St Mary’s Island, Chatham Maritime, Kent

The St Mary’s Island development is part of the community of Chatham Maritime and the project is situated on the site of the former Royal Naval Dockyard. The St Mary’s Island development is a joint venture involving Countryside Properties and the Homes and Communities Agency.

The development covers an area of approximately 150 acres and will eventually comprise a mixed-tenure residential and commercial community including 1700 new homes, as well a shopping area, a school and other community facilities, public open spaces and a new marina.

Over the past few years RSA Geotechnics have been involved with a number of geotechnical and geo-environmental site investigations undertaken in connection with the St Mary’s Island development.

The former Royal Naval Dockyard was found to be heavily contaminated and extensive remedial measures have been carried out. Following remediation the site was left flat and featureless. Structural landscaping and earth mounding has been carried out across the island and has provided shelter and improved the visual impact of the site. The flood defences have also been strengthened and improved.

Recent housing phases have adopted many of the lessons learned during the Greenwich Millennium Village development and the latest homes achieve up to Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Housing layouts have been designed to provide shelter from prevailing winds, thus providing pleasant micro climates whilst making the best use of passive solar gain.