Set in the West Midlands county of Staffordshire is a former Royal Forest called Cannock Chase. It is part misty, secluded woodland and part undulating moorland. As you head up to the north of this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the landscape becomes tame and you enter the Shugborough Estate, some 10km to the east of the town of Stafford.

Beneath the garden landscape, dotted by picnickers, joggers and dog-walkers, lies the 700m Shugborough Tunnel. Built in the mid-1800s, the construction works left eight unlined and unfilled shafts. Now, safety concerns and water inflows have led Network Rail to decide to secure these voids, but works on the heritage structure must have minimal impact on the railway and the surroundings.

Guests

Anthony St John, Geobear

Joe Redman, Story Contracting

Colin Eddie, CECL

Supporter

Geobear is a ground engineering company. It specialises in injecting a polymer into the ground that’s become unstable. It lifts buildings, fixes cracked concrete and uneven floors, and makes the ground stronger. Geobear are 10 times faster than the normal way to repair subsidence, which involves building work and often closing the business or moving out of your house.