Charlton Park Rugby Football Club

Charlton Park Rugby Football Club has been part of south-east London’s rugby community since 1893. The club moved to its current Broad Walk ground in Kidbrooke in August 1999 and later invested in improvements to the pitch drainage system.

Approximately 25,000m² of natural turf required renovation, covering the club’s playing pitches and training area. The programme needed to improve conditions within the soil profile while providing fresh seed and an even application of topdressing across surfaces with different material requirements.

Bourne Sport began by Verti-Draining the playing surfaces and training area using a 1.8m-wide Wiedenmann TERRA SPIKE GXi 8. The treatment opened the soil profile to support the movement of air and water through the turf. The machine is designed for deep aeration on sports pitches and other fine turf surfaces.

The team then supplied and spread 200 tonnes of SS01 washed sports sand. Sixty tonnes were applied to both the 1st XV and 2nd XV rugby pitches, while each football pitch received 40 tonnes. Once spread, the material was worked into the surface from several directions using a drag mat.

SS01 was supplied by Bourne Amenity and delivered to Broad Walk by John Bourne & Co. The sand is suitable for natural turf topdressing and drainage treatments.

All playing surfaces, including the training area, were then overseeded at 30g/m² using Barenbrug E7. This 100% perennial ryegrass mixture is developed for establishing and renovating high-wear winter sports surfaces, including rugby and football pitches.

The project brought businesses from across The Bourne Group together, with Bourne Sport completing the spreading, overseeding and Verti-Drain treatments on site.