WWT Arundel Coastal Creek Aviary permeable resin bound paths
Clearstone install permeable resin bound footpath surface that blends with the Coastal Aviary gravelled beaches
Arundel, West Sussex
Commercial
Spruce
Resin bound footpath
137 m2, laid at a thickness of 18mm
“The Clearstone team worked quickly and quietly, so as to not disturb the wildfowl birds nearby, installing resin bound aggregates neatly within the guided path edgings”
Director Tidey & Webb Ltd civil engineers
The result
Tidey & Webb where contracted by WWT to undertake the construction of their new Coastal Creek aviary.
This ambitious development began in Nov 2019 by moving our collection birds and relocating the fish and eels. Tree works began that December and earth moving began in January 2020 after the area had dried out a bit. The Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 temporarily stopped work during the first lockdown but construction resumed in June and finished in December.
On completion of the aviary build Tidey and Webb contracted Clearstone to lay resin bound surfacing to the footpaths.
With a steady footwall of visitors the aviary required a durable and easy to clean footpath surface which blended with the surrounding shoreline setting. Clearstone’s Spruce permeable resin bound surfacing blended perfectly with the aviary setting.
The coastal creek aviary is a valuable facility for the wetlands and their wildfowl breeding program.
WWT Arundel is one of nine wildfowl and wetland nature reserves managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, a nature conservation charity in the United Kingdom. The 60 acres reserve is situated at the foot of the Offham Hangar, a part of the Arun valley in Arundel, West Sussex.
The challenge
The new Coastal Creek aviary is landscaped with rocks, shoreline vegetation and waterfalls, to recreate a coastline feel, giving the seaducks and waders inside a more natural environment. Standing 15 metres tall and 40 metres long the aviary offers plenty of space for the birds to take flight.
Tim McGregor, Arundel Centre Manager.
With waders and ducks both swimming around and flying above visitors, it’s a truly multi-sensory experience.
Three types of habitat exist in the new Coastal Creek aviary. The wader stream replicates the shallow estuaries and gravelled beaches for redshank and avocets, while seaducks will feel at home in the deep water dive tank or climbing the waterfalls that mimic coastal cliffs.
