For February, it has certainly been pleasant weather over the past few weeks.

Aside from the occasional chilly night and frosty snap, it has been a fairly mild month - and that has allowed the workers putting together the new community stadium in Colchester to crack on with their work over the past few weeks.

As we have previously mentioned in U's Review, a warmer temperature allows things such as brickwork to take place and it also affects other external concreting work.

Barr's External Works Manager Dougie Campbell told us: "My project manager keeps us updated with the weather five days in advance, so we have the right plant in place for the right weather. It plays a big part in our thinking.

"Brickwork is affected by the temperatures and it is the same with concrete - it needs to be three degrees and rising otherwise you can't use the materials we need.

"Frosty weather doesn't affect our work in moving earth, it is just rain really that is a problem."

As Dougie mentions, it is not just temperature that plays a part, the amount of rain - or lack of it - has proven crucial during the seven months on site so far.

The make-up of the soil in the local area around Cuckoo Farm is naturally clay based, and that has made for some interesting pictures over the past few months as the heavy rainfall has left the car park area and pitch waterlogged.

"It was more of a lake than a pitch at one point!" he said.

"Things are going well now, but initially it was quite bad because of the weather.

"However, we have now managed to dry off the car park areas and the pitch areas in that time, but only because the weather has been good for us. If that continues, I am sure we will be able to stay on programme."

With the waterlogged areas now cleared, work has been started on preparing the pitch for the new stadium.

The Layer Road surface has been excellent in recent years thanks to the work of Stadium Manager David Blacknall and his staff, and it is hoped that the new pitch will not only meet those standards but surpass them as well.

Preparatory work has begun this week, with the pitch contractors due on site next week.

Dougie explained: "As you can see, we have transferred 6,000 tonnes of top soil to the pitch area over the past three days and prior to that, some 5,000 tonnes of subsoil and clays - which have been excavated from other areas of the site, i.e. drainage and car park formation- are being used here.

"As of Monday, the pitch contractor will be on site, starting on putting the drainage through and I would say that finishing the pitch is the priority now. Depending on the weather and seeding, it would initially look green in a month's time after they get started but not necessarily be playable that soon."

Other items that fall under Dougie's remit are looking after the external elements of the site, such as the car park, landscaping, kerbing and asphalt areas at Cuckoo Farm.

That includes the link road that will go from FlaktWoods factory to Boxted Road, with Dougie saying: "I liaise with the Easter Group on the link road to make sure that they are working in everybody's interests."