June 2017
Our development in Cockermouth known as ‘Strawberry Grange’ reaches a significant construction milestone this summer.
Works will begin this June to construct the bridge across Tom Rudd Beck, linking through to the second half of the development. This follows the first swathe of residents moving into their homes at the popular development and the impressive ‘Salisbury’ show home opening earlier this year.
The new bridge will cross the Tom Rudd Beck which runs through the site, and as part of the development, works are being undertaken to improve and conserve the habitat and wildlife within this ‘blue corridor’, both during construction and also in the long term. Such works include controlled water attenuation and natural treatment, by way of new landscaped sustainable urban drainage (SUDS) ponds and stabilisation of the banks of Tom Rudd Beck.
Production Director Andrew Pearson said: “It’s an exciting milestone for us building the bridge, as it’s the first step in preparation for the second phase of the development.
“The new bridge crossing will provide an attractive setting for all users and the new landscaping and river management will enable a more secure environment for biodiversity to flourish.”
As part of this summer’s works, the onsite overhead cables will be removed and rerouted underground across the site and underneath the beck. This may involve a temporary closure and diversion of the CTC cycle path as a safety measure.
Andrew continued: “It’s a complex piece of work in an environmentally sensitive setting and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure we are managing this very carefully. In order to protect the wildlife that lives in and around the beck, an ecologist will be on hand during the bridge construction.”
In order to construct the bridge, we will be temporarily accessing the northern field from Bellbrigg Lonning for a period of 12 weeks. Access to property will not be affected, but there will be a temporarily diverted access point for public right of way through the north field.
Strawberry Grange is a development of up to 320 homes, of which up to 40% are designated as affordable homes for those local to the area. Further information about the development can be found here.
It is anticipated that we will submit the reserved matters application for phase 2 of the development in the autumn of 2017.
