KBI Flexi-Pave material fits criteria perfectly for look and behaviour
The Trans Pennine Trail, which was officially opened in 2001, is operated by a partnership of 26 local authorities across the north of England, with its national office hosted by Barnsley MBC. Sections of the TPT running through the borough of Barnsley were re-laid over a period of several months using KBI Flexi-Pave.
Walkers, horse riders, cyclists and runners all use the TPT but were regularly hindered on certain sections due to the traditional worn pathways becoming sodden and unusable following rainfall.
Mandy Loach, Trans Pennine Trail Officer, and Sarah Ford, Public Rights of Way Officer for Barnsley Council, jointly offered their thoughts on the project: “The resurfacing work we’ve done is part of a longer-term strategy to raise the standard of the TPT. We’ve found that the KBI FlexiTM-Pave material fits the criteria perfectly in terms of how we wanted the TPT to look and behave. Parts of the trail here in south Yorkshire had always suffered from drainage problems. Whenever we experienced heavy rainfall, parts of the trail would become virtually unusable. Standing water was an issue, and recent wet summers had caused sections of pathway to erode.
“The project has been a huge success. The sections that have been re-laid look fantastic and the product has worked in exactly the way we had hoped. Standing water problems have been solved and the surface has made the sections more accessible to a wider range of users. We’ve also seen a big rise in the amount of people using the trail. It’s also pleasing to know that the new pathways are made using over 10,000 used car tyres, making this one of the greenest projects we’ve undertaken.”
Graham Pell, sales and marketing director for KBI UK Ltd, said the company was delighted to be involved in the project: “The operators of the Trans Pennine Trail had extremely specific criteria when choosing a new surface for these sections. We are pleased to say that KBI Flexi-Pave was the outstanding candidate. The finished sections look fantastic and the operators have already seen a major increase in the number of people using the TPT.”
