The Rothen Group Work Proves Crucial in Central London

A former factory site had stood empty for several years in Ealing, London. Bisected by the Grand Union Canal, this site was ripe for redevelopment into housing, retail outlets and public amenities.

To support this project, The Rothen Group, a national independent civil engineering and maintenance business, was chosen to help incorporate canal-side bank stabilization works and help make the new Greenford Green development a reality.

Following the closure of two large factories in the area, the industrial land adjacent to the Grand Union Canal in South Ealing stood derelict. Its proximity to the City of London meant the site held huge redevelopment potential, and it was selected to be revitalized.

Spanning over 26 acres, the new Greenford Quay development would consist of 1,965 residential units, shops, offices, leisure facilities and a two-form entry primary school and nursery.

Alongside these plans, the Grand Union Canal, which ran through the center of the site, would be the basis of a ‘green corridor’ and open space for the large redevelopment works. The integrity of the existing canal wall needed to be stabilized and strengthened in order to make this possible.

Stabilizing banks

Following a competitive tender process, leading civil engineering firm Galldris Services opted for the specialist skills of The Rothen Group to gain the necessary permissions from the Canal and River Trust and carry out the works required.

David Easter, Site Surveyor for Galldris, explained: “Working with the Canal and River Trust, we engaged the services of a company who could carry out these specialist services. Upon meeting The Rothen Group, it was clear they had the required experience to carry out the scope of works required in this challenging environment.”

After the tendering process and extensive consultation with the designers from Galldris in the early stages of the project, The Rothen Group were able to provide an all-in service.

This included the installation of sheet piles to maintain the integrity of the existing canal wall, and laying of purpose-made coping stones to cap them. These coping stones would prevent rainfall from penetrating the wall and causing damage over time, and were given an acid-etched finish to provide the completed canal bank with a more attractive look.

Suitable machinery

In order to carry out this work, The Rothen Group specified a wide array of machinery suited to the canal environment. This included an eight-tonne marine-ready excavator, pusher tug and hoppers, coping stone lifters and vibratory and air piling hammers.

This equipment was all positioned off floating plant to cause minimal disturbance to the ongoing works on the site, and avoid further endangering the wall’s integrity throughout.

Successful completion

The successful completion of the bank stabilization works has resulted in improved canal-side access, allowing Galldris to transport materials to the site for additional development works.

Furthermore, it has led to the installation of a new 30-meter-long footbridge over the Grand Union Canal, providing both sides of Greenford Green’s waterfront community with a vital transport link.