SALT FLEET FLATS, KENT

Environmental mitigation as part of DP World’s new Salt Fleet Flats development

Before construction, Salt Fleet Flats was originally pasture land protected from tidal inundation by a reinforced concrete-topped earth embankment that formed part of the primary flood defences of the River Thames.

This was a design-and-build project that involved forming a 700m wide breach in the existing flood defence embankment adjacent to the River Thames and reducing the ground levels by 1 m by excavation so that the area would be subject to regular tidal inundation and promote the formation of a mudflat.

A new 2.4km inland flood defence embankment was also constructed and tied into the existing defences.

An existing public right-of-way running along the top of the flood embankment was also diverted onto the new embankment.

Once completed, the existing River Thames flood embankment was breached to allow the land to flood at high tide.

The project forms part of DP World’s London Gateway Port, which we later extended from three berths to four while still allowing for the future construction of berth 5.