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News & Media > Facility Services

13:06:2010

Creating a vibrant new community in south-east London

May Gurney has completed its part in a project to transform an area of south-east London into a vibrant new residential development.

The work being carried out at Kidbrooke Park is part of a 20-year regeneration project consisting of more than 4,000 new homes. Phase one is well underway and the first residents will begin moving into 449 homes, 229 of which will be affordable housing, over the summer.

May Gurney has completed installation of the piles for two apartment blocks which will form the base for two four-storey buildings.

The piles are located over an artesian aquifer* and as such have to be short and squat to withstand the high loads from the building while not penetrating the aquifer.

Continuous flight auger (CFA) piles were chosen because they are quieter to install than other forms of piling. Noise is a concern because the site is within 30m of a residential area.

Daniel Lansdowne, May Gurney site foreman, said: “It was a relatively straight-forward job but due to the size of the site it was logistically quite difficult to get everyone in place.

“It was a tight timescale - we installed 12-15 piles per day but they are at different depths and the cages were assembled on site.”

*Footnote: an aquifer is a layer of permeable rock, sand, or gravel through which groundwater flows, containing enough water to supply wells and springs.

Article edited from a feature that appeared in New Civil Engineer (NCE) magazine – thanks to NCE for giving permission to edit and re-publish.