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Greenwich Peninsula

Greenwich Peninsula

Over 12 years, VolkerFitzpatrick delivered several infrastructure packages for the Greenwich Peninsula (London), which is currently under development by Knight Dragon. Vast areas of the vibrant 150-acre development are complete, yet the entire 30-year project is not expected to be completed until 2043.

Greenwich Peninsula

The project

The £5bn development, Greenwich Peninsula, has been described as London’s single largest regeneration scheme. Transforming a derelict post-industrial landscape, the site now encompasses integrated neighbourhoods with homes, offices, retail, community and leisure facilities, open spaces, and waterfront promenades.

VolkerFitzpatrick was involved at the earliest stages, verifying the robustness and buildability aspects of the design in addition to delivering several packages which span infrastructure, landscaping and public realm aspects. 

The scale of the project means it is being delivered in phases with a matrix of contractors. VolkerFitzpatrick was instrumental in assisting the client manage extreme volumes of construction information by developing a collaborative and future-proofed bespoke system, that is flexible to the changing requirements. 

Greenwich Peninsula

Works included

  • High specification hard/soft landscaping with architectural features
  • Large areas of high-quality granite paving, matching exactly with existing paving around the O2 dome
  • High quality street furniture and bespoke architectural street lighting was provided and installed, including bicycle stands, benches, bollards, uplighters, sunken lights and under bench lighting 
  • Construction of new link roads, car parks and cycle paths; and improvements to 330m of existing highway
  • Phase 1B & 2: including the realignment of Tunnel Avenue (220m), a new link road (100m) and new carriageway links, mainly over the top of the TfL Blackwall Tunnel bores. VFL facilitated the build-over negotiations, providing a detailed construction method statement which incorporated all the control measures required by stakeholders

Challenges and solutions

Meeting milestones

The G1 junction had to be operational in time for the O2 Arena opening. We organised stakeholder meetings to jointly allocate responsibilities and actions, and particularly manage the utilities programme. This gave stakeholders visibility of project constraints and within meetings action plans could be agreed upon. By promptly cascading decisions to the utility companies, timely installations were achieved, which was fundamental to meeting milestones.  

Eco-friendly and flexible thinking

There was considerable pressure to meet key building plot handover milestones. In one instance, the risk to meet a milestone included landscaping dependent on the arrival of imported Chinese granite. We sourced UK granite instead - this lowered carbon outputs, was lower cost and had a superior finish. 

Safer strategies

The original programme was to complete tunnel realignment in eight phases with two-way traffic flow.  We value engineered an alternative temporary traffic diversion through the site compound allowing the tunnel to be closed, that was met with approved from stakeholders. The tunnel works were completed under a reduced programme that was significantly safer for operatives and with substantial cost savings.

Stakeholders

The main stakeholders have included Knight Dragon (the current client); Meridian Delta (former client dating back to 2013); Gardiner & Theobald (the client’s representative); Arup and Buro Happold (designers); O2 Arena; TfL (London Underground); and the general public.