Brownfield Land North West – Land Remediation

The LK Group was commissioned by Watson Homes to carry out remediation and site enabling on their 2.38-hectare brownfield site in Clayton-Le-Moors.

The Project: 

The vacant site featured a mix of remnant hardstanding and vegetation. We attended the site ahead of the proposed earthworks to undertake various enabling works, including Japanese knotweed disposal, asbestos clearance, demolition of existing structures, setting up the compound area, and removal of hardstanding to facilitate archaeological and further ground investigations.

The Solution: 

In addition to producing the remediation strategy and earthworks cut/fill model, we proposed reusing suitable site-generated materials for engineered fill, construction platforms, and clean soil in gardens. Potentially contaminated soils were segregated and either removed from the site or placed beneath appropriate cover materials as detailed in the remediation strategy.

We carried out the site enabling and reusing site-won material, following a reduced level dig to build up site levels in certain areas. Clean, natural site-won clay was recovered as part of the cut works and used as subsoil in a clean cover layer for soft landscaping.

The Benefit: 

The site was remediated to facilitate the development of new residential dwellings, including associated external works such as gardens, car parking, roads, and infrastructure. The proposed development layout includes 127 new homes, comprising apartment blocks.

Stripped topsoil and naturally occurring soils from areas of cut will be placed in stockpiles for further assessment. Suitable topsoil and subsoils will be reused in the proposed clean cover system in gardens and other landscaped areas to isolate end users from the underlying made ground.

Recycled aggregates will be used to build construction platforms, such as piling mats and temporary capping layers in roads and car parking areas above formation levels.

Suitable site-generated made ground, natural soils, or recycled aggregates may be used for fill as required during the cut/fill earthworks or for backfilling excavations to remove obstructions or other unsuitable materials below formation levels.