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Friday 22nd September

The original state.

Monday 25th September - Day 1

Fence between court 3 and new court 4 area removed.

Day 2

Long grass removed from new court 4 area.

Day 3

Laser-surveying the levels.

Days 4-6

Work paused while an issue over the levelling of court 3 is resolved.
Underground concrete foundations for former tennis court net-posts come to light in the new court 4 area.

Tuesday 3rd October - Day 7

The top 2 cm of soil is removed by a Koro machine.
The former tennis court net-post foundations cause some trouble.

Days 8-10

No activity.

Monday 9th October - Day 11

Deeper excavation on court 3 - removing the next 10cm of soil.

Day 12

Levelling court 3. Two concrete tennis net-post foundation blocks now removed.

Day 13

Deeper excavation on court 4. Four more concrete tennis net-post foundation blocks removed.

Day 14

More levelling work. Some temporary fencing added around the court 4 area.

Day 15

More levelling work on both courts.

Monday 16th October - Day 16

Replacing the original topsoil. 3 hours lost with a burst hydraulic hose.

Day 17

Spreading the first batch of replaced topsoil and levelling with the Laser Grader.

Day 18

Remainder of court 3 topsoil replaced, but further work limited by a heavy rain shower.

Days 19-21

Too damp for further earthworks.


Tuesday 24th October - Day 22

Further surface preparation.


Day 23

Spreading the first layer of new topsoil.


Day 24

More topsoil spreading.


Day 25

Remaining topsoil spreading and surface grading.


Day 26

No activity.


Tuesday 31st October - Day 27

Final surface preparation.


Day 28

No activity.


Day 29

Seeding and fertilising.


Friday 3rd November - Day 30

The germination blanket is laid. Rain is forecast for tonight, so the seeds should be off to a good start.


Wednesday 8th November

Five days on from laying the blanket, and a couple of rain-fronts and a frost have passed. No growth visible so far.


Monday 13th November

Ten days on from laying the blanket. The weather has been cool with occasional rain. Still no grass growth visible.


Friday 24th November

Three weeks after seeding. At last a few sparse signs of new grass, but only in a few places around the edges. The germination blanket is now getting pretty scruffy and torn.


Wednesday 6th December

Nearly 5 weeks after seeding, and the weather has been quite cold for the last couple of weeks. Nevertheless there's a definite hint of green to be seen in some places, though the germination is still very sparse and the growth slow. Rain is forecast for tomorrow morning, which will be welcome, but then it turns cold again. The germination blanket was pegged back in place a while ago, but it is once again torn and blown back in places, so more repairs needed.


Tuesday 19th December

A couple of weeks later, and we have had a pretty cold spell of weather including about 10cm of snow 9 days ago. (It thawed pretty quickly, except where some park visitors evidently enjoyed a construction activity.) The courts are slow to drain at present, especially where the germination blanket remains intact.


Wednesday 27th December

Still very waterlogged, and the "blanket" is breaking up in the wind.


Thursday 15th February

Some 7 weeks later. The "blanket" has now been removed, and there are patches where some grass has grown thinly, but ... oh dear! Still very waterlogged after some recent rain. The drainage is evidently now very poor.