Invitation to Quote for Town Hall Gardens Access Improvement Works Chatham

Medway Council invites quotations from suitable contractors for repair and upgrading works in Town Hall Gardens, Chatham.

In summary the main parts of the work, by value, involve:

1. Removal of a section of existing posts and railing type fence and replacing with a gated entrance. The new drop kerb crossover area will be block paved with conservation setts.
2. A 20m extension of fencing to match with the existing, to the Contractor’s design using the guidelines and performance requirements stated on the tender drawings.
3. Construction of a new 2m wide, 45m long footpath using Tree Root Protection methods and specialist permeable surfacing using resin bound aggregates.
4. Repair and resurfacing a network of existing asphalt footpaths with approximately 1350m2 being repaired using asphalt reinforcement methods and overlay resurfacing. All resurfaced footpaths will be surface dressed with Buff colour chippings, to match in with the footpaths at Great Lines Heritage Park which is adjacent to Town Hall Gardens.
5. Flights of steps at two locations for connecting onto the public Highways. One location will have brick retaining walls.
6. Approximately 900m of metal edgings in either mild steel, aluminium or Corten steel. These will be priced separately in the tender.
7. Relocation of street lighting columns and road signs.
8. Supply and installation of 8 (eight) amenity benches – this includes 6 new benches and 2 reinstallations of existing benches on site.

The site has various constraints including the network of footpaths. These have connections onto the local Highways for pedestrian routes to or from Gillingham and Chatham through the Great Lines Heritage Park. The main route through Town Hall Gardens is an official Public Right of Way which will require temporary closures and diversion at various times during construction. There is also a play area in the south-eastern corner of the site.

The most significant constraint is that the whole site is an ancient burial site with unmarked graves spread across the site. Whilst only the new path, is a new construction, there are depressions along the existing footpaths that imply the existing footpaths may have been constructed over some of the graves. Excavations are generally to be avoided.