Hinkley Point C is the first nuclear power station to be constructed in the UK in a generation. Once complete it will generate 7% of the UK’s total electricity requirements.

In order to facilitate the construction of the power station, large and complex excavations where required in which to build the foundations. Over 5.6m m3 of rock was excavated creating over 100,000m2 of vertical rock faces up to 30m in height. A slope protection design was developed based on a philosophy of a passive support system to ensure the stability of the faces during the construction period. The design needed to be robust, yet efficient and adaptable to ensure that once exposed, faces of differing geology could be quickly stabilised using the appropriate level of support to avoid delay to the construction programme

David Lindfield is a Project Manager for BAM Ritchies based in the South West UK. With 18 years' geotechnical engineering experience he has been involved in numerous geotechnical contracts across the UK ranging from permeation and compensation grouting schemes, to piling, and slope stabilisation works for private, government, and nuclear sectors. Notable contracts that David has been involved with are Crossrail Compensation Grouting at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road Station Caverns and latterly Hinkley Point C. At Hinkley Point C he spent 5 years in a key role in the excavation and slope formation works developing design and methodology to be used in their construction.

Claire Howell is a Geotechnical Engineer for BAM Ritchies based in the South West UK. Following on from her PhD from the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Strathclyde, she has 3 years' geotechnical engineering experience from UK based geotechnical contracts, mainly focusing on slope stabilisation works in the nuclear and rail sectors. At Hinkley Point C she spent 2 years in a key role liaising with both the designers and client regarding the slope stabilisation design, and also the in the delivery of the works on site.