This project has been discussed within the club for a number of years, but finally in November 2022 we finally completed the project. We have installed a 30m deep borehole, a 96,000 cubic metre water storage tank, control room and pop-up sprinklers on the outfield.

The story of the project: First of all, we needed to get planning permission from Bexley Council. Our first application was dismissed out of hand, this was followed by a planning consultation with the planning officer who guided us on what criteria would be acceptable. We engaged a local planning surveyor, who drew up the plans and submitted our application. We finally received notification some 6 months later that our application was approved subject to some conditions, the main one being a ground contamination risk report. We employed a company to draw up the report and we submitted to the Council. Once again months ticked by with no response. We then engaged with our local councillors, one of whom, by chance, was on the planning committee. Hey presto planning approval was granted.

Meanwhile Paul Ladbrook and Nick Riley, were frantically trying to raise the funds through a grant from The Veolia Trust; they spent many man hours in completing the application but sadly we were informed that the project fell outside their criteria. We then applied to the Brian Kennett Trust for help and was delighted to hear that the Trust would donate a chunk of the cost, for which we are extremely grateful, together with a grant from the ECB we had managed to fund the project.

Due to the nature of the ground works we only had a small window of opportunity to complete the works, namely from mid-September into October. The borehole was dug and the tank installed whilst a ring main was dug around the perimeter of the ground. The installer then dug a number of channels into the outfield in order to put the sprinklers in place. Whilst digging these channels we did dig up huge lumps of concrete, particularly at the fishing lake end of the ground. We guessed these were part of a consignment of ‘topsoil’ used to level the ground many years ago. Once the underground pipework was completed, Dave Sealey then did a grand job in seeding over the bare patches to bring the ground back to scratch. The system was switched on and tested in early November and then drained down for the winter ready to be programmed in the spring.

We would like to thank Burnt Ash Hockey Club for their patience whilst the work was carried out. Thanks also go to our contractor, Darren Hogben from HWS Ltd, Dave Sealey who managed and liaised with Darren throughout the project, Paul Ladbrook for his efforts in applying for a grant and contacting and meeting, with Dean Webster, numerous contractors and being our main point of contact. Without the support of the Brian Kennett Trust, I doubt we would have been able to complete this project.

Video from HWS Ltd

Going forward the irrigation system will enhance our ground for many years to come and keep it green all through the summer whatever the weather.