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E-types

E-types – Ecology, Environment, Erosion

Recent work on a 190 home development in North Yorkshire by Persimmon Homes came to a standstill when two lapwings were seen nesting on the site. The discovery of a second world war helmet on a site in West Sussex also brought construction work to a standstill …

There are many man-made trip wires to overcome when selling or buying land, but nature has its own way of interfering in the process too.

What else, apart from difficult vendors, managing the planning process, agreeing deadlines with builders, could disrupt construction, receive adverse PR or break the law?

Quite simply, if you find industrial waste, certain animals, specific plants and even human remains on your potentially lucrative redevelopment site and do not follow the correct procedure.

At an early stage of any land negotiation, carry out the relevant reports to check that the land has the ‘all clear’ or that you can take the correct remedial action. Here are a few to look out for:

Bats - are protected and an application to capture, disturb or destroy a roosting of bats has to be applied for.

Slow worms - are protected under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, prevents them from being killed, injured or sold.

Newts - another protected species cannot be moved or touched without a licence.

Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia Japonica) - damages paving, tarmac and any flood defences that have been put in place and is very expensive to treat.

Contaminated Land
Residential properties can be affected by contamination which is not always visible to the naked eye. Look out for:

exterior lead paint from old buildings which can contaminate soil and garden beds directly around the property
hazardous waste such as asbestos
persistent agrichemicals (DDT, arsenic, mercury) used on former horticultural or agricultural land

Contaminated land is the responsibility of the land owner, and property purchasers are faced with a “buyer beware” position. Investigate this before finalisation of purchase contracts and in some instances, you may be able to seek compensation for remediation costs during the sale/purchase negotiation phase.

Harmful substances in, on or under the land, and water pollution might be caused by substances at a site by industries such as Gasworks, Tanneries, Chemical Works and Landfill sites.

When these sites are redeveloped the responsibility lies with the Developer to clean up the land and ensure it is 'suitable for its proposed use'.

The approval of an application for redevelopment of these sites will only be granted on condition that any contamination is investigated, assessed and cleaned up to a standard making it suitable for the new use of the land.

Erosion
Soil erosion is a natural problem caused by wind and water, and intensified by human activities.

A housing estate on the edge of Sompting, West Sussex suffered inundation of properties by muddy floodwater in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This was largely due to the practice of growing winter cereal crops on the South Downs, leaving bare soil exposed at the wettest time of the year, leading to soil and water runoff during rainfall. Drains and watercourses became blocked, eventually flooding properties with mud-laden water. Changes in land management practices occurred in response to the floods in the early 1990s, reducing both runoff and soil erosion.