involved with such a high-profile project.

Anglesey and Llyn Fens LIFE Project

The largest wetland restoration project in Wales – which is also one of the largest projects of its kind in Europe - requires the cutting back of scrub and heather to regenerate this important habitat . The land is registered as an SAC (Special Area of Conservation) and an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and therefore, it has been imperative that the impact of the plant and equipment being used is minimised.

To achieve this, Spencer has provided the contractors in the region of 1000 square metres of its Emtek brand mats. Constructed from top-quality hardwoods and laminates, Emtek mats provide an extremely sound base that can withstand heavy loads and regular vehicle movements. And, because they measure 2.4 x 4.8 metres each and are half the thickness of conventional oak timber mats, it means they are cheaper to transport, install and remove.

This significant ecological project is lead by CCW (Countryside Council for Wales) in association with The Environment Agency, Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water and United Utilities, North Wales Wildlife Trust, Isle of Anglesey County Council, Gwynedd County Council, Menter Mon and PONT.

Edgehill University car parking scheme

When a university has been shortlisted for the third time for the UK University of the Year Award and is in the north-west’s top two for overall satisfaction, it goes without saying that its success has made Edgehill University in Ormskirk extremely popular. This meant an influx of students for the new educational year, which consequently posed a problem as far as car parking was concerned.

With a number of fields adjacent to the campus the obvious answer, the problem then became one of how to ensure the grass surface was not going to be destroyed – especially during the winter. Spencer came to the rescue when it received a call from the university to ask if there was a solution to the problem, to which Spencer replied ‘yes’.

Within just a few days, over 600, 1.2 x 2.4 meter composite mats were delivered to the Lancashire site, where they were laid over the parts that were to be used for parking areas and the access ways to and from the adjoining roads.

For further details about Spencer’s range of Access Mats, click here.