West Brompton Village

Detailed Planning Application

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea

Basement Construction Methodology

November 2013

Prepared for EC Properties Ltd

by ARUP
Memorandum

To EC Properties Ltd Date

November 2013

Copies Reference number

125066

From Ove Arup & Partners Limited File reference

60

Subject West Brompton Village RBKC Basement Construction Memo

1 Introduction
Ove Arup & Partners Limited (Arup) has been commissioned by Capco to provide structural and
geotechnical engineering advice for the Proposed Development known as West Brompton Village.
This memo provides a high level review of proposed works within the Royal Borough of
Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) and potential impacts of development on adjacent structures. This
memo is not intended to satisfy the requirement for a Basement Construction Method Statement, as
required by RBKC Core Strategy 2010, but it is expected that such a document could be produced
once the design has been further developed (should it be required). This memo does demonstrate,
however, that it should be possible for the development to take place without detrimental affect to
neighbouring structures.

2 The Site
2.1 Site Location and Description
The RBKC part of the site is located at 348 to 350 Old Brompton Road, London and also comprises
a large area of hardstanding currently used as an access to Earls Court Exhibition Centre. The area
to which this memo relates forms part of the larger site which makes up the Masterplan for the
development of Earls Court, approved in outline by RBKC and the London Borough of
Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) in November 2013. It also comprises properties which were not
included in the Masterplan. The reason for the application is to revise the design of this part of the
Masterplan to create a new and improved public entrance into the wider re-development site.
The portion of the site which lies within the RBKC boundary comprises two existing brick
buildings and the apron to Earls Court Exhibition Centre. Both of the existing buildings are
understood to be of brick construction and contain a single level of basement. This is supported by
information from previous planning applications.
A recent aerial view of the site (as taken from Google Earth) is illustrated as Figure 2.1. This shows
the site to be bounded by a disused pub to the east, residential housing to the north, an overland
railway to the west, and Old Brompton Road to the south. Further to this, running tunnels of the
District Line are known to pass under the Earls Court apron.

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Memorandum

Figure 2.1 Aerial View of Site

2.2 Site History

A brief summary of the development history of the site and immediate surrounding area is
summarised as follows:
A review of historical OS mapping indicates the two existing site buildings and nearby
residential properties to have been constructed by 1869 (the date of the earliest available
survey).
Earls Court Exhibition Centre is understood to have been constructed sometime around 1935.
The disused pub situated to the immediate east of the site is first shown on OS mapping dated
1970.

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Memorandum

3 Proposed Development
The Proposed Development shall include the demolition of existing brick buildings at the site and
the subsequent construction of two new townhouses and a combined residential and retail building.
Each of the new buildings is to contain a single level of basement. The residential/retail building
basement shall extend slightly deeper than the townhouses, as this basement will house vibration
isolation bearings. The townhouses will require a further undercroft below the lowest level of
occupied basement to house the vibration isolation bearings.
As outlined in Section 2.1, it is assumed that the residential building to the north of the site and the
disused pub each contain a single level of basement.
A graphical illustration of the Proposed Development is presented as Figures 3.1 to 3.3. For full
details of the scheme, reference should be made to the supporting Design and Access Statement.

A B

Figure 3.1 Extract of West Brompton Square Basement Floor Plan

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Memorandum

Figure 3.2 Cross Section A-A

Figure 3.3 Cross Section B-B

4 Ground Conditions
Sheet 270 of the British Geological Survey (England & Wales, Solid & Drift Edition) indicates the
site to be underlain by Kempton Park Gravels and London Clay. Although a ground investigation
has not yet been undertaken, it is assumed that the full depth of basement excavation shall be within
granular deposits.
It is assumed that the District Line tunnels have had a draining effect on the surrounding
hydrogeology and, on this basis, groundwater is situated below proposed basement level.

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Memorandum

5 Outline Construction Sequence

The envisaged construction sequence is as follows and is representative of typical construction
practice in the London area:

Phase 1 Demolition of existing site buildings

Phase 2 Installation of embedded retaining wall along perimeter of proposed structures. The
retaining wall could be constructed using either sheet piles, contiguous piles, or
secant piles and would likely extend through the locally occurring Kempton Park
Gravels and into the underlying London Clay.

Phase 3 Excavation to underside of basement slab level and construction of raft foundation. It
is envisaged that temporary support (in the form of earthen berms and inclined
propping) will be required to control horizontal wall deflection and vertical
displacement of adjacent structures.

Phase 4 Construction of ground floor slab and removal of temporary propping.

Phase 5 Construction of superstructure.

6 Anticipated Impacts of Development

Provided that the embedded retaining wall and associated temporary propping are designed in
accordance with best practice and due consideration of loading from adjacent structures, the
Proposed Development should have minimal impact on adjacent structures. By extension, those
residential properties which are not directly adjacent to the Proposed Development will likewise
remain unaffected.

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Memorandum

7 Recommendations and Conclusions

Recommendations for further works are summarised as follows:
A ground investigation should be undertaken to inform the design of the proposed development.
These works would need to provide sufficient information on site stratigraphy, characteristic
soil parameters, shallow groundwater level, and details of foundations to adjacent structures.
The proposed basement structure shall be design in accordance with best practice and due
consideration of loading from adjacent structures. This will need to include an assessment of
propping actions to control wall deflections and settlement of adjacent properties during the
basement excavation process.
Following completion of the retaining wall design, a Basement Construction Method Statement
could be completed. This document would need to be prepared by a Chartered Civil Engineer
and will need to demonstrate that the proposed development will have minimal impact to
adjacent buildings, structures, tunnels, services, trees, slopes, surface water, and hydrogeology.
The basement at the Proposed Development is considered to be feasible, is able to be undertaken by
established construction methodology, and is unlikely to cause significant impact to adjacent
structures.

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