4 November 2011
A new mountain bike trail at the Ashton Court Estate near Bristol
is proving to be a huge success.
Capita Symonds was involved in the ‘front-end’
feasibility and design aspects of the trail, as well as acting as
the engineer / contract administrator appointed by Bristol City
Council to supervise the works.
The team overcame some major ecological and
landscape barriers on the site including SSSI, Special Area of
Conservation (SAC) and Graded Landscape designations to plan,
design and re-design over 6.5km of red and blue graded trails and a
skills park.
Since its opening the trail has proven to be
extremely popular. Trail counters have recorded 12,500 trail passes
per month – a threefold increase on pre-development figures.
An experienced mountain biker, Paul’s role as
engineer was to ensure that the trail was built to specification,
on-time and within budget. The role required on-site inspection and
close working with renowned trail designer, Phil Saxena of
Architrail who was responsible for the Beijing Olympics mountain
bike track.
The trail, which has been specifically
designed to be one of the most highly durable trails in the
country, has also received critical acclaim. At the recent
Oktoberfest event, ex-downhill world champion and all-round
mountain bike legend, Steve Peat (pictured) was seen to be enjoying
the trails with other competitors.
Paul Mackie says: “The success of this trail
development builds on the existing experience Capita Symonds has
created in this fast-growing sector.”