In this issue of Building and Construction Review, we are delighted to award Fennell Green & Bates for its Commitment to Excellence in Outdoor Building Services.
Established in 1879 in Wakefield, Fennell Green & Bates originally advised coal and mine owners on the rapid expansion of the Victorian railway system across England and Scotland during the industrial revolution. The company still has archives that date back more than 140 years of mining and industrial uses of land in Yorkshire and the rest of the North and Midland of England. Since 1947, there have been legal frameworks on how to reclaim derelict and brownfield land from successive Governments such as the derelict land grants and the practice has guided clients on reclaiming land for a suitable use for over the past 75 years.
“The practice has been established for over 135 years and has an archive going back to the construction of the railways and collieries. Many problems faced today on brownfield sites have been dealt with before and most of our data is digitised now by postcode or grid co-ordinates to assist in finding a solution to remediation,” stated John Carlon, Managing Director.
To allow for a more streamlined process, the company has recently embraced the digital era, by moving its substantial archive, documentation and filing systems to a more secure online storage. That does not mean that the paper copies have been disposed of. They are to be donated to the local history centres for safe keeping. The process has already provided a more efficient service for its large customer base of: self-build clients, SME house builders, commercial developers, landowners, farmers, energy and mineral companies.
Fennell Green & Bates offer unrivalled professional expertise as Chartered Minerals, Waste, Energy and Building Surveyors. As leading specialists in construction project co-ordination and management the services they offer include Building Surveys, Land Condition Surveys, Coal and Other Mining Risk Assessment Reports, Contaminated Land Audits, Land and Mine Surveying, Site Investigation and Geotechnical Advice on all Built Environment Projects.
“Currently our main aim is to advise SME housebuilders on developing brownfield land that may have been affected by mining or industry which other larger housebuilders tend to avoid. The land uses can be varied but our records and archive can provide additional information on treatment and stabilisation,” added John.
In urban planning brownfield land refers to any previously developed land that is no longer required or in use and at risk of potential contamination with hydrocarbons, asbestos or other materials.
An area in which Fennell Green & Bates is planning to focus on further in 2023 is contaminated land advice. In built-up areas for example an industrial site might be closed down and rehoused in a larger facility elsewhere away from other receptors. The land may be redeveloped for housing or commercial use, which is a sensitive receptor. The land can contain asbestos, hydrocarbons, high levels of sulphates and metals in the ground from the previous uses over the past 150 years leaving commercial or housing developers in need of thorough professional environmental appraisal.
Advisors at Fennell Green & Bates can assess the site, consider ownership rights, advise on remediation costs, design a site investigation strategy and finally advise on which future date a property developer could buy the land and begin building new housing or commercial development.
“Our surveyors and engineers are governed and regulated by the professional institutions to which they are members on practising our specialities and giving clear advice to clients. We plan to take advantage of our level of expertise and records at hand as we look to the future to offer more advice. One speciality provided to developers is mineral rights and we try to reach a compromise with owners of land where there may be a dispute on mineral ownership. There are cases where mineral owners claim trespass for excavations below sub soil level so that the foundation and utility excavations cannot proceed. Our surveyors have a great deal of experience in mineral ownership and the law and can advise developers or mineral owners of their rights.
In other recent news, we asked John what the company is currently working on, he answered, “Fennell Green & Bates is currently assisting a housebuilder on remediating a former mineral railway yard and coal depot for affordable housing and utilising the materials on-site for recycling. We are also assisting a larger house builder on engineering the fill on an inert tip to build 108 houses over the next 5 years.”
“We also have a brand-new website that is now live to which we have been working on for a while and are excited to launch.”
Under the expert direction of the current director, the company has expanded exponentially, employing experienced staff with chartered surveying expertise and having a tool-box of other dedicated professionals to offer their expertise to our clients. From its convenient central UK base in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, customers can be reached easily within three hours, excluding the southern counties of Devon and Cornwall, which takes a little longer.
To find out more information, please see below:
T 01924 255666
M 07739 256461
fennellgreenandbates@gmail.com
http://www.charteredsurveyorswakefield.co.uk