OVERVIEW
Designed by Hollaway Studio, this landmark £100 million headquarters and campus in Ashford, Kent, will provide Brompton Bicycle with a new factory, 46,000m² of office space, a museum, and extensive manmade wetlands. The scheme supports Brompton’s growth ambitions, enabling expansion from 850 to up to 1,500 staff. Located within a rewilded green corridor, the campus is elevated on stilts above greenfield land to mitigate flood risk and preserve natural habitats.
The campus was designed from the outset to achieve carbon neutrality and incorporates natural ventilation, optimised daylighting, wind capture, solar energy, and minimal car parking to encourage sustainable travel.
CREATE’S ROLE
Create was appointed in 2020 to the role of Flood Risk Consultant and tasked with delivering the technical expertise required to enable development within Flood Zone 3. Our work has helped unlock this strategically important site, balancing sustainability and long-term flood resilience.
Our roles, technical services and outputs included:
- Site-Specific Flood Risk Assessment (FRA)
- Hydraulic Modelling of the East Stour River
- Flood Compensation Calculations and Associated Modelling
- Environmental Statement (ES) – Flood Risk Chapter
CHALLENGES
The site lies within Flood Zone 3, presenting a fundamental challenge to the viability of development. Enabling a campus of this scale and ambition required detailed hydraulic modelling of the East Stour River and the development of a bespoke flood mitigation approach. This had to integrate seamlessly with the project’s wider sustainability and ecological ambitions.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND BENEFITS
Our input was instrumental in securing planning approval from Ashford Borough Council in January 2025. The bespoke flood mitigation strategy – centred on elevating the buildings on stilts to preserve floodplain function – enabled development within Flood Zone 3 whilst complementing the project’s carbon neutrality ambitions and wider environmental features including manmade wetlands and green corridors.
