Temperatures hit the nineties later on in June and any thoughts of flooding were probably in the back of most peoples minds. However there have been some very heavy outbreaks of rain across the UK which has been a worry for those whose homes were flooded in July 2007.
Storm Geomatics have completed a local project in the town of Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. Over 3km of the idealic River Cam and tributaries were surveyed to create a hydraulic model which will help calculate existing channel capacities and highlight any areas with scope to alleviate flooding.
Setting-out work continued on the PassivHaus at Barton-on-the-Heath as the project gets closer to the concrete pour for the base slab in mid-June.
Storm Geomatics were appointed the setting-out engineers for a high profile residential building. The building is to be featured on the Grand Designs television program and is believed to be one of only 10 buildings within the UK to be granted special PPS7 planning permission as a design that is "truly outstanding and ground breaking" according to paragraph 11 of the above policy.
A Woolly Mammoth was seen near Watermead Park in Leicestershire. Surveyors were installing a Environment Agency control station when they saw a full size model of the beast (pictured) which was sculptured on the remains of a real one found in the surrounding gravel pits about 20 years ago.
Surveyors ventured into Pork Pie Country (Melton Mowbray) and surveyed Melton Brook. The survey was part of a project to model eight watercourses in the Leicestershire area. The survey team discovered that not only is Melton Mowbray famous for its pork pies, but also its fabulous stilton.
A rare bird from the heron family was spotted whilst surveying on watercourses to the south-west of Oxford. The ?bittern?, which is a brown flecked looking heron, was seen flying along a small watercourse by Anthony Pritchard. The location of the sighting was recorded and the Ordnance Survey coordinates were reported to the Environment Agency.
Storm Geomatics have been awarded a contract to survey 50km of watercourses for the Thames Region of the Environment Agency. The contract which is based on tributaries of the River Thames south-east of Lechlade, Oxon was won on a comeptitive tender basis. Surveyors surveyed and delivered approximately half of the project within six weeks of being awarded the contract.atemans brewery in Wainfleet and stock up on some "Rosey Nosey" for a well deserved Christmas break!!
Company Director Anthony Pritchard attended a conference at Manchester United's Old Trafford Football Stadium. The conference revealed best practice guidelines for Network RTK Surveying in Great Britain. Research and testing was carried out by Newcastle University to prove the accuracies of this GPS technology which has been available and developing for nearly five years. The good news was that network RTK GPS when used by the approved methods, is giving consistent results that will fit the tolerances of many specifications. This will reduce survey fees as control stations can be established in seconds, rather than hours. Download the results using the TSA link on this website.
A signal crayfish was found in Bampton, Oxfordshire. The invasive crayfish was accidentally trodden on by a surveyor whilst taking river bed levels. These crustaceans are becoming more and more prevelant in our watercourses as they push out our native crayfish. More work was undertaken in the Cotswolds as a result of the floods of July 2007. Surveyors have been capturing additional levels on existing projects as more flood relief options unfold.
Storm Geomatics took over 5700 levels over 90 hectares using an all terrain vehicle kitted out with Moving RTK GPS. The 15m grid of levels was captured on The North Wyke Research Facility, Okehampton, Devon. Ditch levels were also surveyed on foot using robotic total stations and pole mounted RTK GPS. The survey was part of a project to better understand the drainage situation at the grassland research station.
