Mays Technical Ltd were recommended by a company that had tried and failed to complete the project for the customer quoting ‘if Mays can’t do it, it can’t be done’

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The project was to drain an extremely wet woodland that had become an unmanageable and inaccessible bog exasperated by the attempts of two previous contractors who had failed to successfully access the site resulting in machinery getting stuck creating small ponds and bog holes.

We inspected and surveyed the site with an extensive walkthrough and drone flyover of the inaccessible parts, which identified no bottom to the site which contained 5m of peat and old quarry deposits. We initiated a plan to drain the woodland into the nearby brook.

We GPS surveyed the site and located a suitable borrow bit that had the volume of quality material required to install a suitable access road to create a vehicle access to maintain the woodland and allow for timber to be extracted and then the woodland managed.

We utilised our specialist low ground pressure excavators that are all equipped with Engcon tiltrotators to first access the site and cut a safe route into the steep hill side allowing us safe access to the woodland below, we installed multiple culverts throughout the route. 

Once on the woodland floor we created a track way out of old brash and site won timber to create a brash mat platform to allow us to work on the extremely soft ground. The method allowed us to excavate the drainage channels to the brook and start to get the saturated ground flowing and drying out.

When the channels were cut and water was flowing well, we remained on site cutting smaller channels into the ones we had created and installed site won aggregate into them to aid with drainage while the whole time maintaining the main channels and keeping them flowing.

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Once we had enough of the ground water flowing, we proceeded to install the track using 100% site won materials using our tracked dumpers to allow us to build as we laid the track way.

Any extreme wet spots along the way were drained into our previously created channels allowing us to keep a good pace with the track way.

 

The track way was completed with 2,500 tons of site won stone much to the amazement of the client and the previous contractors again showing what having extensive experience and the correct equipment in these conditions you can achieve.

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Since installing the track for the continued maintenance in line with the clients woodland management plan we are now able to access previously inaccessible areas with the Climber and in summer 2024 we have extensively mulched and cleared the remaining invasive rhododendrons that were previously not accessible, this has left the area ready for replanning to return it to a managed woodland once more with safe access tracks and constantly flowing channels all year round.