“Brownfield” is the term generally used to describe previously developed land, which may or may not be contaminated. Across the UK there are thousands of sites, which have been contaminated by the legacy of previous industrial uses and may present significant risks to human health and to the wider environment.
However, the demand for the redevelopment of these sites is growing as recent Government targets demand that 60% of new housing is built on brownfield sites in order to reduce the use of greenfield sites and relieve the pressure on the countryside and green belt.
Despite some work by Local Authorities in response to the originally proposed introduction of Contaminated Land Registers following the development of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the number of contaminated sites in the UK has not yet been reliably estimated. The Environment Agency has however stated that they anticipate that there are over 300,000 hectares of contaminated land in the UK.
Brownfield land may be derelict land, which can only be redeveloped after the removal of chemical/waste risks, removal of derelict infrastructure or the removal of instability problems.
To date the main method of dealing with brownfield and contaminated sites has been through redevelopment, through the planning process, where the objective of economic benefit is linked to environmental enhancement.
Clancy Consulting has extensive experience of detailed environmental, mining and geotechnical site investigations, toxicity studies, quantified risk analysis, cost benefit analysis and effective solutions for identifying and managing brownfield and contaminated land.
Clancy Consulting can provide key services for the redevelopment of brownfield sites that meet the requirements of both PPS23 (Planning and Pollution Control) and EPA Part IIA.
These include:
Preparing an appropriate specification or guidelines, for issuing to a developer seeking planning permission for the redevelopment of a brownfield site. The specification would conform to the minimum compliance requirements within PPS23 and DEFRA guidance (CLR7 to CLR11).
• Development of a risk management strategy • Cost benefit analyses for different reclamation strategies • Development of a reclamation strategy in accordance with risk management based principles • Reclamation design, including earthworks, volumetric analysis, development of contract documents • Remediation of soil and groundwater contamination with use of in-situ or ex-situ techniques or traditional civil engineering principles • Remedial measure validation monitoring and modelling