East Midlands Development Agency has contracted VSD Avenue – a consortium of
VolkerStevin, Deme, Sita and Entec – to complete remediation of the former Avenue Coking
Works near Chesterfield under NEC. The £82 million NEC2 Engineering and Construction
Contract option C (target contract with activity schedule) is the largest single coalfield clean-up
in the UK.
The 98 ha site was used for a variety of coal mining, lime and iron manufacture and coking
activities for 120 years until it closed in 1992, leaving a legacy of heavily polluted structures,
ground and groundwater.
A variety of demolition and clean-up projects have been carried out since 1999 and VSD started the final phase in October 2009.
New remediation technologies
Due for completion in 2013, the project is one of largest applications of new remediation technologies in Europe, including thermal desorption, bioremediation and complex soil sorting and washing. Works in the first year include
a thermal treatment plant, a waste tip processing area, a lagoon water treatment plant, a sheet pile
cut-off wall and a diversion of the river Rother.
A total of 2 M m3 of contaminated material will then be excavated, treated and mostly
re-used on site. Around 70 % of the area will become open space and new amenity areas, sustainable
ecological habitats and wetlands, while the remaining 30% is designated for mixed-use
redevelopment.
According to Marcus Foweather, project director at VSD Avenue, ‘This is one of the most
complex civil engineering remediation schemes in Europe and we have worked hard to make
sure the remediation works set new standards and provide a benchmark for other heavily
contaminated sites. It incorporates some exciting techniques using state of the art technology,
whilst focusing on sustainability and environmental issues.’
VSD is using the CCM web-based contract management system supplied by Management
Process Systems.
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