Decorative screens help park put on the style

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Nov 22, 2005

A set of highly decorative steel screens have been successfully galvanized by South East Galvanizers in Witham, Essex, to bring a touch of extra style to a leisure park and marina.

A set of highly decorative steel screens have been successfully galvanized by South East Galvanizers in Witham, Essex, to bring a touch of extra style to a leisure park and marina visited by local families and tourists in St Neots, Cambridgeshire.

The screens, which have a nautical and wildlife theme, show boats, birds and plants and are the creation of blacksmiths George James and Sons of Broughton, Northamptonshire.

They were commissioned, along with some similar panels for another location, by Huntingdon District Council for its St Neots Project.

George James and Sons is an old business, originally founded in 1841 and still operates from its original forge.

In recent times it has gained a reputation for designing,forging,and making contemporary work for both public art projects and individual requirements.

A spokesman for the council said that when installed the screens, or panels, would enhance the appeal and environment of the park and marina, which is beside the River Great Ouse which flows through the town.

The leisure park has rowing boats, a cafe, gardens and other facilities and the screens blend naturally into the landscape, while also forming a barrier between the park and a road.

Neil Pearson of South East Galvanizers said that although the bespoke screens included very unusual, intricate shapes compared with many more routine projects - which meant that the galvanizing had to be carried with maximum thoroughness and care to ensure that all parts of the steel were fully protected - the company's modern facilities and skilled staff had been able to successfully galvanize the units without difficulty: "Galvanizing represents the ideal method of protecting steel objects, including external artworks like these, from the elements and we are confident that althought the screens were being painted for aesthetic reasons, the galvanzing will keep them in perfect condition for many years.".