Life’s a beach at Horseshoe Lake thanks to Bracknell Forest Borough Council and Jarvis Highways

Bracknell Forest Borough Council was asked by the lake’s proprietor, Carl Slater, to look into upgrading the facility, and it was happy to fund the project using its own budget and Lottery Funding to provide better facilities for local watersports enthusiasts.

The old stony beach that made disabled access near impossible, and damaged the boats as they were pulled to and from the lake, has been replaced with an attractive sand launch beach – accessible to the old and young, able and disabled.

Jimmy Conn, Contracts Manager for Jarvis Highways, has managed several jobs for the council on leisure facilities such as football pitch resurfacing, but never a job quite like this.

“We are always pleased to carry out work that is a little out of the ordinary and do something that will really benefit the community. Horseshoe Lake is a professionally run watersports centre, but it was restricted by the state of its facilities and now it can offer a safer and more enjoyable environment for all of its visitors,” said Jimmy Conn.

In order to give the lake a launching area that was safe and built for the long term, Jarvis had to start with a huge amount of excavation – a 5 tonne digger was used to remove over 400 tonnes of stone, grass and soil from the site.

A 1-metre high ‘porcupine’ pre-cast concrete retaining wall was then built to hold back the grass bank. This particular style is often used in marine work as it copes effectively with any possible water erosion.
To create the beach, approximately 150 tonnes of stone were used to form the base followed by 200 tonnes of sand separated by a layer of terram – a geo-textile material that allows water to drain through but prevents the sand from migrating through the stone.

Jarvis also provided a concrete anchor block to connect to the floating pontoon, and constructed a new access footpath from the car park to the jetty using a composite paving surface and path edgings. This surface is much better for wheelchair access and allows disabled visitors to manoeuvre themselves down to the jetty rather than being carried. A new gate and timber fencing added the finishing touches to Jarvis’ work.

“The majority of the work has been finished at the site and we are absolutely delighted with the job that’s been done by Jarvis. The completion of the work will mean we are a step closer to being fully equipped for disabled access and full use of the facility” said Carl Slater.

Horseshoe Lake is still looking for sponsorship for a chair lift and boats for the disabled, and once these facilities are in place they are looking forward to making the most of their dedicated instructors who hold disabled coaching qualifications from the Royal Yachting Association and the British Canoe Union.

Paul Trevis, of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, says: “The work that has been carried out is a vast improvement and we are very pleased with the standard that has been achieved. It is great to have these facilities available to residents of the area and all the disabled groups that will soon be able to enjoy boating, thanks to all the staff at Horseshoe Lake and the work carried out by Jarvis.”

The grand opening of the renovated Horseshoe Lake will be attended by the Mayor and other dignitaries later this year.

Caption:
The new beach and jetty at Horseshoe Lake, Bracknell Forest, constructed by Jarvis Highways, provides disabled and able-bodied watersports fans with a safer and better environment

For further information, please contact:

Mike Tate		Richard Cox
Jarvis PLC	or	PResence-PR Lt
Tel: 0207 4626674		Tel: 0115 921388
Email: mike.tate@jarvis-uk.com		Email: richard@presence-pr.com

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