The Borthwick Factory was once a significant fat and bone rendering plant in Woods Meadow, Lowestoft. The site was earmarked for a mixed-use redevelopment, however, before construction could proceed, a comprehensive remediation effort was required to address the historical contamination and environmental hazards restoring the land to a condition suitable for residential use.
The site was heavily impacted by both organic and inorganic contaminants, with the main contaminants of concern as follows:
The site, therefore, required a multi-faceted remediation approach.
The proximity of existing and new residential homes required specific stakeholder engagement together with the regulators. This meant that the remediation process had to carefully manage odour, noise, dust, and other potential disturbances during the proposed remediation works.
The site had faced development delays due to different approaches being unable to satisfy the Regulators on how to deal with the contamination, until McAuliffe proposed a comprehensive and robust remediation approach that achieved regulatory approval.
Treatability work by others, using traditional stabilisation/solidification mix formulations, did not produce a viable solution to achieve the remedial leachability targets. So McAuliffe adopted an innovative, in-situ remediation solution to tackle the site’s complex contamination profile. Rather than removing and disposing of all contaminated materials, the strategy focused on the geochemical stabilisation of contaminants to reduce their environmental impact to groundwater quality.
A key part of the remediation involved lab based trials to apply a designated substrate mix to soils, based on McAuliffe’s extensive scientific database, to prevent further leaching into the groundwater.
In doing this, McAuliffe was able to prevent the on-going contamination without having to remove large amounts of soils, making the process both cost-effective and environmentally responsible.
Utilising our Environmental Permit to carry out the above in conjunction with an approved Materials Management Plan we were also able to carry out the required earthworks to provide a build-ready site for the construction phase.
McAuliffe's comprehensive approach to the remediation of the Borthwick Factory site illustrates the company's ability to take on complex environmental challenges due to its unique in-house capability balancing cost-efficiency, sustainability, and community impact. Through innovative in-situ treatment, careful planning, and robust public engagement, McAuliffe, together with its in-house environmental consultancy, delivered a successful project with minimal impact that prepared the site for future development and contributed to the regeneration of the local community.
| Client | Persimmon Homes Anglia |
| Site Area | 2HA site |
| Time Frame | 22-week program |
| Location | Lowestoft, Suffolk |
