Grays, a town on the northern bank of the Thames, is the focus of Thurrock Council’s ambitious rejuvenation scheme to revamp the riverside area and potentially encompass the town centre.
The central idea is to encourage the public to use the river more by restoring existing structures, improving transportation links and refreshing the riverside green spaces into more attractive leisure spots.
Beckett Rankine aided the initial project design by providing AR Urbanism with marine engineering and sustainability expertise. We produced concept designs for the river frontage and assessed their feasibility, accounting for future changes in economic, social and environmental factors in the area.
We inspected the condition of the river’s flood defences and associated retaining walls, including structural assessments and ground investigations to ensure they could safely withstand the proposed development works.
Our assessments showed that the river frontage wall had a residual life of at least 100 years and suggested a maintenance plan to prolong its effectiveness. We then developed a flood management plan for the proposed development, which includes raising the height of the river wall to meet the Thames Estuary 2100 guidelines and mitigate increased flooding from climate change.
Working closely with architects Tonkin Liu, we have provided design support and guidance to integrate flood protection measures seamlessly into the waterfront’s design, preserving the usability and aesthetics of the community space without compromising safety.
In addition to designing the maritime elements of the scheme, Beckett Rankine has been appointed as the Client Engineer. We are providing client advice and support that includes preparing statutory consents and licences, contractor tendering support and onboarding, validating designs, and construction supervision.
Planning permission was granted in March 2026 following a unanimous decision by Thurrock Council. The first phase of construction is anticipated to begin early 2027 by McLaughlin and Harvey.
