Buying next to (possibly) contaminated land?

LondonJim_2

OK then so we've found the house, offer accepted, mortgage sorted, survey and searches done ... and then ...two days before exchange we discover that the the lovely park that the house's garden backs onto is a landfill site and is likely to be designated 'contaminated land' by the end of the year.

E'gad !!

It is not all doom and gloom though, there is no contact hazard and no risk to human health. The problem is that the site is a landfill site and the rubbish is decomposing and a liquid called 'leachate' is getting into a local stream (about 500m away). The local council is both the Environmental Health Enforcer and the owner of the land. If it is designated 'contaminated land' they will have to put it right.

So, do we buy or not??

My view: House is something we both like and a 10 yr investment. Lovely south facing garden that backs onto a park, contamination will not affect us in any way and will be put right eventually. It may affect some potential buyers but the more rational will realise that it is not something that affects the house.

The other view: House prices in the area will suffer, buyers will walk away, the land will always be on the register (with a remediated star next to it), remediation work may affect us (plant machinery on the park), it is not worth it.

So - if anyone has any experience or bright ideas I'd love to hear from you. Much time money and effort has been expended on this purchase and I'm loathe to walk away through an uninformed opinion.

Thanks in advance.

Stevenj214

LondonJim wrote:

the more rational will realise that it is not something that affects the house.

except the smell? ergh

zzzLazyDaisy

I'm surprised this has only cropped up at this late stage - I had an environmental search done at the same time as all my other searches, and it showed things like land-fill sites and sewerage works (none near me, thank goodness).

At the very least I'd ask the solicitor to delay exchange to give you time to think about it.

Jacster_2

From reading your post, I would guess that you want to go ahead and buy anyway.

Could you negotiate a price reduction with the current vendors? This will help protect you against loss if other people try to negotiate you down when it's your turn to sell.

HTH and good luck with your decision.

Ian_W

Think Daisy's idea to delay exchange is a good one, gives you time to do a bit of digging [not literally!] for more info.

When was landfill completed and park built? Is it surrounded by housing, or just a few? Any more info to be gained from local Env Health? Go back & see if there is a pong you've not previously notice or more flies than you'd expect - this is the time of year you'd expect either/both if they're a problem. Perhaps speak to neighbours, call in local boozer/shops to see if you can find out if any locals find it a problem.

It will show up on Env searches when you come to sell but could be a long time since the tipping if you plan to be there 10 yrs. Will it put off future buyers, honest answer - dunno - but it may well not. About a mile from us there are some large very upmarket Victorian Detached and the Local Council gave permission for landfill a couple of hundred yards away despite objections. They had 2 or 3 years of flies, smell and traffic but now 5-10 years later they're back to premium prices and seen as very desirable again, that must show up on the search but they seem to sell very quickly - well as quickly as anything at the moment.

Let us know what you decide, seems like a great property otherwise.