Envirosearch report findings

eur0

I'm buying a new property which is nearing completion. The Envirosearch report has come back as PASSED but has identified that there is a low risk of "natural ground stability instability in the area within 50 metres of the centre of the search". My solicitor has obviously highlighted this as something that I may wish to follow up with a surveyor, although stressed that this is quite common and mentioned such factors as the fact that the property is newly constructed and is covered by NHBC. I talked to a surveyor who basically said there was not much more he could tell me over and above the information in the report. Further investigation would involve getting a structural engineer to look at foundations...but that seems crazy. I would like to think that the relevant controls and regulations required during the build would have identified any such hazards long before now. Being familiar with the area and the fact that the ground is chalk he couldn't see why there should be any subsidence issues. Has anyone else been faced with this issue? Are there any other checks I can perform?

Doozergirl

A "low risk" doesn't exactly sound like an issue to me. I'ts certainly not something I'd follow up on.

Get on and buy the house if that's the worst an environmental report throws up. You can't not buy a house because theres a low risk of natural subsidence somewhere within 50 metres.

poppysarah

Is it worth getting a more indepth explanation? Yes it costs money but so does rebuilding a house.

Hulme new builds had lots of issues with land settling for a long time - only a few serious problems.

eur0

poppysarah wrote: »

Is it worth getting a more indepth explanation? Yes it costs money but so does rebuilding a house.

Hulme new builds had lots of issues with land settling for a long time - only a few serious problems.

But where do you get a more indepth explanation? I'd like to know why the risk is "low" as opposed to (I assume "no hazard" - it doesn't say what the other possible risk values are).

Doozergirl

It's a new build. There is no point checking the foundations - they will have already been checked to see that they conform to building regulations and past that, the building just hasn't had time to settle yet.

Does the diagram showing your house in the middle display where this area is?

eur0

No. The primary aim of the report is contamination so all potential markings are related to landfill, waste management, hazardous substances etc.. There is only one item marked (a 'Discharge Consent') on our radar but that's nearly 0.5Km away. This is the problem - I don't know how you find out the reasons behind the risk rating. I've seen a number of these reports now with low, low-moderate and moderate risk ratings for subsidence. The accompanying text is the same for all of them. I guess I can call 'Envirosearch' as a start.

Cozworth806

We had one and if we had followed it then we would have never bought anywhere in the area. I reckon many houses are built near something that would come up on these searches and doubt we will bother for our new house.

Richard_Webster

I think you will find is that they look at the geology of the area in general and then determine that that type of soil carries a "low" as opposed to "medium" or "high" risk. Also this may not take into account actual historic experience of subsidence or lack of it in the area - just that in general a particular kind of soil is more or less prone to instability.

You can check with the people who produced the Environmental Report as to whether they have a "No Risk" or "Minimal Risk" category, and whether they have historic records of actual subsidence incidents from insurers (which I doubt). I suspect they may not have such categories or records, and "Low" is as good as you can get. I suspect your solicitor is scaremongering.

eur0

Thanks Richard. 'Scaremongering' is the term my surveyor used also. I suppose I can't really blame them - they are only highlighting something in the report. The problem is that I don't have enough information to form my own opinion.