Category Archives: Projects

Phase 1 Desktop Study – Plymouth

Acting on instruction from a developer in Plymouth, Southwest Environmental produced a phase 1 desktop study report for a planning application.

The site was on the city outskirts and had enjoyed an agricultural history. It was not foreseen that the land could be unduly contaminated and so its was recomedned that the site contamination assessment be arrested at this first phase.

An agricultural past with no buildings on site will nearly always mean low risk of harm resulting from site occupiers, although of course each site has to be assessed on an individual basis.

 Desktop Study Plymouth

Attenuation Tank Design – Surrey

Following on from planning level reporting resulting in the conditioning of various surface water management requirements. Southwest Environmental are finalising design of surface water management system for a site in Surrey.

Design of attenuation tank in line with SUDs manual – Outflow requirements are negotiated with local sewer provider Thames Water, and tank capacity is adjusted to minimise capital outlay for developer.

Application is made to Thames Water for Sewer Connection. 

Note: The size of a surface water attenuation tank is based on the peak inflow rates from the site  (the run-off coefficient is taken it to account when calculating this), and the maximum outflow rate. For example a 5 litre per second outflow rate would require an attenuation tank size of 20 cubic meters, whilst a 10 litre per second out flow would require an 8 cubic meter attenuation tank.

As well as the attenuation tank design, a maintenance plan was submitted for it continued upkeep.

Desktop Study – London

Desktop Study – London

Acting on instruction from a devloper in London Southwest Environmenta under took a phase 1 preliminary risk assessment for site in Southwest London.

The site comprised of two terraced houses had been repourposed as a furniture shop, the plan was to demolish these and build a modern enregy effecient multi unit residential development.

Historic maps showed that their had been little change in the building outlin, and more historc trade entries for the site did not show any environmmentallu dmaging activites having taken place on site.

The walkover survey did not identify any likly sources of contamination and so the condition was discharged.

Desktop Study London

Basement

Environmental Consultants London

Expert Planning Objection – Devon

Expert Planning Objection – Devon

SWEL were approached by a grioup of residents in Devon who were concerneed by plans to build a very large calve rearing unit on land adjacent to their houses. The development had been targetted to be just below thresholds for EIA. Even so it was thought that residents would experince negative impacts in the form of noise, light, odour and nusnce (flies).

Artists Impression of Development

SWEL produced a report which outlined amongst other things the levels of noise aticipated, stating respect academic materials SWEL built a case that suggested that noise levels would be in breach of WHO recommnedations, particulalry in litght of the fact that background noise levels in the area were so low.

Comment was also made on flood risk, which proved pivotal in the planning application being refused.

Environmental Consultants Devon

Compost Permit Application – Woking

Compost Permit Application – Woking

Southwest Environmenta Limited were approached by a company based in woking whop had been manufacturing compost for 30 years, they had been operating under a local authority license for the activity but now they needed an environmental permit, owing the the environmental permitting regulation coming in to force.

Over a period of 3 months SWEL prepared and submitted the application which owing to the bespoke nature of the permit required and proximity of the site to various nature reserves and sensitive receptors was a labourious process.

Add caption

The permit was granted after around 4 months.

Unfortionatly the environmental permitting regulations do not take in to account the benign nature of waste operations that have been taking place over 10’s of years with incident. For example despite having resdients living immediatly adjacent to site who had not complained of odours over the 30 year life span of the site, an odour managment plan was aked for, as was a Site Specific Bio-Aerosol Risk Assessment SSBRA.

 

Inert Waste Recovery Permit Application

Inert Waste Recovery Permit Application – Dorset

Southwest Environmental Limited we asked to prepare an environmental permit application for a large landscaping scheme at a golf course in dorset. Import of materials classed as waste would be used for the formation of landscaping features.

A key part of a waste recovery permit application is the waste recovery plan which should be assessbmled in a to verfiy benefits of the waste scheme, in this instance is was thought that this benefit should proven via the use of a customer survey, of golf club memebers.

Gold club memebrs were asked whether they thought that the landscpaing scheme would improve the golf course. Results from this survey were then used to prove a benefit from the scheme.

Waste Recovery Plan

Environmental Permit Applications

Desktop Study for Change of Use Planning Application Plymouth

Desktop Study for Change of Use Planning Application Plymouth

Southwest Environmental wehere approached by a visitor atraction provider in Plymouth. They were looking to apply for change of use planning permission for an old industrial facility, with a view to using it for a go karting centre. There were no planned alterations to the building fabric, with only the addition of some light weight internal construction.

The industrial facility had been used for the constructyion of various goods over the years and so it was concluded that there was an unquantified risk to future users, as such a site ivestigation was recommended.

Following completion of the site investigation the conditions related to contaminated land were passed off, and planning permission was approved.

Desktop Study to Discharge Planning Condition

Projects – Composting Permit Application Bristol

Southwest Environmental Limited were approached by a composter sited to the south of Bristol, UK. The composter was operating a number of sites under Paragraph Exemptions, and as Paragraph Exemptions were being phased out and replaced by environmental permits, SWEL were engaged to under take the permit applications for the various sites.

It soon became apprent howver that 2 of the 3 sites ear marked were going to require significant investment in order to meet the permit requirements namley the impermeable surfaces and sealed driangae.

One of the sites however met most the the requirements and so it was decided to concentrate operations at this site.

An environmental permit application was made and accepted and the site continues to operate. After 3 years the sites has undergone a number of compliance audits from the Environment Agency, with only very minor non-compliances most of which have been related to the condition of the site infrastructure.

SWEL make sure that permits will run for many years without any major alterations. Measures such as specifying a genrous site boundary are imprtant to ensure this.

Environmental Consultants Bristol

Project – Desktop Study Bradford

Southwest Environmental Limited were apprioached by a private land owner who was seeking to devlope a piece of derelict ground which filled a section of street grid in Bradford, Yorkshire, UK.

It soon became apparent that the site had a history that meant it was prone to lowered soil quality. On site uses were unclear, and surrounding land had been used for heavey industrial purposes throughout the 20th centuary.

The site was alo in a Coal mining area and as such a coal mining report was sourced to establish risk to the building structure for ground collapse.

Report Sourced from Coal Authority

Environmental Consultants Bristol