I have at long last bought the old access road at the back of my house, and have obtained planning permission to make it my garden and parts of it into the gardens of my nieghbours (after much discussion with them prior to selling them the appropriate parts).
Unfortunately the Planning Authority is asking fir Contaninated land reports Parts 1 and 2 prior to developmnet.
Where do I get these reports?
May I write them myself? Writing official reports is meat and drink to me :-)
The road consists of many layers of shale/hard core etc. which have built up over the years.
The whole area was used for industrial purposed for centuries, so the land is probably contaminated, but the only real problem I can see is a thin layer of tarmac scalpings, on top of the road.
A land area near where I used to work which Sainsbury's bought and then failed to get planning permission to build a store, cost them £9M to decontaminate. Part of it was so bad it has to run a pumped reed bed for 25 years before contamination is likely to reduce to allowable levels. Aparently someone lost their job for not getting it tested before purchase. It had belonged to Murphy's Chemicals in the past.
I believe Failsworth health centre is built on the site of the former hat works and the land was contaminated with mercury amongst other things. You have to assume they cleared it properly....
would emphasise that the ground will not be disturbed - possibly it will need capping in some way, and that restrictive covenants will prevent you neighbours disturbing the land in future unless they decontaminate it.
What was the industry? Lead smelting (lead and other heavy metals), hat making (mercury), coal gas works (arsenic and whole chemical cupboard of other stuff...).
I'm not sure what Parts 1 &2 reports (referred to differently by different organisations) are but I suspect that what is meant is a progressive approach to investigating the condition of the site.
The first step is to determine whether the particular location is likely to have had a former contaminative use and what that use(s) might imply.
This is commonly referred to as a Desk Top Study (DTS). A literature search is made of the historical information for the area from various archives. One of the most useful is a series of OS maps through the years. A report can then be produced indicating the likelihood of any contamination and/or stability issues regarding the site. Such a study is likely to cost circa £1 to £2k from an environmental consultant.
If that report confirms that there are risks for the intended use(s) of the land then a Site Investigation is the next step. In the case of The Grand Design site in hand, as I understood it, it was this second step that cost £5k. As an aside, due to the way the dialogue happened on the programme, I was able to guess before the stated price that it would have been £5k.
This second study involves going out to the site, taking various samples and having them analysed and reporting back. If stability is an issue costs could be significantly higher.
Not wishing to frighten you but to inform. Since your intended use ( and assuming the same for your neighbours) is purely as gardens then the likely ballpark cost, assuming that contaminants are anticipated as a result of the DTS, then total costs would be in the ballpark of £6.5k.
Whilst you may be adroit at producing reports, as you are the owner the LA are far more likely to accept a report from ane nvironmental consultant that does not have your bias! It could also save you money, time and hassle in that the ECon will know what is required and may also have prior knowledge of the area and certainly what the LA is likely to expect.
HTH
PS I emphasise that the figures are necessarily Ballpark not knowing what the former uses are likely to have been and thus what contaminants might be expected and also not knowing what your neighbours might wish to do with the land they will be gaining. Extending a house over a landfill site poses different risks from growing vegetables in the garden or exposing children to contaminated soils.
Why don't you start a company called Fawthrop Environmental Investigations & write the reports yourself? Local council numptys won't know any different.
Seems like none of the above require planning permission or building control. Why are the council involved? I don't understand how the council could become aware of contaminated land, or how it might become an issue in your case. From what you have said, you bought contaminated land adjacent to your property. Why has contamination suddenly become an issue?
tedlandadjacent to your property. Why has contamination
Because I am selling some of the land on to neighbours I got Change of Use Planning permission. Everybody knows about the Industrial history of the area so we are on some list of contaminated land.
I think I am going to get away with it because the land was an access road which would only take one horse and cart or one lorry so there was no industrial use, not even storage.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.