Peninsular Park, Greenwich Peninsular
This brown field old industrial site was heavily polluted and therefore required careful consideration. Up to 4 metres of ground was contaminated with volatile organic chemicals and coal ash had been tipped on the Charlton Marshes early in the 20th century for the development of a tram depot and later an Airfix factory.
The development comprised a new retail park incorporating a stationary distribution warehouse, restaurants, phone supermarket and retail warehousing. Road access problems were overcome by careful consideration of the highway access into a busy dual carriageway with restricted sight lines.
A key design criterion was to avoid setting up pollution paths as underlying the site at depth was peat, estuarine clays and a chalk aquifer. This was achieved by careful detailing of raft foundations on the existing substantial concrete hard standing resulting in an economical and environmentally acceptable solution.
On site balancing of storm water was necessary, to meet the permitted discharge, requirements which took the form of oversize pipes and some temporary storage, using the falls in the car park.
