Last year we were required to write a feature interview for one of our assignments. I decided to interview Paul Mckenzie and ask him about the constuction of Northala Fields Park in Northolt Ealing. Two years on the park is being used successfully and turning into a perfect habitat for a number of different species. With the warm weather predicted this Summer there is no doubt the park will be used by all:
It is over two years since the Northala Fields of Northolt and Greenfield Park was opened in the spring of 2008 by Ealing council. The park offers a variety of ecological and recreational opportunities to the public. I visited the park to track its growth over the past two years, and investigate the initial construction process the park went through in the four years it took to create.
Paul McKenzie ACinstCES survey director of McKenzie Geospatial Surveys undertook the leading role in the geospatial engineering of the park. His company specialises in providing land and engineering surveys/setting out for civil and construction industries. It merits itself on years of experience working with the bulk earthmoving sector involved with land redevelopment.
I met with Paul to discuss the process Northala Park went through to reach what it is today. He was first involved in the project at contract tender stage with the company CJ Pryor (contract) ltd in 2002. This required verifying the volumes that would be required to create the shapes as shown on the initial design for the park. The initial process also involved having an appraisal meeting with Ealing Borough council to discuss how the park would be constructed between the various contractors with their bid. Paul explains; “I was quite taken back by the initial designs because it involved the creation of four very large conical mounds on a flat landscape.” The tallest of which would be approximately 26 metres. These mounds would be the largest of their kind in Europe. After he was awarded the construction bid of the project, many tasks had to be undertaken before any construction could actually begin.
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