Andrew Mawson wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
On 30 Jul, 14:45, "Andrew Mawson"
wrote:
Has anyone on list had experience of contractors decontaminating
land? We are buying a parcel of land, part of which was once used
as a coal yard, so there is the odd bit of coal still lying
arround, not much but definately some. Planning permission has been
granted for a barn conversion, but is conditional on a
contamination survey, ( inc soil, soil gas, surface and ground
water sampling) the be carried out by 'a suitably qualified and
accredited consultant/contractor..' At the end of the day it is
only a few bits of coal, maybe a few hundredweight spread over an
acre or so, but somthing is going to have to be sacrified to the
local planning gods and some form of decontamination process
carried out.

AWEM

In Scotland the contaminator pays if he`s traceable.If not the
current owner is liable.The danger is that the contamination is not
just the bit of coal you are seeing but that it is deep into the
ground.If it is deep and depending upon what it is the council/epa
may serve an order on you to clean it up.This as you are no doubt
aware can be big bucks entailing complete excavation of the
site,treatment of the contaminated spoil and it`s disposal.You then
still have to reinstate the site.
It is normal up here for the buyers legal people to have a clause in
the sale that leaves any contamination problem with the seller and it
is also usual for the sellers legal people to refuse to accept that
condition.It is also acceptable to have a drilling for contamination
survey to be done as part of the offer for the property.My preferred
course of action when faced with the possibility that a possible
purchase is contaminated is to walk away as the councils and
enviromental agencies do not take into consideration what the cost
will be to the landowner,all they want is the site cleaned up
regardless off cost.There will always be another buy another day.
Mark.



Sound council from you there Mark, and probably what we will do !

AWEM


It is sound counsel from Mark. I'm pleased to see that you are intending
to purchase rather than have! What were the former uses before being a
coal yard? If it was a gasworks (though only part if the area concerned
is an acre) or similar then there could be a huge liability that you are
buying into. At worst you could end up with the land in question being
registered as "contaminated" on a Part IIA register and blighted as a
liability rather than an asset - I speak as one who deals with such
issues daily as a living.

From what you write about the PP, there must be a reason whether sound
or not. The least you should do is have a Desk Top Study done by an
environmental consultant to determine former uses of the site and
adjacent areas to determine whether there is an issue and whether you
can technically dispute the requirements for an intrusive survey.

A DTS would indicate whether such work is required and the extent of the
work. To purchase without that knowledge would seem to be a significant
risk to me!