Do I need a Phase 1 contaminated land assessment?
Check your decision notice and the council’s validation list: contaminated land conditions are among the most common pre-commencement conditions in the country, and many authorities require the desk study with the application itself. Sensitive changes of use — creating homes or gardens — and any site with a former commercial, agricultural or industrial history are the usual triggers.
What actually is a “Phase 1” — and will I need a Phase 2?
Phase 1 is the desk-based stage: history, environmental records, geology and a walkover, assessed into a conceptual site model and risk-rated. No drilling, no lab testing. A Phase 2 intrusive investigation is only recommended where the Phase 1 identifies plausible pollutant linkages that need physical proof — on a great many sites the Phase 1 alone discharges the condition.
What is a conceptual site model?
The core of the report: every plausible contamination source (on or off site), every pathway (soil, dust, groundwater, gas) and every receptor (future residents, gardens, groundwater, buildings) mapped and assessed as linkages. Each linkage is then risk-rated on the CIRIA C552 qualitative matrix — the recognised method contaminated land officers expect to see.
Do you check radon and coal mining?
Yes — radon is screened against the BR 211 bands (which determine whether protective measures are needed in the build), and Coal Authority records are checked for mining legacy including development high-risk areas. Both are reported with the official datasets behind them.
Do you visit the site?
Where the site and its findings require it, a walkover is undertaken in line with BS 10175 — verifying the desk findings, current uses and site conditions. The report states exactly what was inspected, and is signed by a named competent person as councils require.
Which areas do you cover?
Every UK local authority — the records behind the assessment (BGS, Environment Agency, Coal Authority, historical mapping) are national.
