Andrew Mawson wrote:
"clot" wrote in message
...
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

SNIP

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!


Clot, Prior to being used as a coal yard it was a black current field
! The coal yard usage was from about 1984 to 2003, with lorry loads of
solid fuel being stored in concreted bays, and a small bagging plant
used to put it in sacks for sale. They also sold bottled gas. No
liquid fuels were stored other than for use of the lorries. The
current owner admits that in heavy rain, black coal carrying water
would run down from the coal yard and into a pond on the site which
drains into local water courses. The local council did a desk top
survey for me and confirmed the usage dates. I am rather at a loss as
to what remedial action would be required - perhaps if you deal with
this sort of thing for a living you can comment?

Interesting one; you mentioned in your o.p. that you wished to do a barn
conversion - of what? Do you intend to use existing footings? Are these
adequate for the job all will more groundwork be involved?

I am surprised that the planners did the search for you (or at least
shared the work that they had done to this extent) which is quite
helpful in that they seem to accept that the only potentially
contaminative use was as a coal yard. I'm having difficulty appreciatng
what they are concerned about. They didn't mutter "black damp" did they?
This is hardly relevant but they might just think so!

If we are only considering coal fines, etc. from the site's former use
then it is likely that there is only a thin surface skin. If your barn
conversion is to go beyond the existing footings of a building, then you
will in any case want to remove the topsoil which would seem to be the
likely "contaminated" depth, solving the contamination issue.

You can use this material for landscaping onsite.If they raise the
question about what you intend to do with it, emphasise that you need
the material as topsoil (don't use the unmagic words waste or spoil).
Depending upon volumes and cost/ cost of delaying construction, be
prepared to offer to remove to landfill.

The Environment Agency is a Statutory Consultee to your application and
they might have responded to ensure that there is no chance of surface
water running into the watercourse with coal fines in it - which
justified since fines can ruin the ecology of the watercourse. Ensure
that you can address those concerns.

I think that you will need to prove that the "contamination" is skin
deep only. If they are sympathetic then they might accept photos of
trial pits you have dug around the site, though I wouldn't hold my
breath.

I suspect that the quickest will be to get a local environmental
consultant in to do this work and confirm in a report which they are far
more likely to accept!

If you are just using an existing footing, they might still be twitchy
(unjustifiably I suspect) about gases creeping into the building via
services and might be comforted by you explaining that you will ensure
gas-tight entry of the services.

I hope this helps. I have had limited to go on and have therefore made
some guesses!