NHBC’s Land Quality Service (LQS) team includes geotechnical and geo-environmental specialists who work to remove the uncertainty about whether a site is suitable for future housing development, including challenging brownfield sites.
Background
Acquired by Harworth Group in 2018, this approximately 70-acre site in the Northwest is a complex brownfield site that lay derelict for decades.
Harworth Group sought out the LQS team’s support with a review of the existing data and reports with a view to remediating the site and unlocking the land’s potential for development. This has been achieved through a phased approach with two phases completed to date.
The vision
Harworth Group were clear on what they wanted to achieve at this site. Alongside creating several hundred new homes their vision included the provision of a much-needed new access road, dedicated pedestrian and cycle routes, public open spaces and play areas.
The land was a stalled site, but Harworth’s vision would allow progress to be made and revitalise the area, creating a community in which people could live and take pride in.
The challenge
The site had geotechnical and geo-environmental challenges including:
- remediation of the former mine-workings
- significant deposits of varying Made Ground
- potential ground gas issue
- slope stability and settlement concerns
- and the requirement for specialist treatment of the material.
Finding the right solution
Harworth Group commissioned LQS and provided an extensive catalogue of reports and data for NHBC to fully understand the history of the site and plans for development.
With early engagement, LQS were able to support Harworth and their consultants in identifying the key issues and addressing them during the earthworks and remediation process.
Ongoing dialogue, attendance of progress meetings, and the issuing of the Certificate of Land Quality ensured that the site was successfully remediated and validated to NHBC Standards, ready for residential development.
Securing a Stage 1 to 3 Certificate of Land Quality
Phase one of the project progressed during 2021 and the LQS team released their Certificate in September 2021. LQS were commissioned for Phase three in early 2022 and issued the Stage 1 and 2 Certificates in June. The Stage 3 Verification was completed on schedule in December 2022 to support the land sale for new homes.
Matt Whiteley, Associate Development Director at Harworth Group said ‘We had an ambitious vision for this development and we’re pleased it is now becoming a reality with construction of the first phase of homes already underway. It shows the need for quality homes like this on unused brownfield sites. Developments like this may indeed pose challenges, but these can be overcome through careful groundwork and by engaging with experts like the LQS team at NHBC.’
