Effective partnering—remediating the former Avenue coking works

Abstract

Over the past seven years a number of organisations have been working in close partnership to find acceptable and sustainable solutions to the highly complex task of remediating and regenerating the former Avenue coking works, one of the largest in Europe, at a cost of over £100 million. The Avenue has provided a significant opportunity for true partnership working between the public and private sectors. Considerable consultation with the public, community organisations and regulatory and planning authorities is helping shape the vision for the future of the site. The final landform will include community leisure and recreational facilities, opportunities for commercial and residential development, restoration of the river floodplain, creation of wetlands and a flood-balancing reservoir. Previous attempts to find a solution have run into regulatory and legal difficulties. However, partner organisations have worked closely together to develop solutions. These include working on a risk-based approach and arranging trans-frontier shipment of waste material samples for trial remediation in Europe; this has helped to derive an on-site treatment solution, thus avoiding difficult, disruptive and costly off-site waste transfer and disposal processes. Over 1 million cubic metres of soil will be moved and treated. A design and build contract has been negotiated, with early involvement of the contractor, and work is about to start on the four-year remediation contract.