Showing posts with label Kingsgate Park. Show all posts

Billet Road Contaminated landfill - Site A Masterplan

Bellway have announced their plan for Site A of the contaminated landfill at Billet Road, Little Heath RM6.

Bellway have christened it 'Kingsgate Park' Despite the fact there is no approved planning application for any of the development they are already advertising the properties for sale!

Apparently 'boasting fantastic transport links and local amenities'. Local residents would disagree with this along with the very low PTAL rating.

Although their website very much suggests its all a done deal with Redbridge they are holding a Public Consultation to present their proposals for Site A next week. The planning application to be submitted in Autumn 2023.

There is also the issue of the Environmental Permit required by The Environment Agency.

Site A - was Hainault House, Kennels, container and waste depot and prior to that an unregulated, now contaminated, landfill.

This some of what lies beneath Site A:

Loose Asbestos fibres

Methane concentrations above 1%
carbon dioxide concentration above 5%
Soft greenish black clay with strong hydrocarbon odour

Lead concentrations that exceed applicable human health criteria

TPH concentrations in exceedence of Water Supply Regulations 2016

Cooper concentrations exceeded applicable assessment criteria

Zinc concentration exceeded applicable assessment criteria
Benzo(b)fluoranthene & benzo(a)pyrene: exceeded the applicable criteria
Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene: exceeded the applicable criteria

Xylene exceeded the applicable screening level
Phenol exceeded the applicable screening level
Hydrocarbon contamination
TPH Aromatic C10-C21: 430ug/l exceeded applicable screening criteria
TPH Aliphatic C10-C35: 410ug/l
TPH Aromatic C10-21: 260ug/l
Perched water strikes
Benzo(a)anthracene exceeded applicable criteria
Chrysene: exceeded applicable criteria
Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene: exceeded applicable criteria
The natural ground had concentrations of benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene
and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene (MWS09a) greater than the screening level for residential homes with private gardens

Due to leaching from the landfill (yellow area shown above) the contamination extends outside of the yellow area as shown by the red and blue blobs. Some contamination may also be due to the waste that was constantly burned on site.

The Environment Permit, if obtained, will mean tons of soil can be placed on top of the contamination and then the new homes will be built.

The current Site A Masterplan proposal.

149 homes

98 car parking spaces
Are they all needed for a site with fantastic transport links?

Is the demolition of Hainault House and outbuildings safe?

Is the demolition of Hainault House and outbuildings safe?

Most of 'Parcel A' which includes Hainault House and outbuildings, is on contaminated landfill at Billet Rd. Bellway applied for prior approval to demolish the house and all the other buildings on the site.

Testing shows that it's surrounded by Asbestos. 'A' equals Asbestos. The yellow line and shading shows the inferred landfill boundary. No testing has been done on the Hainault House area including the outbuildings and kennels.

Here's some of the things they found on the left hand section of 'Parcel A'
(the red & blue blobs):

Loose Asbestos fibres

Methane concentrations above 1%
carbon dioxide concentration above 5%
Soft greenish black clay with strong hydrocarbon odour

Lead concentrations that exceed applicable human health criteria

TPH concentrations in exceedence of Water Supply Regulations 2016

Cooper concentrations exceeded applicable assessment criteria

Zinc concentration exceeded applicable assessment criteria
Benzo(b)fluoranthene & benzo(a)pyrene: exceeded the applicable criteria
Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene: exceeded the applicable criteria

The 'Method Statement' says that the works includes:

'Re-cycling /removal of material'

All the resulting debris such as hard core, concrete and steel will be processed and graded at ground level using 360 degree excavators with hydraulic shear, concrete pulveriser/nibblers, grapple and bucket attachments.

Will any of this debris and the soil/natural ground removed with it be contaminated material ?

Where will it go?

Dust control measures will continue to be implemented during the grading and loading of materials

Emergency Proceedures for site personnel :
Excavation of contaminated material with visual discolouration/noxious smell. Withdraw to a safe distance, make immediate contact with Site Manager.

What was in the planning application for Risk Assessment and contamination?

Environmental control measures covers mitigation for dust, emmissions and noise - NOTHING about contamination

Environmental Plan - Activities undertaken on site will be subject to an environmental risk assessment by Oakwood and Bellway.

Methodology says that the working practices have taken due account of the following: The Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Act 1990 along with several other heath and safety regulations.

Method Statements will be reviewed by the Site Environmental Manger, and, where necessary, by an appropriate environmental specialist.

If required all method statements will be submitted to the enforcement

agencies (Environment Agency, Environmental Health Officer, HSE etc.) as appropriate.

Planning Officer's Report - application granted

Constraints - no mention of contamination

Planning Considerations - no mention of contamination

Public comments - includes concern of spread contamination during demolition

See also Demolition of Hainault House copies of the reports mentioned here are available on the London Borough of Redbridge Planning Portal application number 3840/22

Save Billet Road's H4 Hedgerow

Save H4 Hedgerow - Billet Road

You would think that with an application to cap contaminated land, also know as 'enabling works', by Bellway Homes which results in a Permanent MAJOR NEGATIVE effect on extent of habitat that every opportunity would be taken to retain some.

Especially the hedgerow outside of the capping / landfill area, namely Hedgerow Number 4 (H4).

Under Hedgerow Priority Habitats hedges H1, H2,H3,H4 are of intrinsic ecology value and provide habitats suitable for a range of protected species, including amphibians, nesting birds, invertebrates, bats, hazel dormouse and reptiles.

H1, H3 and H4 are to be removed, resulting in a LOSS of approx 500m (77%) of Hedgerow Priority Habitat. Only 150m of H2 hedgerow is to remain.

Although not mentioned in the supporting documents the boundary hedging along the eastern side of the site would need to remain in situ as it marks the boundary between the site and the neighbouring properies as well as the borough boundary.

H4 is outside the landfill capping area (yellow and red above)

Please sign the Petition to Save the Hedgerow (H4) here

How old are the hedgerows?

The Hooper Formula says: The number of tree and shrub species in a 30 metre length of hedge can indicate its age, with one species for each 100 years.

The Billet Road 'Hedgerow Assessment' by Urban Edge states, H1 and H2 have an average of 3 species within 30m and H3 and H4 have 4 species within 30m.

Suggesting that H1 & H2 are 300 years old and H3 & H4 are 400 years old!

That takes us back to 1623, a little difficult to find maps showing hedgerows back then.

However, we know that the original medieval Hainault House (Henhault House) is shown on the 1777 map by Chapman & Andre.

The boundries and various hedgerows are clear on this 1862 - 1871 map (source National Library of Scotland, Essex Sheet LXVI survey 1862 - 1871).

Back then Red House farm was called Heath Farm and St Chad's Well is further into the road plus the A12 didn't exist.

This is a close up of some of the H2 hedgerow on Billet Road.

Bellway Capping - Permanent MAJOR NEGATIVE effect on extent of habitat says Ecology Assessment

The Significant effect on important ecology and nature conservation

Bellways 'enabling works' will cause Permanent, significant negative effect at local level according to the Ecology Assessment.

Permanent Major negative effect on breeding bird assemblage at the Local level

Habitat loss and damage, degradation and pollution, killing and injury of animals, displacement of animals.

Breeding Birds

Of the native species recorded during the 2022 surveys, the Site was found to support six confirmed breeding species, eleven probable breeding species, and eight possible breeding species, including ten Red and Amber Listed species and five SPI. Loss of c.7.63ha of grassland-scrub mosaic and woodland habitat for breeding birds and c.500m of hedgerow during the construction phase represents a major magnitude negative impact resulting in a permanent reduction in the available extent of breeding habitat during the short term. The impact is permanent and is of significance at the Local level.

Disturbance to birds breeding in adjacent areas may result from construction activities, including people and vehicle movements, noise and vibration, and has the potential to cause reductions in breeding bird territory occupancy and density.

No replacement semi-natural habitats will be provided within the Site under the current proposals. The site supported a moderately rich breeding bird assemblage in a relatively urban context, including 10 species of conservation concern (though two of these are not of concern as a result of rarity or declines in a UK context). The site is considered to be of Local Importance for its breeding bird species.

Hedgerows, scrub and woodland were the most important breeding habitats, but the larger grassland areas provided foraging areas for some species, including red listed house sparrow and starling.

Confirmed breeding birds:
Dunnock, Whitethroat, Great Tit, Long-tailed tit, Goldfinch, Swallow.

Possible breeding birds:
Song thrush, Wren, Woodpidgeon, Robin, Blackbird, Chiff Chaff, Black cap, Lesser whitethroat, Pied wagtail, Collared Dove, Carrion Crow,

Possible breeding birds:
Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Linnet, Starling, Sparrowhawk, Blue Tit, Magpie, Great spotted woodpecker.

Bio Diversity Net Gain -100%

Bellway's contaminated landfill site described as a ‘toxic timebomb’

Bellway's Contaminated landfill site described as a ‘toxic timebomb’

The article in The Yellow Advertsiser and in This is London by Josh Mellor describes the gravel extraction site at Billet Road as being filled with:

A range of unknown “industrial, domestic and potentially clinical wastes” underground with “elevated concentrations” of toxins.

How big was the gravel extraction area and therefore the landfill?

Thanks to the aerial photo from 20 May 1971 and with the kind permission of Historic England Archive we can see exactly what it was like. Although work continued there after this photo was taken.

Bellway have supplied a map showing where they believe the landfill contamination is, shown in yellow and red.

Overlaying this onto the aerial photo shows they have missed some areas of contamination and that's not including any sections extracted after the aerial photo was taken.

What was found in the Billet Road Contaminated Landfill ?

Industrial, Domestic, potentially clinical waste, found [SD 2.4.10]

Landfill contaminated with:

Acenaphthene	Fluorene	TPH Aliphatic >EC10 - EC12
Acenaphthylene	Free Product	TPH Aliphatic >EC12 - EC16
Arsenic	Gross Phenol	TPH Aliphatic >EC16 - EC21
Asbestos	Hexavalent Chromium	TPH Aliphatic >EC21
Asbestos amosite fibres	Hydrocarbons	TPH Aliphatic >EC5 - EC6
Asbestos chrysotile	Indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene	TPH Aliphatic >EC6 - EC8
Benz(a)anthracene	Lead	TPH Aliphatic >EC8 - EC10
Benzene	Mercury	TPH Aromatic >EC10 - EC12
Benzo(a)pyrene	Methane	TPH Aromatic >EC12 - EC16
Benzo(b)fluoranthene	Naphthalene	TPH Aromatic >EC16 - EC21
Benzo(b)fluoranthene	Nickel	TPH Aromatic >EC21 - EC35
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene	PAH (total)	TPH Aromatic >EC5 - EC7
Benzo(k)fluoranthene	PAH **	TPH Aromatic >EC7 - EC8
Cadmium	pH	TPH Aromatic >EC8 - EC10
Chromium	Phenanthrene	Volatile TPH & BTEX
Chrysene	Phenol	Xylene
Cooper	Phytotoxic Metals	Zinc
Cyanide	Pyrene	Zootoxic Metals
Dibenz(ah)anthracene	Sulphate
Ethylbenzene	Toluene

Numerous exceedances of applicable human health criteria were encountered in several PAH compounds. These exceedances are summarised below [SD 7.1.8.1]

Hazadous Gas/Vapours in soil. The monitoring indicates that the site may fall into NHBC Red Classification based on Methane.

Pits tended to be unstable and therefore the maximum depth of the waste deposits was not proven in all cases. [SD. 3.2.3]

Whilst there is some uncertainty due to the instability [SD 3.2.11]

the groundwater distribution is heterogeneous and there does not appear to be a clearly defined water table. [SD 3.1.3]

The base of the made ground is considered to be saturated in most parts of the site. [SD 3.1.4] Contaminants of concern in groundwater.

There is also potential for impacted groundwater to migrate laterally off site; [SD 3.3.1. iv]

is considered that the loading of the landfill will not result in the generation

of ground gas or the creation of a new pathway. [SD 5.4]

The soil barrier will offer a design life of 75 years. [SD 6.5.5.12]

The permeable reactive sections would require a four-metre standoff and will be

installed to have a 50 year design life [SD 6.5.5.16]

Due to the odorous nature of groundwater beneath the site and the likely presence of some degree of residual contamination following remediation [SD 6.6.1]

The variable nature of landfill material and the extensive area of the site indicated

that local contamination can easily be missed during investigative works without adequate coverage. [SD 4.1.3]

Billet Road - contaminated land capping by Bellway

Residents in Marks Gate on the border of the contaminated land are serously concerned by how close the 'capping' will come to them.

The yellow and red shows the capping area, which will be around 6 meters high (the height of a giraffe). The idea is that the weight of the 6m of clay soil will compact all the landfill and flush out the contaminated liquid/decay.

Residents in Marks Gate are worried about:

The proximity of the contaminated land capping and surcharge to their homes

Potential subsidence

Height of the capping

Noise, lack of privacy, dust, dirt, pollution

Transport issues

Loss of wildlife, bats are a regular sight along with Barn Owls

Transport Issues

60 to 100 muck lorries a day coming down Billet Road. The black line shows the setup period when 15 lorries an hour will go to the site between 6am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm. They will dump the clay and leave so that is 30 lorries an hour on Billet Road and surrounding roads!