Environmental Search..?!?

Miss_Merlot

Hi all,

We are currently undergoing conveyancing on a flat and received the following communication from our solicitor:

I have some paperwork in on the purchase and this shows that XXX originally formed part of an explosives research and manufacture facility operated by Royal Ordnance and some of the site within XXX was potentially contaminated by different levels of contamination. In order that the land might be suitdeable for use for residential development purposes, XXX District Council required a full contamination programme to be carried out before any development commenced and I hold a letter on file from the Council confirming that the works comprised in the environmental remediation strategy have been carried out to the satisfaction of the Local Authority.

However, in view of the previous land use it would be advisable to submit an environmental search at an additional cost of approximately £71.88. Please confirm that you agree to me submitting the environmental search.

The town in question used to be known for gunpowder manufacture donkey's years ago, but has been otherwise habited and obviously deemed habitable for new developments to be built on.

My thoughts are that the environmental search is really not necessary in this case, but just wanted to get a second opinion from you experts!

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Miss_Merlot

Anyone able to advise please...?

GMS

Speak to your conveyancer.

Ultimately if you don't want to do it then they won't. However the lender dictates what is required so if they want it and you don't then they will not complete the mortgage.

See how the conveyancer wants to proceed.

Miss_Merlot

Thanks GMS - it not the lender wanting but the conveyancer advising us to have it done.

Are there any unforeseen consequences of not having it done...?

The flat is in one of the town's more desirable complexes (built around 2000) , so I really can't see it being a problem going forward - otherwise surely no one else would live there!

bigadaj

You can get the search done, it might provide a little further eviden e but you won't get a cast iron guarantee, but then £70 Int a lot of money when your spending six figures ina property.

The fact that you're buying a flat will mean less impact, any land with past use has a higher risk of some form of contamination being present, even where it has been remdiated. This will have some impact if your ground floor with garden, but virtually none if you are above.

I've worked on some remediation jobs for royal ordnance, they are thorough to be fair but there is never an absolute guarantee.

Thrugelmir

Miss_Merlot wrote: »

My thoughts are that the environmental search is really not necessary in this case, but just wanted to get a second opinion from you experts!

Data on the former use of land is still being undated. I believe Berkshire alone has over 10,000 sites that require investigation. In years gone by chemical waste was tipped away, left to soak into the ground or buried.

Speaking from personal experience I know it can be issue. Having bought a new property in a village location some years ago. Originally the site was believed to be that of a crane manufacturing works. Some 14 years later. An updated search revealed that the whole development was actually built on the site of a chemical works dating back to to the 1840's. In the end we had to pay for an indemnity policy to cover the potential demolition and rebuilding of the property plus excavation and replacement of the soil to a depth of 20 feet.

opinions4u

If you choose not to pay for it the lender could, potentially, refuse to lend.

Either way, £70 could save you from buying a complete turkey. So I'd pay it.

Miss_Merlot

True, thanks for your advice!

Miss_Merlot

Our solicitor has come back to us with the following reply:

"The environmental search came back ‘referred’ . it has been reviewed and has come back with a result stating ‘further action’. I will now submit the planning consents and decontamination report for the development to the search providers and ask them to review the search result. (This is quite normal on ‘brownfield’ sites).

If after this the search does not have a ‘passed’ result then I suggest we refer it back to the sellers solicitors and ask if the sellers will meet the cost of indemnity insurance which will cost £315.(incl. IPT). The premium is a ‘one off’ premium."

Am wishing we had never gone for it now

On the one hand, I really can't imagine that there would be a problem, given that it is a popular, modern development (from 2000) next to a country park, and fully remediated by the council prior to development on the land. On the other, it is really stressing me out, especially now we've got so far...

Could anyone please advise on the process the solicitor is referring to, in particular to what she is talking about with the indemnity insurance...? Does this mean we can still go ahead with the purchase, but insure ourselves against any result of the final environmental report, should the seller not be willing to meet this cost...?

Am stressed and confused...

Miss_Merlot

Oh and it is a 3rd floor flat so no direct connection to the ground

bigadaj

Hi there,

The reason it has come back referred is that the £70 only gave a basic search, this showed the land had a previous industrial use, which you already knew! So they have decided they want someone else to make a decision.

The insurance is there to cover the very low risk that there is an issue in the future, risk is low but your solicitor is covering this by getting the vendors to pay for an insurance to cover you in future. This is all good practice, follow their advice. This shouldn't cost you any money the problem is that it will take a little time to arrange, so will affect exchange and completion, hopefully not more than a couple of weeks.

If I were you I would ask your solicitor whether the insurance is transferable, ie is it something you can pass on when you sell. Also check their fees again as time is money and if this takes them some time to sort out then they might want some more money, though thy
Eh should tell you this upfront anyway.