Deep underground in London's historic East End, where the famous bells of St Mary-le-Bow will go unnoticed, Rock & Alluvium's has just completed installing what is possibly the UK's deepest ever continuous flight auger (CFA) pile.

Reaching 40m below the proposed Bow Green development, the piling will support four residential blocks, including social housing, as part of the wider Bow Common regeneration scheme.

In total the Van Elle subsidiary will install 594  CFA piles, ranging from 400mm to 750mm in diameter to depths of up to 40mm, over a nine-month period.

Operations are being carried out using specialist rigs including the Llamada P240 and Soilmec SR-45 for main piling works, with a Klemm 709 deployed in areas of restricted access, enabling efficient installation within constrained conditions.

The scheme is located between railway lines and Cemetery Park and Bow Common Lane, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, presenting significant logistical and technical constraints due to proximity to live rail infrastructure and residential areas.

The wider development will deliver up to 1,764 homes in buildings of up to 19 storeys, alongside around one hectare of landscaped green space on the former gas works site.

Malcolm O'Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer at Van Elle, said: "Reaching depths of 40m is a significant milestone for the business and demonstrates our technical capability in delivering complex foundation solutions. It also reflects our long-standing relationship with Berkeley Group and our continued role in supporting major regeneration schemes across London."

Installation of CFA piles is often preferred in urban areas due to their low noise and vibration signatures. They are often cast, drilled and concreted  all in one go speeding up installation time.

The milestone marks the start of Phase 2 works for the St James managed project.