The complex brownfield redevelopment project will create a new 635-home community, including a mix of private residential properties, public open space, commercial employment units and a primary school. Ancient semi-natural woodland (some 1600 individual trees) and the existing Fort Halstead (a scheduled ancient monument), as well as other historically important buildings, will be retained, with the fort converted to create a historic interpretation centre, capturing the site鈥檚 history.
CS2 Chartered Surveyors, an RSK company, is project-managing the work to prepare the site. CS2 director and Fort Halstead project management ead Paul Crowe said: 鈥淩SK began supporting BDW in November 2023 through pre鈥慳cquisition due diligence, with activity intensifying following acquisition in September 2024. The project is now in the demolition and enabling phase, being delivered by the appointed contractor Soilfix, delivered alongside heritage, ecology and civil engineering design to ensure progress is carefully managed in an exceptionally sensitive and operational environment.
Under the RSK approved material management plan the development will be reusing some 48,000m3 of soil during the enabling works phase with the intention to reuse up to a further c80,000m3 during the construction phase.
Crowe said: 鈥淔ort Halstead brings together an unusually wide and active stakeholder landscape, including defence鈥憆elated partners, residents and office occupiers remaining on site, statutory bodies and the local community. Our role is to provide a single, trusted point of control that allows all parties to operate safely and confidently while enabling the project to move forward.
鈥淏y integrating demolition, remediation and design, we are managing risk at every stage, protecting nationally important heritage assets, safeguarding ecology and maintaining day鈥憈o鈥慸ay site operations. That coordinated approach gives clients, regulators and stakeholders assurance that change is being delivered responsibly, transparently and with minimal disruption.鈥�
RSK Geosciences operations director Darren Beesley said the size, history and complex nature of the site, including the previous military research use, made for a challenging and fascinating project that draws on a range of disciplines and services.
Beesley said, 鈥淲hen the London Defence Scheme ended in 1906, Fort Halstead was retained as an ammunitions store, with a laboratory and new buildings added, until it passed into private hands in the 1920s. It was bought by the War Office in 1937 and built up during the war years. Until recently, it was home to the Ministry of Defence鈥檚, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, which carried out research into explosives and weapon systems. The site also had its own fire station and a petrol filling station.
鈥淐hallenges associated with a project of this nature include the sheer size of the site, which covers an area of some 70 hectares with about 18 hectares earmarked for development, the number of buildings to be demolished and historically important buildings that will be retained. The complex nature of the project recognises the site鈥檚 historical uses, the need for demolition and sustainable and carbon-efficient remediation, to deliver a safe development platform, minimising waste soils and maximising materials reuse, along with an emphasis on protection of heritage assets, protecting the ancient woodland and enhancing ecology and biodiversity on site.鈥�
Pre-demolition ground investigation was completed in December 2024, which included the combined use of non-intrusive geophysical investigation and intrusive investigation at over 300 locations across the site, giving a 25m borehole spacing in accessible areas where development is proposed. 鈥淭he approach taken included the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to visualise and interpret the vast amount of data we collected. This has provided a detailed understanding of the site to support foundation and remediation design, reducing the need for over-excavation of materials during the development phase, minimising wastes generated, providing a more sustainable development. Further investigations are ongoing alongside demolition and enabling work being undertaken by the contractor Soil Fix. Results from the additional inspections will be used to inform final remediation design.鈥�
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