Creating employment opportunities through the repurposing of the derelict former Newport Steelworks site for use as an Advanced Manufacturing Park.
An 11 hectare site comprising 16 high-quality manufacturing units, providing significant employment opportunities to residents of the Tees Valley.
Our Approach
Due to the site’s legacy of contamination including fused slag to depth of 9m, it was necessary to de-risk the ground to allow the installation of foundations without the risk of refusals or obstructions.
Portland devised a reclamation scheme that allowed the slag to be excavated, processed and put back to a specification that allowed the material to be used as a building platform by adopting a combination of rolling dynamic compaction and rapid impact compaction.
Underlying peat was also excavated in order to prevent further long-term settlement associated with the fibrous material. The exercise allowed the need for piled foundations to be removed, thus creating a site that can be economically developed.
During the works an archaeological watching brief was employed to record the buried tunnels and furnaces of the former iron and steel works.
A balanced earthworks exercise was achieved and resulted in virtually zero export from site thus minimising the number of offsite trips and reducing road pollution.
The ground improvement technique allowed the ground properties to be enhanced, which allowed the foundation design to be economical, reducing the demands on natural resources.
