Mackley Thames foreshore works: flood defence and habitat design notes for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Mackley has secured a £12m contract from Barking Riverside Limited to remodel 500 metres of Thames foreshore in east London, raising the flood defence crest from +7.1mOD to +8.2mOD in line with the Thames Estuary 2100 strategy. Works, starting February 2026 and lasting about 14 months, will use regrading, reinforced concrete walls and localised sheet piling, with surface water managed via swales, attenuation basins and storage tanks. The scheme adds a new riverside terrace east of Barking Riverside Pier, upgraded pedestrian routes and 1,250 m² of new intertidal habitat, integrating utilities corridors, fire access and ecological mitigation.
Technical Brief
- Fire and maintenance access routes are being hard‑wired into the foreshore geometry and structural layout.
- Utilities corridors are integrated into the defence and public realm, constraining wall alignments and excavation sequencing.
- Ecological mitigation is targeted at protecting and recreating priority foreshore habitats while reshaping public realm.
- For similar estuary schemes, early integration of habitat creation with flood defence geometry is becoming standard practice.
Our Take
Lifting the Barking Riverside Thames defence crest from 7.1 mOD to 8.2 mOD aligns with the higher end of London river-wall upgrade levels in our database, signalling that BRL and the Mayor of London are designing for more conservative sea-level rise and storm surge allowances than many legacy assets along the estuary.
A £12 million package over 500 m of frontage implies a relatively high unit cost compared with other recent UK foreshore and floodwall refurbishments, which likely reflects constrained urban access, integration with the new Barking Riverside Pier, and tighter environmental and safety controls on the Thames foreshore.
With construction not starting until February 2026 and a 14‑month programme, Barking Riverside’s schedule will overlap with several other London river infrastructure schemes in our coverage, which may tighten the local market for specialist marine contractors and temporary works designers familiar with Thames Estuary conditions.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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