British Sugar

Customer Testimonials

For some real examples of the benefits of TOPSOIL, use the links to check out the experiences of some of our customers ...

Tiffin Girls School, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey

Working with NPS Property Consultants Ltd and sports ground contractor Gerald Davies Ltd, TOPSOIL delivered 2000 tonnes of Landscape20 to Tiffin Girls School, Kingston upon Thames ...
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Strategic Training Solutions, Clipstone, Notts

Strategic Training Solutions provides training to students between the ages of 14 and 24 ...
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G B Building Solutions, Nottingham

G B Building Solutions is a national contractor committed to providing high-quality housing, which is both affordable and delivered on time ...
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DeepRoot UK, London

DeepRoot chose Landscape20, the general-purpose product from TOPSOIL, to help exhibit its subsurface integrated tree and stormwater system called Silva Cell at the urban landscape show Cityscape 2008.
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Westleigh New Homes, Leicestershire

Westleigh New Homes, part of the group Westleigh Developments Ltd, build modern, contemporary new homes across the Midlands.
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Gardens of Peace Cemetery, Hainault, Essex

The Gardens of Peace Muslim Cemetery Trust, at Hainault in Essex, selected TOPSOIL Landscape20 for the landscaping of its cemetery site and the forming of graves...
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Offsite2007’ selects Landscape20 for Innovation Park

The British Research Establishment’s Innovation Park, at this year’s Offsite2007 event, chose Landscape20 from TOPSOIL to construct the landscape features and for use in the planted areas ...
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St John’s College Cambridge switches to TOPSOIL

Head Groundsman, Keith Ellis, of St John’s College Cambridge, has used SPORTS10 from British Sugar TOPSOIL, for a second year, to repair the goalmouths of the college’s football pitches and to take undulations out of the tennis courts ...
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Lee Valley Athletics Centre, East London

Anglian Land Drainage chose TOPSOIL’s Landscape20 for the brand new Lee Valley Athletics Centre opened in January 2007 ...
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Elton Hall, Cambs

The Elton Hall estate, near Peterborough, has used TOPSOIL's Landscape20 for the creation of a major new landscaped area, replacing a former rose garden ...
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Writtle College Agricultural College, Essex

Led by Nigel Beckford and Simon Grundy, Senior Lecturers in Horticulture, National Diploma students at Writtle College in Essex have completed an evaluation of TOPSOIL on their plot gardens.

The students used Landscape20 in a number of trial areas: to fill raised planters, backfill-turfing bays, establish a new rose garden and renovating a football goalmouth ...
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King William Bowls Club, Norfolk
King William Bowls Club, in Kings Lynn, Norfolk has become the first club to switch from traditional top dressing to TOPSOIL's Sports10 ...
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Cambourne, Cambs
TOPSOIL has supplied the topdressing material for the maintenance of new sports pitches in Cambourne in Cambridgeshire ...
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Alliance House, Newington Green, London
Essex-based landscaper, Stewart Landscape Solutions Ltd, has used Landscape20 to create a stunning scheme in the grounds of Alliance House, a new housing development in Newington Green, London ...
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Lion Farm Playing Fields, Sandwell, W. Midlands
A number of sports grounds in the West Midlands, including 27 football pitches, have been significantly improved by Sandwell Borough Council using Landscape20 from TOPSOIL ...
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Buckingham Group, Northants
Over 600 tonnes of Landscape20 was used by Buckingham Group Contracting for central reservation work on the Beckingham, Newark, A17 (T) road improvement scheme ...
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City of Manchester stadium
Landscape20 has been successfully used on a prestige residential landscaping project at Sports City, Manchester. This major regeneration project includes the City of Manchester Stadium used for the Commonwealth Games and now the home of Manchester City FC and the cycling veladrome ...
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Chelmsford Borough Council
The Park Services department of Chelmsford Borough Council selected Landscape20 as its preferred product for restoring and maintaining the sports pitches in its catchment area ...
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Tiffin Girls School, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey

Working with NPS Property Consultants Ltd and sports ground contractor Gerald Davies Ltd, TOPSOIL delivered 2000 tonnes of Landscape20 to Tiffin Girls School, Kingston upon Thames.

The Landscape20 was used to create a grass playing area at the front of the school. NPS were appointed to project manage the improvement works to the school playing field. British Sugar TOPSOIL was specified following recommendations from a number of sources.
NPS were assured that by specifying this topsoil the client would be guaranteed material of a consistently high quality. Sports Ground Contractor, Gerald Davies Ltd was given a two-week window to excavate and remove the existing soil and replace it with the Landscape20, which was placed to an average depth of 150mm by a dozer and then graded and harrowed for seeding.

Strategic Training Solutions, Clipstone, Notts

Strategic Training Solutions provides training to students between the ages of 14 and 24. They work with six local schools, totalling approximately 135 students each year, giving them hands-on experience to help them achieve their Horticultural qualifications.
They also complete commercial work so they can continue to offer training. In only eight months the students have developed an old landfill site into a recreational area for the community. In that time, 120 tonnes of TOPSOIL’s Landscape20 has been delivered to the site. It has been used for levelling large areas, planting and turfing. Paul Hadden, the training manager of the site at Clipstone allotments, comments on why they use Landscape20, “It was exactly what we were looking for - a good quality topsoil that is always consistent.”

G B Building Solutions Nottingham

G B Building Solutions is a national contractor committed to providing high-quality housing, which is both affordable and delivered on time. The site in Nottingham has been developed to offer 112 dwellings as a combination of flats, house and bungalows.
Over a period of 18months, TOPSOIL delivered over 1300 tonnes of Landscape20 to the site, providing all the topsoil that was needed for the whole project. This included the landscaping, turfing and planting of all the new gardens.
Paul Jarman, supervisor and assessor at St Ann’s, explains why they chose Landscape20, “We came to British Sugar TOPSOIL as we needed to ensure we had a good-quality topsoil that would meet the criteria set by Nottingham City Council. We were confident that in using Landscape20 we would not have to worry about any potential problems when the environmental officer visited the site.”

DeepRoot UK, London

The Silva Cell holds unlimited amounts of soil while supporting traffic loads beneath paving and hardscapes and successfully serves two functions: growing large trees and treating stormwater on-site. It supports traffic loads to AASHTO H-20 loading standards and is ideal for almost any application, including car parks, footpaths, streetscapes and plazas. Stephen Chatwin-Grindey of DeepRoot, said ”we selected Landscape20 from British Sugar’s TOPSOIL business because of its reputation as a consistent, easy-to-work topsoil - this complements the quality we have designed into our own product”.

For more information on Silva Cell visit:

Deeproot.com

Westleigh New Homes, Leicestershire

Westleigh New Homes, part of the group Westleigh Developments Ltd, build modern, contemporary new homes across the Midlands.

They are particularly committed to the conservation and improvement of the environment and minimising the impact arising from their activities. As such, they are careful in their selection of suppliers in that they share these values.

Westleigh's Procurement Manager, Noel Cook comments, "Westleigh continues to use the Landscape20 product from British Sugar TOPSOIL on its development sites. We are pleased to work with them quite simply because they can supply competitively-priced imported topsoil that meets the exacting standards set by both local authorities & the NHBC. In addition, we get to see summaries of their rigorous testing
documentation all of which gives us real confidence"

Gardens of Peace Cemetery, Hainault, Essex

The Gardens of Peace Muslim Cemetery Trust, at Hainault in Essex, selected TOPSOIL Landscape20 for the landscaping of its cemetery site and the forming of graves.

The Gardens of Peace is a registered charitable trust. At 21.5 acres, it is the largest Muslim Cemetery in the UK, with enough space for over 10,000 graves.

Cemetery trustee, Mr Mehboob Patel said “We’ve already used over 800 tonnes of Landscape20 as it is easy to work with when forming graves and the rates of establishment and growth are very good”

The landscaped area is evolving into a wooded environment

The project’s landscape architects, Austin-Smith:Lord, won the top Award in the internationally-recognised Stonegard Phoenix Competition for their work. The Cemetery has also won a Special Award from BALI for groundbreaking work in urban renewal.

All plots are marked by the same simple engraved stone. Trees are planted at 5m intervals between the graves and along with generous planting around the site boundary, are evolving into a wooded landscape.

'Offsite2007’ selects Landscape20 for Innovation Park

The British Research Establishment’s Innovation Park, at this year’s Offsite2007 event, chose Landscape20 from TOPSOIL to construct the landscape features and for use in the planted areas.

The Innovation Park consists of five demonstration buildings, including the first home to achieve a Level 6 rating under the new Code for Sustainable Homes, and a sustainable school of the future.

The Innovation Park’s Landscape Architect, Peter Wilder of Macfarlane Wilder, Urban & Environmental Land Planning, said “We chose Landscape20 because it is a high-quality sustainable topsoil which complements the philosophy of the park”

The buildings and innovation park will be in place for two years and will be used for education purposes.

Opened by Yvette Cooper, Minister for Housing & Planning, the Innovation Park consists of buildings which conform to the “zero carbon” challenge, making them amongst the most sustainable buildings in the world. The houses on the BRE Innovation Park have been built to the Government's new Code for Sustainable Homes, introduced in April this year, making them the first houses to be assessed under this new voluntary regulation.

St John’s College Cambridge switches to TOPSOIL

Head Groundsman, Keith Ellis, of St John’s College Cambridge, has used SPORTS10 from British Sugar TOPSOIL, for a second year, to repair the goalmouths of the college’s football pitches and to take undulations out of the tennis courts.
Keith switched to SPORTS10 in 2006 following a number of bad experiences with a local supply of topsoil which contained glass and brick rubble.

He said “I decided to give SPORTS10 a go having viewed the product during a visit to British Sugar’s TOPSOIL business at Wissington, Norfolk, with the local IOG Branch in 2006."

Keith continues “Because all of British Sugar’s TOPSOIL products are derived from prime arable topsoil and not muckaway, I am able to have complete confidence that every load will be what I ordered and not contaminated. Since switching to SPORTS10 I have been able to simply place an order and then concentrate on other things. With my previous supplier I would have had to check every load for contamination before accepting it. As well as being impressed with the quality I am also very pleased with the results”

Established in 1858 the sports pitches at St John’s cover an area of 28 acres providing a full range of sports for the students.

Lee Valley Athletics Centre, East London

Anglian Land Drainage chose TOPSOIL’s Landscape20 for the brand new Lee Valley Athletics Centre opened in January 2007.
The Essex-based contractor, who specialise in the drainage, construction and renovation of sports fields, used 2,000 tonnes of Landscape20 for the infield works of the outdoor running track. The topsoil was delivered in only five days by a fleet of 20 tonne fixed-axle trucks and was immediately placed by a laser-guided excavator to a depth of 150mm over the base drainage layer. It was then cultivated and seeded.
Project Manager and Company Director, Matt Jaggard said “Landscape20 was selected for this project because it is a sandy loam that is clean, safe, fully analysed and virtually stone-free. These features meant we didn’t have to carry out any costly stone-picking and cultivations were kept to a minimum. At a dry time of year this meant that we were able to preserve as much moisture as possible to ensure good seed germination.

The Lee Valley Athletics Centre (LVAC), which was officially opened by Olympic Minister Tessa Jowell on 16 January 2007 and is the newest training facility in the south of England.

Elton Hall chooses TOPSOIL for new garden feature

The Elton Hall estate, near Peterborough, chose Landscape20 for the creation of a major new landscaped area, replacing a former rose garden.

The new project, designed by Lady Tollemache and Lady Proby and undertaken by landscape business R J Warren, based in Whittlesey, Peterborough, incorporated a water feature surrounded by rose & shrub beds edged with Indian sandstone and planters. The existing soil was dug out to a depth of 400mm and replaced with a total of 440 tonnes of Landscape20 delivered from Wissington, near Kings Lynn.

Robert Warren specialises in landscape maintenance and construction projects and is very aware of the importance of good quality soil. "I was familiar with the TOPSOIL business and had heard some favourable reports, so I felt it was the right product for this prestigious project" he said. "It raked-out well and its high fertility level was very advantageous in ensuring fast establishment and growth of the shrubs and turf" he continued.

The Estate of Elton Hall lies in the heart of 3800 acres, straddling the Cambs and Northants border. The Hall, standing in landscaped parkland, has been in the Proby family since the 1600s.

Successful TOPSOIL Trial at Writtle College

Led by Nigel Beckford and Simon Grundy, Senior Lecturers in Horticulture, National Diploma students at Writtle College in Essex have completed an evaluation of TOPSOIL products on their plot gardens.

The students used Landscape20 in a number of trial areas: to fill raised planters, backfill-turfing bays, establish a new rose garden and renovating a football goalmouth. The raised beds, constructed out of sleepers and concrete, were backfilled with it to a maximum depth of 60mm.

After digging out the existing soil, Landscape20, was placed to a depth of 500mm in the turfing bays.

It was also spread by hand into the football pitch goalmouths then raked and seeded.

All the trials were successful and the students made several observations on the TOPSOIL product.

They found it well-graded and easy to handle straight from the stocking area. Once in place Landscape20 was very easy to rake with no stone picking or breaking down of lumps needed to form a manageable tilth. The raised planters experienced a minimal drop of only 20mm between their filling in July 2005 and their planting in November 2005. The students reported that they found the planting into Landscape20 easy and that it demonstrated good structure, drainage and moisture retention.

Although no specific test was undertaken, the students felt that germination rates and growth in the turf bays and goalmouth suggested a high level of nutrient availability from the product.

Bowls Club switches to TOPSOIL

King William Bowls Club, in Kings Lynn, Norfolk has become the first club to switch from traditional top dressing to TOPSOIL's 10mm screened soil, Sports10.

Previously, the club has used a sterilised top dressing for its autumn / winter maintenance programme. However, following a discussion on the TOPSOIL stand at the 2005 Saltex show, Eric Clarke, the clubs’s Groundsman and Secretary decided to be the first to try Sports10, TOPSOIL's 10mm-screened blend of sand (65%), silt (23%) and clay (12%).

Mr Clarke applied the product by hand in late September having first prepared the green and distributed grass seed. A wooden board and drag mat was then subsequently used to level the surface; best results being achieved by leaving a period of 24 hours between application and levelling. The new grass became established very quickly allowing a mowing schedule to be instated. "I am very impressed by this product" said Mr Clarke "during the spreading some balls of soil were formed, but leaving the soil for 24 hours before applying the levelling board and drag mat easily broke these up. The rate of growth from the grass has been amazing - it is a very fertile material. I was drawn to trying it as the cost of traditional dressings is a significant drain on our budget and this TOPSOIL product reduces my costs by over 50% - the club is delighted with the overall result."

Cambourne, Cambs
TOPSOIL has supplied the topdressing material for the maintenance of new sports pitches in Cambourne in Cambridgeshire.

The pitches were established two years ago on a fully-drained site of 40% clay as part of the continuing development of the new township that has received universal acclaim for its unique design. Their construction and maintenance was been overseen by sports turf consultant Melvyn Poole.

During the summer of 2005, the pitches received a topdressing application of 400 tonnes of Sports10 as part of a maintenance contract awarded to Pro-Scape, based near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk (www.pro-scape.co.uk).

The Sports10 came from TOPSOIL's Wissington site and is a 10mm screened sandy loam (72% sand / 22% silt / 6% clay). It was applied by spreading contractor Olly Neal from Bury St Edmunds, using a Bredal twin spinning disc spreader at a rate of 36 tonnes/acre.

Both Melvyn Poole and Pro-Scape’s MD, Errol Lovick were delighted with the result. Melvyn said “I chose this TOPSOIL product because I wanted a dressing containing silt and clay as well as sand. With no irrigation available, this blend will sustain the grass through the dry summer months as well as allowing the drainage of water during the winter.” Errol added “I was impressed with the overall service we received and in particular the evenness of the application that ensured good coverage without unnecessary waste.”

Alliance House, Newington Green, London
Essex-based landscaper, Stewart Landscape Solutions Ltd, has used TOPSOIL's Landscape20 to create a stunning scheme in the grounds of Alliance House, a new housing development in Newington Green, London.

Landscape architect Colvin & Moggridge designed and advised the Shaftsbury Housing Association on the scheme and the eight-month project was completed in the spring of 2005.

The approved scheme used a varied planting list and required over 500 tonnes of quality soil delivered out of TOPSOIL’s site in Bury St Edmunds. The design featured planted beds to a depth of 300mm and tree pits up to 800mm deep with an integral drainage layer.

Mark Richardson, owner of Stewart Landscaper Solutions, was delighted with how quickly the scheme became established saying “When taking on a project I always ask that I can specify and order the soil so I can be sure the specific planting scheme will be successful. The quality of the TOPSOIL product proved very consistent and the overall customer service from enquiry right through to post-delivery follow-up was superb."

Woodside School, East London
Woodside School in East London gained new soccer pitches through a DETR-funded Remediation Project on an ex-Victorian landfill site using TOPSOIL's Landscape20.

Dean & Dyball Construction, the prime contractor, initially obtained the necessary topsoil locally but they were very disappointed with its poor standard as it mainly comprised of demolition waste. The TOPSOIL Helpdesk was able to arrange for 9000 tonnes of Landscape20 to be delivered urgently in scheduled deliveries from its Wissington and Bury St Edmunds sites.

The soil was applied following site clearance and preparation which included the laying of a membrane beneath the surface. A laser-guided bulldozer was used for accurate suface-levelling.

Nigel Easter of Dean & Dyball said “This project was very important for the local community and our initial supply of topsoil caused us some considerable concern. In coming to our rescue so promptly, TOPSOIL enabled us to keep to our schedule. In particular, we were pleased with the efficiency of the deliveries in meeting our tight deadlines.”

Sandwell, W. Midlands
As part of a long-term improvement programme, the Council has used over 1000 tonnes of Landscape20 applied as a sportsfield dressing. This has restored the playing surface of a number of pitches previously suffering from deep potholes and poor drainage. Many of these, such as the nine football pitches at Lion Farm Playing Fields - formerly a landfill site - can now be used several times a week by local teams without the surface becoming unplayable.

Steve West, of Sandwell Borough Council’s Leisure Services stated: “We were delighted with the performance of the TOPSOIL product, particularly as its quality has been so consistent and the service from British Sugar’s factories has been first-class. We’re already planning to use more of the product on other recreational grounds as part of our sports ground improvement programme.”

Buckingham Group, Northants
Buckingham Group Contracting, based in Northamptonshire, were one of the principal contractors for the essential maintenance project being handled by Birse Construction on behalf of the Highways Agency.

Site conditions were adversely affected by especially high rainfall so Andy Spetch, TOPSOIL’s Sales Manager, recommended TOPSOIL from our Newark factory. Delivered directly within 24 hours of ordering, it was spread without any clumping problems and, along with the final application of grass seed, in far less time than with conventional material.

Tim Brown, Commercial Director at the Buckingham Group summed up the new approach “We have been delighted with TOPSOIL as its ease-of-use has enabled us to complete the job with less resource and in less time. In addition, the fact that it is a totally recycled product of known origination means it meets the Highways Agency’s environmental objectives. We are already considering it for other projects.”

City of Manchester stadium

Stewart Landscape Solutions Ltd, based in Halstead, Essex, won the landscape design scheme for an exciting executive flat development directly opposite the innovative City of Manchester Stadium. The scheme consisted of shrubs and semi-mature trees and was designed by David Fountain, a Gold Medal winner and Best in Show at RHS Chelsea and Tatton in 2001.

Mark Richardson, Stewart Landscape Solution’s owner, said, “Countryside Properties, the developer of the site, wanted an environment to complement the outstanding design of the stadium. We needed to get the basics right in order to give the chosen planting every chance to thrive; as such, we had no hesitation in choosing TOPSOIL which we know has such dependable quality.”

Chelmsford Borough Council

The initial order of 60 tonnes, supplied out of British Sugar’s Bury St Edmunds factory has been used to repair goalmouths and create new landscaping. Richard Whiting, Grounds Maintenance Supervisor said “ We’re responsible for 10 parks and over 50 sports pitches. We need a product that is capable of quickly establishing newly sown grass but as the areas are used by the general public we also have a duty of care to ensure that the soil is clean and sharps-free. We chose TOPSOIL as it consistently meets these standards, is competitively priced and delivered on time.”