Just south of Aberdeen City, Scotland, is a new community development called Chapelton of Elsick. With plans for the £2bn scheme including 8,000 new homes, space for leisure and business facilities and two schools, public footpaths were an essential feature of the project. Landscape architects Benton Scott-Simmons selected Kinley’s AluExcel edging to ensure all footpaths had a strong edging support.
- The development is being built on 2,000 acres of farmland near Newtonhill, Aberdeen
- The total cost of the project is £2 billion
- When all surrounding neighbourhoods have been completed, the total number of houses built is expected to be over 8,000
- AluExcel edging is made from 100% recycled aluminium
- Kinley has supplied over 4,000 metres of AluExcel edging to the project so far
About the project
Chapelton of Elsick is a visionary new town under construction next to the A90, near Newtonhill. Led by Duke of Fife, David Carnegie, project developer Elsick Development Company (EDC) was inspired by other vibrant settlements in Scotland, such as St Andrews and Stonehaven and set out to create seven sustainable neighbourhoods that would be desirable places to live and work.
Renowned architect, Andres Duany of Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) worked together with a team of local architects and engineers to design Chapelton. As the global pioneer for New Urbanism, a movement that promotes the development of mixed use, walkable communities, DPZ’s aim was to create a variety of homes suitable for all ages, incomes and needs that were in walking distance of community facilities and attractive parks.
Glasgow based Benton Scott-Simmons was intent on using flexible metal edging instead of concrete pin kerbs for the development’s public footpaths. The landscape architecture firm specified Kinley’s AluExcel edging as its flexible but hardwearing design made it the ideal solution to support the numerous footpaths. In addition, it also helped to realise the developer’s sustainable vision. So far, Kinley has delivered over 4,000 metres of both rigid and flexible edging, which was installed between the asphalt footpaths and grass areas.
Laura Scott-Simmons, of Benton Scott-Simmons, the Landscape Architect for the project said: “We were keen to avoid the often utilitarian solutions achieved by using straight lengths of concrete kerbing, as it results in a facetted edge. Instead with the AluExcel edging, we were able to build in more diverse geometries as the material could be supplied either pre-formed to specific radii or manipulated on site when necessary.
“Compared to other edging materials, AluExcel was quick to install. Once a method of working was devised that took account of the construction sequence on site, the organic shapes on the grass verges which were a characteristic of the Chapelton masterplan were successfully achieved.”
Project challenges
As Aberdeenshire Council would assume responsibility for the maintenance of all public footpaths upon completion of the development, approval of the aluminium edging system was required before the installation could go ahead. This meant that Benton Scott-Simmons needed to present to the council’s highways department the case for Kinley’s AluExcel edging as the best option for the project. In order to communicate its design vision to the council, Benton Scott-Simmons worked with Kinley to put together a detailed presentation to the highways department to ensure the edging would be approved and the project would go ahead.
The particular construction detail used was developed collaboratively between Kinley, engineers Fairhurst and the contractor W M Donald. Kinley also worked closely with W M Donald during the installation of the aluminium edging system along the public footpaths. As well as making visits to the site to provide expert guidance to the contractor, Kinley helped W M Donald to carry out a trial installation of the AluExcel edging for Aberdeenshire Council to review and approve.
Kinley’s involvement
Due to the scope and scale of the development, it was vital that Kinley remained involved throughout the entire project. From assisting with presentations to obtain approvals from Aberdeenshire Council to providing on site support to the contractors during the installation process, Kinley played a central role in ensuring the use of AluExcel edging at Chapelton of Elsick was considered a success.
Stuart Bowie, Director of Kinley, said: “This is a significant project for us and we are delighted with the results. The use of our AluExcel edging has resulted in improved aesthetics for the project and created more natural lines in the landscape, in addition to enabling a much faster installation process.
“Chapelton has set a precedent for Aberdeenshire and AluExcel edging. We hope to use it as an exemplar to demonstrate how our edging system can be implemented to enhance large scale developments.”
For further information about Kinley’s range of edging materials including AluExcel, please visit www.kinley.co.uk.
