Ongoing regulatory complications
Unsellable properties, legal and financial issues
Significant time delay and disruptions
Costly rebuilding or remedial work
Loss of value or profit from the site
Added cost, time and frustration to you and your design team
Your specialist Environmental Consultant is part of a dedicated team of Chartered professionals who have been successfully gaining regulatory approval for clients all over the UK, ensuring that their sites are safe and compliant places to live and work.
Our Assessments and Site Investigations are expertly prepared by experienced consultants who are committed to providing you with a technically robust report that is tailored to meet your needs and discharge conditions.
Our Contaminated Land Assessments will help you clarify your site’s prospects, so you know the risk and can make even better decisions. Reducing the Risk, will Reduce the Stress
Our Flood Risk Assessment will help you clarify your site’s prospects, so you understand the risk and can make even better decisions.
Our comprehensive Air Quality Assessment is a small price to pay compared to the risk of not identifying the impact of air quality. The sooner you get absolute clarity on the impact of air quality and available mitigation measures, the sooner you can focus on the design. Reducing the risk, will reduce the stress.
Our comprehensive Acoustic Assessment is a small price to pay compared to the risk of not identifying noise or vibration sources. The sooner you get absolute clarity on the impact of any sources and mitigation measures, the sooner you can focus on the design. Reducing the risk, will reduce the stress.
Answer a few questions, so together we can come up with a plan that fits around the condition(s) imposed.
We work through the complex process of assessing and investigating the site to ensure we are providing the necessary information to discharge the condition(s).
Written with a regulator in mind, so the condition(s) can be discharged, and you have a safe and compliant site that will gain approval.
Planning conditions are part of a Decision Notice provided by the Local Planning Authority (LPA).
All local planning authorities have standard conditions which can be inserted into a Decision Notice if they believe there is an environmental risk associated with a proposed development.
Often the conditions have been recommended by both the Environmental Health Officer (EHO) and Environment Agency (EA). The environmental planning conditions may relate to contaminated land, flood risk, air quality or noise.
The majority of our Clients overseeing planning matters often encounter the need for Contaminated Land, Flood, Noise and Air Quality Assessments as part of an application or to discharge conditions following permission being granted.
All local planning authorities have standard conditions which can be inserted into a Decision Notice if they believe there is a pollution and/or flood risk associated with a proposed development.
The content and structure of the conditions can vary significantly from one local authority to another; some being clear and comprehensive whilst others a brief paragraph. Often the conditions have been recommended by both the Environmental Health Officer and Environment Agency.
If work is being carried out under an NHBC Buildmark Warranty scheme then the NHBC will also have their own specific conditions for Contaminated Land that will require discharging. This is particularly relevant if the Client is a design and build contractor for a new housing development.
In order to meet your needs and ensure compliance with the various planning conditions, all stages of our Assessments are in keeping with the requirements of local planning procedures, best practice and planning guidance such as that set out in National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Lustre Consulting has gained extensive experience discharging planning conditions on a variety of sites ranging from small developments with less than five units, through to large scale strategic housing developments covering several hectares, commercial and industrial developments.
Our environmental multi-disciplinary team, which provides added value to our clients. The Lustre Consulting team includes specialists in:
This allows us to provide the very best advice, design and deliver schemes in accordance with local and national policy requirements.
Some frequently asked questions about discharging a planning condition are listed below:
How can I know what reports I need?
If you are unsure what reports are required to discharge your planning conditions, please give us a call to discuss your requirements. Alternatively, please send an email to info@lustreconsulting.com and provide us with the planning decision notice reference, site location and description of the proposed development.
How long will it take to prepare a contamination report?
A Phase 1 Desk Study will normally take up to 2 weeks to complete and Phase 2 Site Investigation 6 to 8 weeks subject to environmental monitoring.
What do Contaminated Land Conditions look like?
In this example, Lustre Consulting prepared a Phase 1 Desk Study to support the original application which is reference in the Condition:
No development approved by this planning permission shall take place until a remediation strategy that includes the following components to deal with the risks associated with contamination of the site has been submitted to and approved, in writing, by the local planning authority:
A preliminary risk assessment which has identified all previous uses of potential contaminants associated with those uses and a conceptual model of the site indicating sources, pathways and receptors of potentially unacceptable risks arising from contamination at the site.
A intrusive site investigation scheme, based on (1) to provide information for a detailed assessment of risk to all receptors that may be affected, including those off site.
The results of site investigation and the detailed risk assessment referred to in (2) and, based on these, an options appraisal and remediation strategy giving full details of the remediation measures required and how they are to be undertaken.
A verification plan providing details of the data that will be collected in order to demonstrate that the works set out in the remediation strategy in (3) are complete and identifying any requirements for longer-term monitoring of pollutant linkages, maintenance and arrangements for contingency action.
The condition explicitly requires the submission of a phased Contaminated Land Assessment that follows the UK risk-based approach to managing land contamination. The regulatory consultee normally expects that each phase is approved before moving onto the next stage of the assessment and this potential delay should be accounted for in your development programme.
What are the phases of Contaminated Land Assessment
Principally, there are four phases to a Contaminated Land Assessment:
It should be noted that if the risks are found to be low enough, it is possible that the condition could be discharged following completion of the Phase 1 Desk Study, subject to a basic non-technical watching brief during construction. If recommendations are made for a Phase 2 Site Investigation, it may be that the scope will be driven principally by the need for a Geotechnical Investigation, with chemical testing bolted on to verify the condition of shallow soils and suitability for use. More complex brownfield sites may need formal Phase 3 Remediation and Validation works, especially if they have had a long history of industrial and contaminative use.
Lustre Consulting was appointed by Faithful + Gould & London Borough of Waltham Forest to undertake an architectural acoustic assessment to inform the design and detailing of the renovation and extension to the historic William Morris Gallery. The work included providing baseline information on the acoustic performance of the building following removal of the artefact’s […]
Lustre Consulting was appointed by Faithful + Gould &...
A former petrol filling station and vehicle servicing garage site in Kent is in the process of being redeveloped into a residential use. Lustre Consulting was initially appointed to carry out a Phase 1 Desk Study in support of a planning application. This was followed by a Phase 2 Site Investigation including a Geotechnical Investigation. […]
A former petrol filling station and vehicle servicing garage...
This site was granted planning permission by the Secretary of State for the development of 350 100% affordable low rise houses and apartments. The site comprises approximately 24ha of open space, bisected by a former sand pit and pond. Site investigations undertaken since the 1990s found the pond (1ha in area and up to 4m […]
This site was granted planning permission by the Secretary of...
The client, who is a small developer, required a Phase1 Desk Study to firstly support a planning application, and then a Phase 2 Site Investigation to discharge planning conditions. The proposed development comprised clearance of the site and construction of five luxury dwellings with large private gardens. The Phase 1 Desk Study identified several buildings […]
The client, who is a small developer, required a Phase1 Desk...