This large two phase residential development in Newbury is located on a site with historic contamination issues and close boundaries with both Network Rail and the Highway. In addition to these constraints the site had little drainage infrastructure or capacity and was part of an area review by Thames Water.

We were brought on to the project to value engineer the scheme and to unlock critical pre-commencement conditions. We identified at an early stage that doing all we could to reduce excavation and therefore removal of contaminated ground would have an environmental and cost benefit to the scheme. We worked hard to develop a scheme which removed the need for piling and by working closely with the geotechnical team we were able to justify the use of a raft solution and traditional retaining walls.

In addition to this our Civils team worked in tandem with Thames Water to rationalise the drainage scheme and to secure critical pre-commencement approvals whilst Thames Water were working on major upgrades in the area.

Architect	Nissen Richards Architects
Contractor	Cognition Land + Water