Arcadis, the leading design and consultancy for natural and built assets has released aerial footage of progress on the £30m RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester. Currently the largest gardening project in Europe, RHS Bridgewater will see a stunning new 154-acre garden open to the public in 2020.
Arcadis has been managing the construction of the new garden on behalf of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), working with a diverse team of landscapers and contractors and ensuring the RHS’ core values of sustainability and social value are at the heart of the construction process.
RHS Garden Bridgewater will be the first new RHS Garden in 17 years and the fifth RHS garden in the UK. Alongside existing gardens at Wisley in Surrey; Hyde Hall in Essex; Rosemoor in Devon and Harlow Carr in Yorkshire, RHS Garden Bridgewater will bring a truly world-class garden within easy reach of audiences in the North West, becoming a major tourist attraction for the region.
The first phase includes the restoration of the 11-acre Weston Walled Garden and several further gardens are planned, as well as a new Welcome Building which will feature an events space, learning space, offices, café, shop and plant centre.
A commitment to sustainability has been built into the construction of the new garden. The Welcome Building will collect rainwater to supply the buildings’ toilets, a borehole aquifer below the site will be used to irrigate the walled garden, a ground source heat pump will provide an energy source for underfloor heating and a biomass boiler will be installed to heat the garden glasshouses.
The RHS has also placed a large emphasis on providing wider social and economic benefits to the community. The garden will create more than 140 jobs by 2029, as well as apprenticeships, partnerships with local schools, colleges and universities, community gardening projects and opportunities for community volunteers to develop a wide range of skills. Further benefits for the local economy have come from Arcadis’ commitment to employing local consultants and contractors on the project.
Ellen Freegard, Senior Project Manager at Arcadis said:
“This is a fantastic project, unlike anything else in the UK at the moment, and Arcadis’ skills across placemaking, construction and management of natural and environmental assets have been essential in bringing together a diverse team across a range of disciplines that don’t often work together.
“This is a long-term project which will keep on developing over the next ten years and we are looking forward to seeing many more benefits unlocked throughout its creation.”
