Barton link road gives early boost to communities

Community groups in Barton upon Humber and Barrow upon Humber were among the first to benefit from the new Humber Link Road project, commissioned by North Lincolnshire Council through the YORcivil3 civil engineering framework, when the Jackson Civil Engineering (JCE) team donated and delivered five tonnes of wood chippings to support local community initiatives.

JCE is constructing the Barton Link Road, which will connect Barrow Road with Caistor Road on behalf of North Lincolnshire Council. As part of the preparations for the scheme, a number of trees were removed to allow archaeological investigations to take place. The timber was then processed into wood chippings and retained on site.

Rather than allowing the material to go to waste, the civil engineering team identified an opportunity to maximise its value by donating the chippings to local community projects. One load was delivered to the Barton Allotments Society, while another went to Barrow upon Humber Parish Council, which will share the material with Ferry Men in Sheds for improvement works around the village.

Barton Allotments Society is currently developing a community polytunnel on the Dam Road allotments that will serve as an environmental wellbeing centre for local residents. The donated chippings will be used to cover the entire floor of the polytunnel and accessible pathways, creating a firm surface suitable for mobility scooters and wheelchairs.

Kevin Sharp, President of the Barton Allotments Society, said: “The kind donation and help Jackson Civil Engineering provided will go a long way towards helping us set up the project and hopefully by the start of spring we will be up and running.”

Kev Chatham, Site Foreman for JCE on the link road project, who helped organise the deliveries, said: “We try to help the communities close to where we are working if we can. We don’t like wasting materials that can be reused, so helping these community groups makes perfect sense for us.”

The Humber Link Road project demonstrates how infrastructure schemes delivered through the YORcivil3 framework can provide benefits beyond the construction works themselves, supporting local communities and promoting the reuse of materials. A full programme of tree planting and landscaping will be carried out on completion of the scheme.