Former Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Site, Dartford, Kent

Client: Confidential

Services – Remediation and Enabling works

Description

The site was a 14 hectare  former pharmaceuticals manufacturing facility and is being redeveloped for residential use. FSL secured the project for a lump sum price to carry out enabling works, to remove legacy infrastructure and ready the site for development, and to conduct design and site-based remediation works on the site to mitigate any impact both to groundwater and human health. We also supervised the demolition element of the project.

The project involved operating within a challenging environmental setting.  This included a vulnerable, sensitive watercourse, the underlying Chalk Formation, and residential properties within close proximity.  The Working plan and methods were carefully monitored, reviewed and modified when needed to ensure that operations were undertaken without significant impact and to minimise nuisance. All works were conducted under agreed methods and permits which had been prepared by FSL.

During the demolition phase, a high level of materials recovery/recycling which was achieved, to ensure waste streams were diverted from landfill and natural resources were conserved.

A sustainable approach to the preparation of the site was also delivered by incorporating processes to allow on-site treatment of legacy ground contamination where possible.   An evaluation of Stabilisation Solidification techniques to treat arsenic contaminated soils was completed, whilst petroleum hydrocarbon/solvent contaminated soils were treated using Ex-situ bioremediation techniques.  The successful treatment/removal of soils combined with robust detailed quantitative risk assessment ensured no significant pollution risks to local water resources, and therefore enabled materials to be reincorporated into the scheme, again diverting materials away from landfill.

The site was regraded to prepare a sympathetic development platform, which will offer future developers reduced risk and greater certainty with respect to development abnormals.