NHBC’s Land Quality Service (LQS) team include geotechnical and geo-environmental specialists who work to remove the uncertainty about the suitability of a future housing development.
The site on the banks of the River Tyne had been in use as a dock since 1772, as well as other aspects of heavy industry, up until its closure in 2001. This made for a highly complex brownfield and marine site with a variety of challenges, but with superb potential for residential development.
South Tyneside Council was keen to reinvigorate the area and deliver high-quality family homes, however they understood the need for a long-term plan, a phased development approach and robust land remediation to achieve that goal. Remediation works began in 2022 and are due to be completed at the end of 2024.
Housing developers Keepmoat Homes and Cussins Homes planned to deliver 300 new homes across the nine-hectare site. The range of one to four-bedroomed houses and apartments, 15% of which will be affordable homes, are all part of the build programme which is due to complete in 2028.
Keepmoat Homes, who had worked with NHBC’s LQS team on previous developments across the UK, suggested involving the team due to the complexity of the project and the expertise needed to optimise the area.
This large site had been used both as dockland and for dockland-related industry including ship building and repair. Areas of the site had also seen a variety of other uses over the centuries including but not limited to areas for railway sidings, a smithy, a brewery and bottle works, as well as an iron foundry, garage and builders’ yard.
Due to the long-lifespan and extensive use of the site there would need to be a variety of remediation measures including:
Colin Bennett, Development Manager at Keepmoat North East said “It’s essential that we can build high-quality homes on complex brownfield and geotechnically challenging areas. The LQS team’s support has ensured that we can achieve this here in Holborn. Not only does a development like this bring much-needed new homes to this vibrant community, but it also ensures we can reinvigorate land that is no longer suitable for its previous purpose and create a space for all to enjoy.”
John Scott, Head of Strategic Investment and Growth, South Tyneside Council said “The technical input of the NHBC into the civil engineering element of Holborn Riverside has been invaluable in helping the Council deliver a robust ground improvement programme suitable for good quality housing development”.
Our Land Quality Service removes the uncertainty about whether a site is suitable for future housing development. Get in touch to find out how we can help your project.
At the end of summer 2022 NHBC’s Land Quality Service (LQS) team was commissioned by Bellway Homes North West to undertake a review of the proposals for the redevelopment of former farmland in Deeside, Wales into residential dwellings.
Read more
The Ultrapanel ‘room in the roof’ System is a brand new precision engineered system that was created to meet the demands of volume residential housebuilders.
Read more