BROWNFIELD BUILDING BOOM GOES UNNOTICED

22 July 2008, 1:28pm

Only two in ten aware of environmental threats to new build property

A survey commissioned by GroundSure, one of the UK’s leading providers of environmental risk screening reports to the UK’s commercial and residential property sectors, has revealed that only two in ten people (21 per cent) are aware that the majority of new build residential properties are built on land that is considered to be at greater risk of being contaminated by hazardous waste or pollution.

The statistics released today suggest that the general public remains uneducated about the scale of residential property development taking place on Brownfield land in the UK. Last year, approximately 73 per cent of new build properties were constructed on or close to Brownfield land, which is statistically far more likely to be at risk of contamination.

The survey did reveal, however, that general awareness of environmental risks when purchasing a new home was fairly strong.

From the sample, 21 per cent of respondents cited proximity to contaminated land as a key environmental risk to consider when purchasing a house, suggesting those aware of the recent Brownfield building boom understand the risks associated with this development.

Not surprisingly, given the flooding emergency that hit the UK in June and July of last year, flooding was listed as the greatest environmental concern, with 40 per cent of respondents naming this as the most threatening environmental risk.

Subsidence (27 per cent) and property being built near a landfill site (6 per cent) were the two other main categories named as being the most threatening.

Paul Livett, Chairman of GroundSure, commented: “Although it is encouraging that the general public’s awareness of the need to take environmental threats seriously when purchasing property is high, it is worrying that the scope of Brownfield development, which impacts the likelihood of property to be built on or near contaminated land, has gone largely unnoticed.

“The recent lack of available free land in the UK has led to a Brownfield boom, with over 70 per cent of homes built in recent years being constructed on previously used Brownfield land.
“There is a clear distortion between how seriously the public takes environmental risk, and how few realise the extent to which new developments are being constructed on or close to potentially contaminated land. This, I feel, must be addressed as a matter of urgency.” concluded Mr. Livett.

www.groundsure.com

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