Land Appraisal and Site Investigation are key services for many of our projects, and they often reveal more than the client may have been expecting!
We experienced a recent example of this while working for a housing developer on a brownfield site formerly used by JCB. The development included an ecological corridor alongside a brook that ran through the site. The brook is listed as ‘one of the most important sites for Water Voles in Staffordshire’ (a protected species under Countryside and Wildlife Act 1981) and contains numerous wildflower meadows too.
[Site Layout Plan including Ecological Corridor]The extensive range of services that GRM provided to the developer included:
- Site investigation to refine ground models for two rockhead strata (Carboniferous coal measures and Triassic sandstone) and refine existing contamination assessments.
- Slope stability assessments for the brook including an engineering feasibility study which looked at both unreinforced and reinforced slopes (the agreed solution of a ‘soft’ unreinforced slope complimented the ecological requirements).
- Production of earthworks specification for the ecological corridor and adoptable highways in line with the Specification of Highway Works incorporating Staffordshire County Council’s specific requirements.
- Remediation Method Statements.
- Materials Management Plan.
- Asbestos remediation sampling for non-licensed products, encountered during construction stage.
- Asbestos advice for licensed products encountered during construction stage
- Foundation advice.
- Pile matt design.
- Pile vibration assessments.
- On site supervision of foundation construction using dig and pour methods.
- Supervision of sheet pile and culvert installation, along with advice following early refusals on piles and problematic groundwater conditions (the site hosts a spring line).
- Supervision and advice for earthworks within the ecological corridor and highways area.
The ability for GRM to manage all these services and the overall project saved both time and cost for the developer. If you have any development or construction projects, then please get in touch to find out how we can help and save both time and costs. Please use your main point of contact at GRM or for new enquiries email richard.upton@grm-uk.com or call 01283 551249.