Phase 1 Survey for Change of Use on an Agricultural Building

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We undertook an EnviroSmart Plus Report to address requirements for the permitted development of converting an existing agricultural barn into a residential dwelling.

Potential risks to controlled waters and future users of the site were identified and qualified through the formation of a preliminary risk assessment. The overall recommendation was that no further investigations were required.

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Recent permitted development changes allow agricultural buildings to change their use into a variety of commercial types without the requirement of full planning; however, the consideration of environmental risk still applies.

We undertook an EnviroSmart Plus Report on behalf of a client to address contamination risks associated with a proposed change in use of an agricultural building.

The report comprised a desk top element as well as a recommended Site reconnaissance visit (or walkover survey), in order to independently verify the findings of the data collation activities and also to inspect the site and the surrounding area.

The Regulator was most concerned about the previous use of buildings and farm management practices; principally, that underlying ground (soils or hardstanding) may have been impacted from historical or more recent practices.

Our experienced consultant visited the site to observe the current ground conditions. This information was combined with relevant desk study information in order to assess the likely risk to future users.

The report was met with success, since this like many other agricultural sites are only associated with modest scales of historical farming activities which our report was able to clearly convey.