In the modern landscape, the re-use of brownfield land is essential to achieve sustainable growth whilst protecting our environment.  However, brownfield land is often affected by legacy contamination from historical activities, both on and off-site and this must be appropriately managed as part of any re-development.

Environmental legislation is continuing to evolve to define what is required of developers and many local regulators have adopted their own approaches to dealing with the risks associated with land contamination.  It is now common practice across many local authorities to require developers to remediate sites to a ‘local standard’ as part of a district or borough strategy of land reclamation.  As such, the environmental ‘bar’ which potential developers must meet to secure overall planning sign-off is often highly variable.

At ECG, we specialise in helping our clients realise opportunities whilst pragmatically managing the potential liabilities associated with the acquisition, ownership and development of sites.

We provide proactive geo-environmental support for Clients looking to achieve the following;

• Discharge a planning application to the satisfaction of the Local Regulator
• Discharge a legal duty of care
• Manage investment risks associated with environmental liabilities

Our in-house team are able to provide detailed advice and undertake the following -

• Preparation of qualitative Human Health and Ground Water Risk Assessments 
• Forensic assessment and tracing of sources of contamination
• Ground gases monitoring and regime characterisation

We liaise proactively with the regulatory authorities to prevent unnecessary delays and to guide you through the process.  

Please contact us for more information or for an informal discussion with one of our Chartered professionals.