As most of the leveling work on the site has been finished, the store, car park, petrol station and road areas are now being prepared for building work to commence. In this post will be photos tracking any progress on site that I see.
Above, work is busy on the south side of the site on the drainage systems and the retaining walls.
Above is another photo looking over the fence at the area of the site where the Tesco store will sit, where work is progressing on the drainage systems that will be underneath the store when it is built.
This photo was taken from the western edge of the site, with the 'footprint' and foundations for the Tesco store right in front, gradually being put together. This photo was taken roughly midway along the length of the store from north to south, which will become visible above the fence when the frame starts going up.
The photo above was taken fairly late on in the day so is a little bit darker. Basically this is the area where the access road will meet Harbour road and the area of the site it will run down to, with the Tesco and it's car park on the left hand side and fuel station situated north of the car park. The area to the right will eventually be a hotel type facility and residential buildings further north into the site. Eventually the main link road will link all areas of the site up.
The photo above was taken at the south west of the site, looking away from where the Tesco store will be built and towards the car park area, with the south boundary of it marked by the newly installed fence and retaining wall on the right hand side.
Above, this over the fence photo shows some of the visible progress on the site. In the foreground you can see the wood which looks like marking the outline of the store, while the foundations are laid and underground drainage work completed. This area will be the rear of the store, with the area clear between the store and tramway used as the delivery yard.
Above is a view looking from the top corner of the Tesco site next to the tramway. In a few months time, this area will be the back of the store where the deliveries are brought in.
This photo above was taken by holding the camera up so I could see over the Tesco fence. This is the area that the Tesco store will fill, with the area in the middle on the left hand side being the start of the foundations for the store.
This photo was taken looking at the Tesco footprint area, where people are busy working on the drainage etc, before the frame etc, start being built for the store.
The photo above was taken looking onto the site via the south west gate of the site (where all of the lorries are entering now) As some may know, this view has been shot by me loads over the past couple of years and things are starting to take shape (this used to be the road going straight up towards the nursery.) The the foreground are lorry/tractor tracks leading onto the site, with the Tesco area off to the left and the site office directly to the left. Ahead is part of retaining wall that has been constructed, which will form the south boundary of the car park. Once work on the Store is finished at the end of the year, I will have a fascinating series of images from this spot, showing how much it has changed since 2008 and the months that work has progressed on the site this year.
This photo was taken outside the riverside workshops area by the top corner of the regeneration site. There was a tank on the trailer for the tractor being filled up using the mains, for something associated with the site works.
The photo above was taken looking in a northeasterly direction through the south western gate of the site, with the mini dumper and digger sitting roughly where the access road to the store will be.
I was looking over the fence to take this photo of workmen on the Tesco part of the site discussing something, with lots of equipment and building supplies sitting in the background roughly where the eastern wall of the Tesco store will be, facing it's car park.
Above, is a view onto the southern edge of the site where the car park retaining wall is being installed with the posts ready for a fence to be built, so no one walks off into the 2 metre drop on the other side!
The photo above was taken looking in a northerly direction onto the Tesco area of the site, where workmen are working at installing drainage systems etc, before the work on the foundations of the store can begin.
Above is a quick snap of the retaining wall that is being built on the side of the infill material on the south western side of the site. The gaps in the wood will then be filled with stones and gravel. The area where the mini dumper is, is where the southern edge of the Tesco car park will be.
This was the view of the south western gate of the site, where all the deliveries are now going to, due to the fact that this gate is a lot closer to the store site. At the time of taking the photo, Lorries full of materials were driving in and out to drop their loads onto the Tesco part of the site.
The photo above shows some workmen spraying the eastern side of the site with a seed mixture, which will cover the whole area in grass, until the time when developers buy the land in order to build residential properties on it.
The photo above was taken in the Underfleet car park looking at the fence where the western side of the Tesco store will be. This will be one of the photos I use in future months to compare how the scene changes, when building work is visible above the fence.
Above, is the southern side of the site, with the store on the left half and the car park on the right.
Here is some of the machinery and equipment that is being used to get drainage etc into place before the store, petrol station and car park are constructed.
The photo above shows the area of Harbour road that has now been reduced to one lane, in order to build the new road and the junction that will link vehicles to the Tesco development once it has been completed. The area just beyond the small digger is where the new road will connect with Harbour road, with either side being widened, in order to ease the traffic flow, especially with HGV's etc using this area of road frequently in the future.
Above is a photo looking across the area where the tesco store will sit at the end of the year. It is ready for the foundation work to start, with workmen working away just off to the left hand side of the frame on drainage or something along those lines.
The photo above was taken looking across the north eastern edge of the site, where the distribution of infill has been completed. This area will be where residential developments will be built on the site.
This photo will form one of my comparison images once the project on Tesco is completed, as according to the master plan, the area where I was taking the photo from is where the Pedestrian plaza will meet the Underfleet. The area directly in front will be a view looking towards the Tesco store, with the Youth centre building scheduled to be demolished in the near future.
