Developer, homeowners and the public sector are ‘digging’ a new company that aims to reduce environmental damage and construction costs.
Stop Digging! North Wales and North West is the latest venture from entrepreneur Gareth Jones, managing director of the Carbon Zero Group.
This new firm centres around the installation of ground screws rather than traditional methods such as concrete and cement, the manufacturing of which reportedly accounts for more than 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Originating in Sweden, the concept promotes smart and stable anchoring using screws which can be planted directly in the ground using a handheld machine, saving time, money and leaving no more than a three-inch wide hole in the ground.
After visiting the Stop Digging! headquarters in Scandinavia and investing in the business, Gareth returned to St Asaph and is now the only Stop Digging! supplier and installer in North Wales, Liverpool, Cheshire, Shropshire and everywhere in between up to Preston.
“It’s a brilliant and unique system that is already proving very popular with customers, particularly in the construction sector,” he said.
“After going over to Sweden and finding out more, I thought it was a great idea to get involved, and there is nobody else in the North Wales area doing it, and only a handful of companies in the UK. Ground screws are so much more innovative than digging holes and pouring concrete into them, which is the way fences and signs are usually put up around the UK.
"That includes temporary fencing and hoardings around building sites that can be quite messy and laborious; this is a much simpler and advanced alternative and will save them money.”
The handheld system means anyone can plant screws up to 1.6metres deep with the appropriate training, and the resulting foundations can support up to 4.5tonnes.
“Any structure that’s not brick or block can be supported, so anything that needs to be connected to the floor, from mobile homes, to road signs, fencing and benches - the list is endless,” said Gareth. And that can be for a housing development, domestic use or even festivals, garden centre companies, caravan parks and much more.”
