Tip toe through the wood shed…

We meet some inspiring people in our work.  People who have drive and ambition.  People who have initiative.

One such is Paul Cresswell of Insitu Designs.  What Paul doesn’t know about wood isn’t worth knowing.  He builds beautiful oak framed structures in his rural yard and buildings in a woodland setting in Kent.  In times of recession he is flat-out, such is the quality of his work and the demand for his product.

Paul uses saws – very large saws.  And handles large loads of timber.  All of this is normal in his line of work but he had the added feature of a footpath running straight through his yard – a hazard for even the most careful person engaged in an already dangerous occupation.  He also had a need for a drying facility – a larger building allowing him to use the prevailing wind to dry wood naturally.  That required a development which would affect the footpath so Kent County Council was engaged and the process of diversion commenced.

The wide pre-order consultation led to objections.  No one seemed to doubt the wisdom of a diversion, just the route it should take.  Rather than take a route avoiding the yard and building, objectors wanted to walk behind his building over land that is stripped of life regularly to preserve the overhead high voltage cables.  One particular objector was the local representative of the British Horse Society, despite the fact that it was only a footpath being moved.

A site meting with objectors started with a talk by Paul explaining how the company operated and why the new drying facility was so important.  The options were considered and debated.

A compromise was reached retaining a walk through woodlands a few metres from the original proposal and honour was satisfied.  The diversion order attracted no objections and will take effect at the end of March 2013.  Work on the new drying kiln can commence and the company and the public can continue their respective use of the woodland.

For ET Landnet we are delighted to have secured another diversion for our clients and to have paid a small part in helping secure the ongoing business of Insitu Designs.

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