Finished Oatlands will look different to today
OATLANDS has moved to allay fears that work on a field next to the car park is to create additional paved or Tarmacked parking.
While the field, which makes the corner of Les Gigands Road before the traffic light junction, is to be used as an overflow car park, it will be grassed over.
Oatlands investor Gareth Griffin said when the contractors started work they put up fencing which included a reference to ‘paving’ and this had given passers-by the wrong idea.
He said that once work to add drainage to the field is complete, stabilisation grids made from recycled material will be laid and top soil will be added and seeded.
Mr Griffin said that the grid material being used is similar to that used elsewhere, except that it is green.
He said Oatlands was the first place in the Channel Islands to ‘go the extra mile’ and invest in this material, which is more expensive that its more common black counterpart.
‘We don’t want the end result of a green field compromised with possible traces of black showing through,’ he said.
Willow trees next to this field have been cut back following a survey by a tree consultant after four had fallen in the past year. It was decided to cut them right back and allow them to re-grow.
There has also been criticism of the steel structure of the new play barn being built at the other end of the site.
‘You won’t see any of the steel because it will have timber cladding on it,’ said Oatlands’ co-owner Chris Coles.
He added that a smaller building next to it that will house the trampolines will also be timber-clad to give the whole site a rural appearance.
Work is progressing well on the main building, said Mr Coles, which as well as a dining area is set to include a play area aimed at all ages and half-size tenpin bowling lanes.
The play barn roof has been put on and steel cladding is now being added to the sides ahead of the final timber cover.
Contractors CBL Engineering have made the roof strong enough to support the weight of a small aircraft, and this will be where Aurigny’s famous Trislander G-JOEY will be suspended.
Currently being refurbished by the airline, specialist engineers from the UK will be brought to the island to supervise the installation of the iconic plane above the play barn’s dining hall.
A mezzanine floor has also been created that will have additional seating overlooking the area, as well as an exterior balcony, and the whole area will be able to seat some 250 people.
New retail outlets will be opened where the stables were, and a new toilet block is being built near the mini golf course.
Mr Coles said that it is hoped the play barn will open in the summer.
