Charlton Riverside is a major regeneration programme, set to turn an area of South London alongside the River Thames into a new urban district, setting a blueprint in the capital. The scheme could deliver up to 7,500 new homes as part of a mixed use development, community facilities and upgrade infrastructure.
Working with Hyde Developments, Colemans were engaged to complete a range of remediation, demolition and deconstruction enabling works across Plots A and C on the largely industrial site, which previously included a silicate paint works, motor spirit works, foundry, gravel pit and commercial/industrial estates.
Setting out detailed method statements for each individual area of work, Colemans undertook a range of disciplines to complete work safely, on time and taking into account all site constraints including close proximity to the River Thames near the Thames Barrier.
One of the key elements of the project was monitoring of groundwater and ground gas within an area of the site marked Plot C.
This was completed by our remediation specialists to verify conditions and enable ground gas protection to be specified for the future development, if deemed to be required.
The original intention was that groundwater monitoring would be undertaken from existing boreholes and two new boreholes installed adjacent to the former oil pits. In addition, ground gas monitoring was to be undertaken from six newly installed boreholes, screened in the unsaturated zone.
Unfortunately, boreholes installed in previous phases of investigation were lost during demolition works, so to complete the groundwater and ground gas monitoring a further six boreholes were installed at the site, following demolition of existing buildings.
Each borehole advanced to approximately 10m below ground level and was installed with a 50mm groundwater monitoring well and 19mm ground gas monitoring well.
The wells were monitored on six separate occasions and a report provided to the client, with borehole logs, survey of borehole locations/levels, groundwater and ground gas monitoring data and certificates of chemical analysis.
In addition, Colemans developed a Method Statement and undertook the necessary works to complete ground remediation of Plot C.
Works included additional site investigation following demolition of structures on site including groundwater samples, and completion of a Detailed Quantitative Risk Assessment (DQRA) once all phases of site investigation were complete.
Managing the potential risk of UXO (Unexploded Ordnance), our team also removed oil pits within this scope of works, containing oil-stained fill and perched water. The oil pits were dewatered and excavated under a geo-environmental watching brief and the walls / base broken out. Our team assessed surrounding soils for visual contamination and tested to determine whether any further excavation was required.
Another key element of the works was grubbing out remnant foundations and drainage to 2m below existing ground level, supporting future construction.
Taking a safety first approach, our method included segregation, excavation and stockpiling of contaminated soils for quarantine testing prior to re-use or off-site disposal, subject to the results of the testing.
All stockpiling was undertaken in a managed area to prevent cross-contamination, with underlying soils protected with a polyethene liner and stockpiles sealed to prevent water ingress / leachate generation.
Demolition works also included slab and foundation removal in Plot C. 50-ton excavators were used to clear the concrete away before it was crushed on site into a 6F2 grade aggregate for reuse. Noise, dust and vibration monitoring and mitigation measures were in place throughout.
As with any Colemans project, the works also included a detailed Method Statement for the site set-up, including H&S procedures.
Putting people first, our statement covered all documentation required before starting on site, permitting, inductions, toolbox talks and operative requirements, including training.