ITEM NO: 5 - Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
Transcription
ITEM NO: 5 - Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
ITEM NO: 8 Report To: STRATEGIC PLANNING AND CAPITAL MONITORING PANEL Date: 2 March 2015 Reporting Officer: Ian Saxon – Assistant Executive Director (Environmental Services) Subject: THE FORMER AUDENSHAW Report Summary: An update on the remediation project of the contaminated land on Redmond Close Audenshaw. Recommendations: That the content of the report be noted. Links to Community Strategy: Safe Environment. Policy Implications: There are no policy implications arising from this report. Financial Implications: Funding was set aside within the capital programme to support the purchase and demolition of the 11 properties and to provide remedial works to one remaining property. (Authorised by the Borough Treasurer) GUIDE LANE LANDFILL SITE, Costs incurred to date (£1.2m) relate mainly to the acquisition of the properties. Future costs are to be incurred on the demolition and landscaping of the 10 properties acquired (£0.080m), the remediation of number 22 (£0.140m) and the site investigation and construction of the gable end of number 22 (£0.045m). It is anticipated that once the remaining works have been carried out, the scheme will complete within budget. Legal Implications: (Authorised by the Borough Solicitor) Governance Arrangements: (If applicable, the intended governance arrangements e.g. Key Decision, Executive Decision) Risk Management: The Council must remediate the contaminated land in accordance with its statutory duties under the contaminated land legislation. It has consistently sought to do this by balancing the best long term outcome for the land in question with the wishes of those affected. The solution now proposed offers the next best outcome to total demolition with little extra cost. In doing so it should ensure that the legal and human rights of all owners and occupiers are observed and respected. An Executive Decision to adopt a Contaminated Land Remediation Cost Recovery and Hardship policy, a Key Decision to determine the land as contaminated, a Key Decision for the Council to offer to purchase the properties from the current owners and a Key Decision to install an extraction system have already been made. The risks are outlined in more detail in the report. Access to Information: The background papers can be obtained from the author of the report, Ian Saxon, Assistant Executive Director (Environmental Services) by: Telephone: 0161 342 3470 e-mail: [email protected] 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 On the 23 October 2013, a key decision was made to proceed with the installation of an engineered solution to remediate numbers 2 to 22 (evens) Redmond Close, following four residents rejecting the Council’s offer to purchase the properties from them. 1.2 On 17 March 2014 the Strategic Planning and Capital Monitoring Panel and the Executive Cabinet agreed to the purchase and demolition of number 2 – 20 (evens) Redmond Close, Audenshaw, in order to remediate the cleared landfill site from contamination, and to remediate Number 22 Redmond Close, Audenshaw, with an Engineered solution. 2.0 CURRENT SITUATION 2.1 The Council has now acquired 10 of the properties (Numbers 2 – 20 Evens) and the residents from all these properties have now moved out. 2.2 The residents at Number 22 remain. The residents at Number 22 have always made it clear to the Council that they do not wish to sell their property. 2.3 The Council is now therefore in a position where it has acceded to the wishes of all owners, and can resolve the situation by purchase and demolition of ten properties, and the installation of an engineered solution to the remaining property. 2.4 Tenders for the demolition works have been sought and a contractor has been appointed. 2.5 Tenders for the engineering solution for Number 22 are currently in the process of being prepared. This has not been finalised as a site investigation is necessary and this can only be undertaken once a Party Wall Agreement with the owner of number 22 is in place. 2.6 Planning consent was authorised for the demolition of the 10 properties on 22 September 2014. 2.7 An asbestos survey has also been carried out on all the properties and the results show that HSE ‘Notifiable asbestos’ is present in numbers 10, 12 and 18 Redmond Close. The notification period expired on the 6 February 2015. The removal of the ‘notifiable asbestos’ was scheduled to be undertaken week commencing 9 February 2015. 2.8 All utility supplies have been disconnected to the 10 empty properties. 2.9 Specialists in Ecology have carried out a bat survey within the properties and have found evidence of bat activity. Procedures are in place to deal with any bats discovered. However, a further bat survey will need to be undertaken on number 20 once a Party Wall Agreement is in place and temperatures are above 5oC. 3.0 DEMOLITION WORK 3.1 Due to the complexity of demolishing half of a semi-detached building (Number 20) whilst residents are still occupying the other half (Number 22), the decision was taken to demolish the 9 properties, 2 – 18 first. 3.2 This will allow the ‘grubbing up’ of the concrete floor slabs from underneath all those 9 properties and will provide engineers with a more robust understanding of the foundations underneath Number 20. 3.3 Site investigations are also due to take place at Number 20 to establish where the suitable ground is, in order for a new gable wall to be constructed for Number 22. This work can only be undertaken once a Party Wall Agreement is in place. 3.4 Officers in Estates are currently preparing a Party Wall Agreement. This agreement will need to be agreed by the residents of Number 22 and their legal representatives. Watts Group PLC (Building Consultancy) have been appointed to serve the Party Wall Notices on the adjoining land owner. 3.5 A letter drop to adjoining residents, informing them of the demolition works was undertaken on the 14 January 2015. 3.6 The demolition contractor took possession of the site on the 19 January 2015. The internal strip out of the properties was completed on the 30 January 2015. The demolition of numbers 2 to 6 Redmond Close commenced on the 2 February 2015 and is now complete. Numbers 8 to 10 are currently being demolished. The demolition work is being undertaken predominantly from the rear of the properties to minimise disruption. 3.7 Demolition works to properties numbers 2-18 (even) are on programme to be completed by the 13 March 2015. 3.8 It should be noted that the demolition of No 20 cannot proceed without a Party Wall Agreement being in place with the owner of no 22 Redmond Close. This agreement is currently being drafted. A further bat survey of No 20 will also need to be undertaken once the Party Wall Agreement is in place and temperatures are 5o C and rising. 4.0 REMEDIAL WORKS AT 22 REDMOND CLOSE 4.1 The remediation works to rectify the risk of gas ingress to 22 Redmond Close will require the retrofitting of a liquid applied membrane to the ground floor area of the property. A gas venting system will also be installed externally surrounding the property. 4.2 The works to retrofit the gas membrane will be undertaken following the demolition of 20 Redmond Close and the construction of the gable end of 22 Redmond Close. During the rebuilding of the gable end any wall cavities exposed will be appropriately sealed to ensure that ground gas cannot enter the property via the newly constructed gable wall. 4.3 Retrofitting the gas membrane to the property will require the removal of interior features such as kitchen cupboards, appliances and floor coverings so that the floor slab can be exposed. A liquid applied membrane will be installed across the entire ground floor area and wall cavities will be sealed. 4.4 A gas venting system will be installed around the perimeter of the property to draw any ground gas away from the property. 4.5 Once started, the remediation works for Number 22 are expected to take approximately 4-6 weeks and temporary accommodation will be needed for the residents during the installation of the membrane. 5.0 RISKS 5.1 The risks associated with the site have already been reduced dramatically. As a result of 10 of the 11 properties now being empty, the risks to residents from injury or death caused by an explosion have been reduced by 91%. Risks are also being reduced as each property is demolished. 5.2 The risks to residents living on the opposite side of the close have also been reduced as all the empty properties have now had ventilation bricks put in place in order to stop any buildup of gases within the properties. All the internal doors within the 10 empty properties have also been taken off in order to allow air to circulate around the houses more freely. 5.3 Once the engineering solution is put in place at Number 22, the combination of gas venting and retrofitting of the membrane will remove the significant risk of contamination to the residents of the property and will prevent any gasses from entering the remaining property and remove any risk of explosion. 5.4 Timescales for the completion of the works are dependent upon reaching agreement with the owner of number 22 regarding the Party Wall works. Delays in reaching an agreement will delay completion of the scheme. 5.5 The outcome of the additional bat survey on number 20 may delay the completion of the project. 6.0 FINANCES 6.1 The overall budget for this project is projected to be £1.8m. £431k of this has been awarded as capital grant funding from DEFRA, the remaining £1.37m coming from the Council’s own funds. 6.2 The scheme cost to date, including purchase of the 10 properties is £1,240,376. Revised figures of remaining spend are set out in the table below: Demolition of 10 properties and landscape Remediation of Number 22 Site investigation and construction of gable end for Number 22 Cost £80,000 £140,000 £45,000 £265,000 6.3 This shows a total spend of £1.51m out of a budget of £1.8m. Whilst there may be some other unplanned spend required at this moment it is indicating that the project will be delivered on target. The £0.140m that has been earmarked for the remediation of number 22 is subject to change as the full costs of refurbishment, repairs and replacement fixtures and fittings cannot be quantified at present. 7.0 CONCLUSIONS 7.1 That the details within this report are noted. House 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 TOTAL LR Purchase SDLT fee price 0 43 90000 0 0 67500 0 23 80000 1600 95 160000 1325 95 132500 1400 98 140000 1300 95 130000 0 95 125000 1300 95 130000 0 98 125000 6925 737 1180000