Chambers Wharf Riverside Development in Southwark given go-ahead
St Martins, the leading property development company, has announced that it has just received planning consent from Southwark Council for a striking new residential development on a 3.7acre brownfield site at Chambers Wharf, east of Tower Bridge.
This is a complex site - a result of its riverside location where flood risk assessments and breach modelling determined the removal of an existing jetty and construction of a new, higher, river wall. Clarke Bond, the multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, is appointed as structural, civil and geo-environmental engineers for the whole project which also includes the construction of a 7,200m2, 4.5m deep single level basement car park across the majority of the site. This requires the construction of a 400m unpropped secant wall around the full perimeter of the basement within difficult ground conditions.
"This is a very interesting project for us," says Clarke Bond project director, Mark Goddard. "The existing jetty and river wall work structurally together and therefore all new works have to be carefully sequenced to ensure that both ground stability and flood defences are maintained at all times. The removal of the jetty deck and support piles will require a great deal of care to prevent contamination of the river Thames. This is a complex procedure in which we have previous experience."
The £200 million project, located near Tower Bridge, will comprise 596 private and affordable housing units accommodated in six tower blocks ranging between 6 and 14 storeys in height. Each of the towers has been designed at a cascading angle so as to take full advantage of the riverside views whilst at the same time adhering to the rights of light to the surrounding buildings.
The scheme is also one of the greenest proposed residential developments in central London, achieving an 'Excellent' EcoHomes rating. It will include combined heat and power units, ground source heating / cooling, solar panels for water heating, 13 wind turbines, mainly positioned along the bank of the river, and rainwater harvesting.
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