Asbestos contaminated land in new build estate

05DavLew

I am in the process of buying a house in a new build estate built 2020 however our solicitors checks have come back showing that the whole area is potentially contaminated by asbestos in the soil. This has left us at a standstill as we are hesitant to proceed given this information, so was wondering how likely this could be given that they in the process of building more houses, schools etc. in the estate and what possible checks we could do to stop our worrying. Any advice appreciated 

user1977

You'll need to tell us more about what "checks" you think have already been done and exactly what they say.

I'd expect any 2020 development to have included pretty thorough investigations of any contamination and clear-up before development started. That will all be detailed in the planning documents.

35har1old

05DavLew said:

I am in the process of buying a house in a new build estate built 2020 however our solicitors checks have come back showing that the whole area is potentially contaminated by asbestos in the soil. This has left us at a standstill as we are hesitant to proceed given this information, so was wondering how likely this could be given that they in the process of building more houses, schools etc. in the estate and what possible checks we could do to stop our worrying. Any advice appreciated 

What was the site originally eg green field

Bigphil1474

Sounds unlikely. Any contaminated land is usually identified by the local authority and clean up of the contamination is normally specified in the permissions to build. Can't really think how the whole area could have asbestos contaminated soil unless it's a former factory of some sort. I think you need to speak to your solicitors and maybe speak to the local council - contaminated land team (?)

Section62

05DavLew said:

I am in the process of buying a house in a new build estate built 2020 however our solicitors checks have come back showing that the whole area is potentially contaminated by asbestos in the soil. This has left us at a standstill as we are hesitant to proceed given this information, so was wondering how likely this could be given that they in the process of building more houses, schools etc. in the estate and what possible checks we could do to stop our worrying. Any advice appreciated 

What, specifically, has come back reporting the possible asbestos contamination?  Has the source been updated since the develpment was built?

The planning process would have required the risk of contamination to be assessed, followed up with detailed surveys and investigation (if necessary) before a remediation plan was produced.  The planning consent would then have a condition requiring the remediation plan to be implemented - typically either before the main construction work started, or before the first (or nth) home was occupied.

Until the council is satisfied the plan is completed, the land will still be regarded as contaminated.  Once the contamination is known to be dealt with, that information will (eventually) make its way into the various databases.

In some cases the remediation involves 'capping' the contamination, in which case the land should still be recorded as contaminated so people are less likely to do things like digging deep foundations through the capping layer and exposing contaminated soil.

So you need to find out what (if any) of the above applies in your case, and why the records are still showing potential contamination.

ProDave

In the process of building, the whole site is stripped and then the completed houses have top soil put back in the gardens.  What matters to a home owner is whether that top layer of soil is contaminated.  Depending on the sie that top soil may be fresh stuff brought in from elsewhere.

[Deleted User]

Bigphil1474 said:

Sounds unlikely. Any contaminated land is usually identified by the local authority and clean up of the contamination is normally specified in the permissions to build. Can't really think how the whole area could have asbestos contaminated soil unless it's a former factory of some sort. I think you need to speak to your solicitors and maybe speak to the local council - contaminated land team (?)

Councils specify all sorts of things, whether builders actually do them properly is another matter. You will be lucky if the house is even sound, let alone the contamination properly cleaned up.

05DavLew

35har1old said:

05DavLew said:

I am in the process of buying a house in a new build estate built 2020 however our solicitors checks have come back showing that the whole area is potentially contaminated by asbestos in the soil. This has left us at a standstill as we are hesitant to proceed given this information, so was wondering how likely this could be given that they in the process of building more houses, schools etc. in the estate and what possible checks we could do to stop our worrying. Any advice appreciated 

What was the site originally eg green field

It was ministry of defence/army barracks land and everyone moved in 2020. However the report wasn’t done identifying asbestos till 2021. The  potential contained land is coming up in the solicitor searches which we have the documents for however it is only highlighting it as alert level 1 of 5

05DavLew

Section62 said:

05DavLew said:

I am in the process of buying a house in a new build estate built 2020 however our solicitors checks have come back showing that the whole area is potentially contaminated by asbestos in the soil. This has left us at a standstill as we are hesitant to proceed given this information, so was wondering how likely this could be given that they in the process of building more houses, schools etc. in the estate and what possible checks we could do to stop our worrying. Any advice appreciated 

What, specifically, has come back reporting the possible asbestos contamination?  Has the source been updated since the develpment was built?

The planning process would have required the risk of contamination to be assessed, followed up with detailed surveys and investigation (if necessary) before a remediation plan was produced.  The planning consent would then have a condition requiring the remediation plan to be implemented - typically either before the main construction work started, or before the first (or nth) home was occupied.

Until the council is satisfied the plan is completed, the land will still be regarded as contaminated.  Once the contamination is known to be dealt with, that information will (eventually) make its way into the various databases.

In some cases the remediation involves 'capping' the contamination, in which case the land should still be recorded as contaminated so people are less likely to do things like digging deep foundations through the capping layer and exposing contaminated soil.

So you need to find out what (if any) of the above applies in your case, and why the records are still showing potential contamination.

The land was ministry of defence/army barracks land and everyone moved in 2020. However the report wasn’t done identifying asbestos till 2021. The  potential contained land is coming up in the solicitor searches which we have the documents for however it is only highlighting it as alert level 1 of 5

user1977

Whose report and how has it identified asbestos? What's happened since?

05DavLew

35har1old said:

05DavLew said:

I am in the process of buying a house in a new build estate built 2020 however our solicitors checks have come back showing that the whole area is potentially contaminated by asbestos in the soil. This has left us at a standstill as we are hesitant to proceed given this information, so was wondering how likely this could be given that they in the process of building more houses, schools etc. in the estate and what possible checks we could do to stop our worrying. Any advice appreciated 

What was the site originally eg green field

It was ministry of defence/army barracks land and everyone moved in 2020. However the report wasn’t done identifying asbestos till 2021. The  potential contained land is coming up in the solicitor searches which we have the documents for however it is only highlighting it as alert level 1 of 5