Erection of a Dwelling, Wybunbury Road, Walgherton, Nantwich, CW5

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 residential redevelopment f the site.

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.

The history of the site and surrounds were researched using a combination of Ordnance Survey (O.S.) maps, street level imagery and aerial plates, this revealed that the site was initially occupied bya a number of small buildings with Lilac Cottage being erected before the 1962 map which was demolished by the 1967 map.

A sand pit was noted on the 1978 map 180m east, which was identified on the 1983 map.

Street level imagery indicated the site formed part of the gardens of the adjoining dwelling.

The planning history of the site was reviewed as part of the desk based research and the reports associated with the previous application for the erection of a dwelling were located and studied, whilst two previous applications were noted

The published geological maps identified the site as being underlain by Devensian Glaciofluvial Deposits which in turn were underlain by the Wilkesley Halite Member. As no publicly available boreholes for the areas were available from the BGS no further information on ground conditions could be obtained.

Deposits of made ground were recorded to be present 230m east of the site.

Data provided by regulatory bodies confirmed the presence of a sand pit to the east of the site, data provided by the Environment Agency also confirmed the sand pit had been subsequently used as a landfill which accepted non biodegradable wastes..

On completion of the desk based research a site reconnaissance visit was undertaken, this confirmed the site formed part of the gardens of the adjoining dwelling and at the time of the survey was used to park cars associated with the adjoining property.

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 only credible source of contamination was the landfill, however given the distance to the landfill the risk was sufficiently low enough to justify the adoption of precautionary gas protection measures in lieu of ground gas monitoring.

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