Erection of 2 no. dwellings at Rufford Drive, Whitefield, Manchester, M45

Case Study Reference: 18-01-10

Planning Authority: Bury Metropolitan Borough Council

Planning Reference: 62529

Synopsis:

In order to demonstrate that after the development the site could not be classified as ‘contaminated land’ under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act a Phase I desk study report was required to support the application for the erection of a dwelling.  The site was occupied by an agricultural building, the past use of the site have the potential to impact site soils.

A Phase I desk study report assess the potential for a site to be impacted by contamination, this is undertaken by researching the history of the site and the surrounds as well as a review of information held by regulatory bodies and a site visit.

A number of reservoirs were identified on the O.S. maps within 250m of the site, all of which had been in-filled.

The planning history of the site was reviewed, this revealed no salient information.

The published geological maps identified the drift soils as Till which was underlain by Pennine Middle Coal Measures. The Coal Authority were consulted and the site as within a ‘Development High Risk’ area.

Data provided by regulatory bodies confirmed the presence of reservoirs within 250m of the site.

On completion of the desk based research a site reconnaissance visit was undertaken, this confirmed the site was a landscaped parcel of land.

 

 

Once the walkover survey was completed a qualitative risk assessment was undertaken on the potential sources of contamination identified in the desk study report in order to determine if any warranted further investigation, this concluded that the in-filled reservoirs off site were the only credible source of contamination. The report recommended either ground gas monitoring or the incorporation of gas protection measures into the building as an alternative to ground gas monitoring.

The report was submitted to support the application and the recommendations accepted.

Development commenced circa June 2018 and completed 2021.