Aggregate Industries adds natural curb appeal to £5m visitor centre

Aggregate Industries was recently chosen to supply its SuperColour Ultra asphalt solutions to a new visitor centre at Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire.

The new £5m visitor complex in Edwinstowe will provide information on the area to the 350,000 people who visit the popular nature reserve each year.

The project, developed by an RSPB-led consortium, together with Nottinghamshire County Council, includes facilities such as a shop, a café with an outside terrace, an amphitheatre as well as a play area for children.

One of the key requirements for the contractors when it came to surfacing the drop-off point for visitor coaches, was sourcing asphalt to complement the resin bond golden gravel used on the rest of the site to ensure the visitor centre enhanced the area’s natural surroundings as much as possible.

Consequently, the Aggregate Industries SuperColour Ultra, a range of distinctly coloured asphalts, which uses a translucent penetration grade, resinous hydrocarbon binder, was chosen. 

Using its recently-opened SuperColour sampling lab at the company’s Express Asphalt plant in Doncaster, Aggregate Industries created two samples in natural and buff. After testing out the samples to ensure they met the right specification and performance, the contractor eventually opted for the natural colour. 

Victoria Smith, general manager of Express Asphalt at Aggregate Industries, comments: “As an area of outstanding beauty, it was important for the new visitor centre at Sherwood Forest Country Park to be in keeping with the natural surroundings, including the materials used for landscaping and surfacing. With a selection of high-performance asphalt materials at our disposal, including different colours and performance properties, we’re delighted our bespoke SuperColour Ultra succeeded in achieving the naturally appealing look and superior performance the client was after.”

Overall, Aggregate Industries supplied 60 tonnes of SuperColour Ultra in natural, which successfully delivered the desired look at the new visitor centre.

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