Early this year Phase Site Investigations were called in to carry out a utility tracing survey at a Park in north-east England. The site was one of the more picturesque areas that we have been asked to survey as it consisted of areas of open parkland, woodland and areas around Victorian stable blocks and buildings. It was these buildings that were being restored and opened to the public as part of a lottery funded project.
Unfortunately freezing weather, wind, rain and fog did hinder the enjoyment of the site slightly but the conditions didn’t stop us locating a gas pipe that was in a completely different place to the route shown on a sketch plan that the park authorities had. In some places the pipe was more than 20 m away from where the plan showed it to be!
We were also able to locate a variety of other types of buried services and the groundworks for the project could proceed with the assurance that they now had an accurate plan of the buried pipes and cables. Several cables passed under livestock compounds but the residents were less interested in the accuracy of our high-tech equipment and more concerned as to whether we had brought them any carrots! Sadly not everyone appreciates GPR!