Install, grow, relocate: the green roof project on the move

Two projects, one green roof. That’s the aim of a ground-breaking initiative to revamp a YMCA with a living roof removed from a development 1km away.

Saxon Court in Milton Keynes has undergone a temporary transformation into a ‘live lab’, showcasing multiple green, blue and biosolar roof applications together with a rooftop vegetable growing project, all installed while planning permission are gained to redevelop the site. 

Green infrastructure and living roof specialist Bridgman & Bridgman is spearheading the venture – entitled The Green Roof Project – with support from Milton Keynes Council, aiming to demonstrate the many benefits of green roofs in towns and cities for biodiversity, carbon capture and fruit/vegetable production. 

An integral part of the plan is to also train young people from YMCA MK to install the living roof and support them in gaining the necessary expertise and certification in the installation and maintenance of green roofs. When the Saxon Court scheme is concluded, the newly skilled operatives will repurpose materials from its rooftop to top off the town’s new YMCA building.

Award-winning green roof manufacturer Wallbarn, along with other GRO members, is supporting the project by supplying its modular M-Tray green roof system, which suits the scheme perfectly due to its prefabricated, easy to install – and remove – nature, as Director Julian Thurbin explained: “If there was a project perfect for M-Tray it would be Saxon Court/YMCA MK simply because of the system’s pre-fabricated, modular characteristics.

For more on this story, please visit – https://greenscapemag.co.uk/online-magazine/ – Autumn 2021, pages 28 & 29