The Corylus team was commissioned to undertake a detailed landscape and visual impact assessment for a large-scale recycling development, adjacent to a sensitive marshland habitat on the Thames Estuary. Our challenge was to ensure a successful planning application to develop an Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) recycling facility on redundant industrial land at Ridham Dock, just north of Sittingbourne in Kent.

The unique site required a specialist skillset to ensure its careful and successful management. The site consists of marshland and estuarine environment which is of international importance from a biodiversity perspective, comprising Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and wetlands of international importance (RAMSAR sites).

Our team’s solution included the detailed preparation of site layout plans, cross sections and landscape mitigation plans, as well as general project consultancy in respect of landscape and environmental issues.

Our comprehensive landscape and visual assessment concluded that the proposed recycling development can be successfully assimilated into the site and surrounding landscape with only minimal impact upon visual amenity and local landscape character.  The proposed new development successfully comprised of the construction and operation of an IBA recycling plant with associated stockpiling of materials and other related infrastructure.