Coloured asphalt surfacing for new ice centre

External paving was required as part of a new landscape design for a £30 million project to redevelop this sports and leisure venue. The new development would include a large, accessible car park along with footways and pedestrian areas providing access to the new building. Black asphalt would not have fitted with the architectural design of the new centre or the major £1.5m landscaping scheme so the architects wanted to explore alternative materials. As well as matching the aesthetics, the new paved surfaces would need to be durable as the new centre was projected to be extremely popular with high numbers of visitors arriving by car or coach. .....

After discussions with Tarmac’s representatives, ULTICOLOUR asphalt was proposed as the solution. ULTICOLOUR is a range of coloured asphalts that combine a clear polymer modified binder, a pigment and colour matched aggregates. This produces bright colours and a longer lasting finish that resists surface wear and keeps its appearance for its entire service life. ULTICOLOUR is laid using conventional paving equipment, meaning large areas can be completed quickly. It has been used in the UK for over 20 years and has been proven to deliver lasting performance, even on heavily trafficked surfaces like bus lanes. It has also been used at other tourist and entertainment venues such as football stadiums. 

In total, 600 tonnes of five ULTICOLOUR designs were supplied to the site and laid by Tarways. The chosen Buff Quartzite and Light Buff colours complemented the landscaping design and the Mid Blue and Heritage colours provided clear visual demarcation for the disabled parking bays and EV charging points. The contractor was able to achieve an excellent finish with the ULTICOLOUR asphalt providing a smooth, even, trip-free surface that would resist pedestrian and vehicle trafficking. Coloured asphalts avoid the maintenance issues that can occur due to movement and weed growth in block paved surfaces and are therefore easy and cost effective to maintain. The finished result provided a visually striking welcome to the new Lee Valley Ice Centre along with clearly defined parking, charging points, disabled bays and access around the site.