Sand silting up the Wyre Estuary is now being dredged and placed into the foundations of the ambitious £60m Fleetwood Harbour Village development.
The technique is already well used in Dubai, where it has formed the basis of The Palm, an exclusive development on an artificial island which has tempted stars like David Beckham and Michael Schumacher to splash out millions for plush new homes.
And bosses at developer Redrow Homes say the massive Fleetwood project, behind the docks off Amounderness Way, would have been impossible to achieve without the dredging technology.
The £5m operation, which will take eight weeks to complete, will see sand mixed with water, piped out of the estuary and cleaned.
Once cleaned it is compressed using water.
Developers say this is then perfect for building on and will level foundations at the site, which until a few months ago, was derelict.
Gary Winder, of White Young Green, consultant engineers for Redrow Homes, said: "The opportunity to use dredged sand from the estuary allows the redevelopment of the site to be economically viable.
"The plans for this development would simply be impossible without this process.
"It would have taken 20,000 wagon loads of materials and over three years to fill in the land we need to fill.
"We can do it this way in eight weeks."
The development will see around 300 homes built, ranging from £100,000 to £500,000 for the most exclusive waterfront properties.
It is the first part of a scheme which could see up to 1,300 homes built on the banks of the River Wyre.
Christine Aitken, sales director for Redrow Homes, said: "This is a huge investment in Fleetwood by Redrow in what was formerly a derelict area with views over the estuary.
"We're planning a wide range of housing and there should really be something for everybody.
"It could really add to the attraction of coming to Fleetwood and fit well with the regeneration plans for the town centre."
Redrow hope the first homes will be ready by the beginning of next year.