Worrying environmental search results

Money_girl

Hello there,

I am in process of buying a Victorian conversion flat.

I have received the results from the searches today. Everything is more or less positive except the environmental search findings.

1. The property is within an area which is at an above average risk of natural subsidence.

2. The property is within an area which is liable to surface water /pluvial, coastal or river flooding.

3. Unknown Filled Ground. Some time in the past the ground has been filled but it is not known what was used to fill it. Therefore there is a potential risk of ground contamination depending upon what was used to fill ground.

The environmental report did not involve a physical inspection of the property. They searched through relevant registers and sources of information to help provide a breakdown of past and present uses of the
property and also polluting incidents or land uses within the vicinity.

Has anyone got similar environmental search results? I wonder if this information is something general that is provided in many cases?

Natural subsidence can occur anywhere. Regarding the flooding the flat is nowhere close to water. I guess this has been said as a precaution rather than it is a serious threat. It is not known what was used to fill the ground. So again they are trying to insure themselves by saying the land MIGHT be contaminated as really it is not known.

So my aim is to find out whether these environmental findings are usual. Or is it something relevant only to my property?

Thank you very much in advance.

billymadbiker

Try getting a quote for house insurance after telling them everything on the report.
See if the insurance company think it's a big issue

cootuk

Victorian?..been there a long time so are there any signs of actual subsidence, or have there been cases of flooding...ask neighbours, knock on a few doors.

vet8

This contaminated ground issue is a new big thing.

We are selling an upstairs flat which we bought only 3 years ago with no mention of contamination. Now the buyer's search has come back as it is built on potentially contaminated land, but I suppose they could say that about any bit of ground anywhere.

This seems to be a way of covering the solicitor's back.

Doozergirl

None of it is particularly unusual.

As advised, look at the history of the site and ask the neighbours.

many places in London would flag like this. Most of (eg) London is built on clay which makes every house there an above average risk of subsidence - people still live there! They are probably mostly all at risk of flooding from the Thames without the barrier. A lot of landfill flags in Victorian areas will be little old brickworks where they made them locally when they were building in high density.

With regard to insurance, the insurance companies already have a database that would include possibility of subsidence and flooding. Part of everyone's premiums will reflect the particular risk of their house. There is no need to flag these things separately.

As for landfill & contamination, if you speak to the Local Land Charges department at the council, they can tell you if it's considered a high risk. The chance are that it is not. If it were, it would already have been assessed. Every LA has hundreds, if not thousands of potential sites. You're probably not even directly on the potentially contaminated land. There should be a little map that highlights the query areas with crisses and suchlike.

Solicitors can't advise on the contents of searches, but a good question to ask a friendly one would be "if you were buying this house yourself and read these search results, would it put you off?"

Doozergirl

vet8 wrote: »

This contaminated ground issue is a new big thing.

We are selling an upstairs flat which we bought only 3 years ago with no mention of contamination. Now the buyer's search has come back as it is built on potentially contaminated land, but I suppose they could say that about any bit of ground anywhere.

This seems to be a way of covering the solicitor's back.

It's not a new thing. It was probably in your searches too, but it wasn't flagged as a particular issue. The information gathering on potentially contaminated sites in LA areas would have been done years ago.

The difference is likely to be the solicitor, or the thoroughness with which you and your buyer read the reports.

Money_girl

Thank you very much for your answers, guys. I feel more positive now.

I have contacted the Local Land Charges Department to ask whether they consider the land is at risk of a contamination. I will also contact the qualified environmental consultant. I plan to speak with neighbors about the floods and subsidence in the past.

lord_tyrannus

I'd still be cautious on the flooding aspect just because your not near any water source doesn't mean the property is not sat on a flood plain

there's a section on the environment agency website I think where you can enter your post code and it will show you the flood map
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/37837.aspx
Oh found it!

With flood plain i'd always go into it expecting it to flood at some point it might be upto ten years between floods. Although as doozergirl points out a lot of London is on a flood plain and the risk of flood has been reduced due to the barrier