VolkerStevin, DEC and Sita in £82m remediation contract win

A joint venture between VolkerStevin, DEC and Sita Remediation has won an £82m to remediate the former Avenue Coking Works in Chesterfield - one of the most heavily contaminated sites in Europe.

The contract, commissioned by client East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and funded by the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), will involve the treatment of 500,000 cubic metres of heavily contaminated soils on site.

The VSD Avenue consortium obtained planning permission for the remediation works in 2007 and has since been working on a more detailed solution to the contamination problems on site. A uniquely designed thermal desorption treatment plant and a water treatment facility to be built on site.

Work is expected to start in early September and will take around five years to complete.  It will involve the excavation of around two million cubic metres of material, includes the clean up of two silt lagoons, a registered asbestos waste tip and ground pollution caused by heavy metals and waste chemicals. 

Marcus Foweather, project director for VSD Avenue, said: “This is one of the most complex civil engineering remediation schemes in Europe and we have worked hard to ensure that the remediation works set new standards and provide a benchmark for other heavily contaminated sites.  It uses some exciting remediation techniques using state of the art technology as well as focusing on sustainability and environmental issues.”