Photo by Frank Stormont

By noibla
December 6 2013

 This episode of part 5 involving the construction of the East Stand (the Redrow as it was.) involves a good many photo's which I took and when I sorted them out as there are still a couple of dozen or so I've split it onto two parts for easier reading.   On the 29th. January, 2007. Construction on the new stand began, and an access road was put in for the stand, as of the next day nothing moved until the 26th. March 2007. There was no official announcement but there were suggestions of a floodlight in the athletics track having to be moved and the foundations being unsound because of previous underground storage chambers built by the Raglan barracks for their munitions, although I don't recall the unearthing of any munition dumps but they may have been a long way down.   When the site was up with the portakabins, I asked Carl the site manager if I could take photos of the work in progress to which he agreed, complete with hard hat and hi viz jacket, just like being on site again.  As I said from the end of January to the end of March nothing much happened and with the planned deadline for the friendly game with Worcester and the league game with Exeter fast approaching.  As a result of this long delay I posted on our web site asking as to why nothing was being achieved on several occasions and this met with a surprising set of e-mails from Wayne who at the time criticized me for spreading rumours and lies about the club and in the process of doing so I was actively deterring corporate backing for the stand. I’m still at a loss as to why nothing official from the club was announced, but then I don’t think they knew the reason for the holdup themselves, it's not something that the construction industry like to talk about and why they put clauses into the contract I feel. Anyway, come the 26th. March some two months later things began to happen.  

The first job was to realign one of the floodlights to the athletics track and to the long jump run up and pit, by about 2 meters to accommodate the foundations which were to be piled, the test bores were drilled to a depth of 3.4 meters and came across concrete. The area for the stand was isolated with arras fencing from the standing area for the fans before stripping the top soil and sinking the piles.

By the Friday midday the only activity was to put the porta cabins in place for the work staff, perhaps Monday will see a start made.

On the 3^rd. April, Wayne contacted Frank to say that that holdup was because of the decision to allow the expected big crowd for the pirates game on the 7^th. April, the best possible unobstructed view of the game, rubbish I say, the site cabins are already there and any work would only be ground level high at best, so no interrupted view for the fans.  Another statement that doesn’t hold water, so why the delay, why don’t they give us the real reason or get on with the job.

The 12^th. April saw the start of the site preparation by way of scraping the top soil off the site and after putting down a membrane; it was covered with a shingle layer and leveled prior to commencing with the piling.  This started on the following morning, the 13th. April in readiness to take the pile caps.

The piling was finished ahead of schedule, the ground being very soft in general, so it was finished by about the 17^th. several days ahead of target.  The ground was excavated for the pile caps and in several cases the walls of the old barracks munitions stores were exposed.

Carl phoned to say that the foundations had been opened up to reveal a boundary escarpment wall from about 1860 from the fortifications of the barracks, and would I like to take some photos of it.  This was on the Tuesday 24^th. April, and the fabrication for the pile caps is to arrive on the Wednesday and the concrete poured on the Friday.

 Making good after moving the athletics floodlight (by the J.C.B.)

The portakabins are on site and tempory road laid.

The site being leveled and membrane put down (You can see the new position of the floodlight, smack bang on the long jump runway)

The piles are sunk.

This is part of the boundry wall/ drainage channel to the old Raglan Barracks. The council sent down qualified staff to check and record the findings of the Victorian construction before covering it up again.

Another angle of the same find.

Here we see the steelwork and pile boxes being prepared for the concrete.

Here we get some idea of the overall size of the layout.

The first of the prefabricated steel sections arrive at Brickfields.

How to get your car into a tight parking space, with independant remote steering from the rear of the lorry.

This is how the 65' long 24 wheel vechicles managed to get around a near right angle turn.

Reginald Molehusband could have made good use of one of these.

With the crane now onsite it's onwards and upwards.

With the pile caps already concreted work starts on erecting the coloums.

And with the phase one steelwork going in place, the stand begins to take shape

The first ten years at Brickfields (part 5a.) 2007/2008

Discussion started by Unofficial Plymouth Albion (IP Logged), 06/12/2013 11:55

Unofficial Plymouth Albion
06/12/2013 11:55

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