"Land has history of past industrial use"

[spongebobsquareass]

We found a house we like and at a reasonable price, and it looks like our offer is going to be accepted. I have just been on homecheck, and it says the land has a history of past industrial use. How concerned should I be, ie. should this be an immediate no? Just wanted to know before I go ahead and spend £48 on a detailed report.

It depends what the use is. I guess what they're referring to is the potential for there to be contaminants in the soil. And if it's in a mining area then the potential for the site to be affected by mine shafts.

I think you can get old OS maps on the web now so you can look at those and see what the area actually was.

But if it's modern property then the planning consent will have required the developer to remediate any contaminants found and so all should be fine.

If it's a house you really like then £48 isn't much for piece of mind. Does this help?

If its been built in the last 15 years, there wont be anything dangerous on the site. You could check the planning portal of your council and see what the PP application said about it.

Older than that and it could be anything, so you should get the report. I dont expect there is anyhting serious as other owners wouldnt have been able to get a mortgage, but best to be prepared.

Do you know, I've just put the postcode of my home into homecheck. I know that it was built on land used for grazing belonging to local squire but homecheck has also said it has "previous industrial use" and it also claims there is/was a landfill site in the postcode . The only things I don't have to worry about it seems are coal-mining and radon (I live in south London)...

I would try putting in the postcodes of some of your friends' and family members' houses that you know are very unlikely to have had a serious history of contamination and see what it comes up with .

It's not new - I think it is/was a council estate. I've looked at the OS maps and can't see all the detail, but it looks like it was farmland to me (which is what is behind the house now). I wonder if farmland classes as industrial use?

I'll get the report anyway.

My postcode also says that. They used to farm asparagus here. Terrifying.

My sil just bought her flat and it said that but she went to an exhibition of the area and although there was industrial use (wooden window frame factory), her block is actually over the bike shed.

As it's for the postcode it's very generalised information.
I know the history of our house and the area its never been industrial but it comes up as high risk because at the other end of the village but same postcode there was a Victorian iron & lead works.
It also says the postcode is at low risk of flooding despite there being a well documented history of flooding at our neighbours property a few doors down the hill from us.
This data is worthless without knowing it's details, which is what they are trying to sell you and then it's still really only useful if you know how to use it properly (as a professional)
If yours is an ex council property then you are likely to have little to worry about as if needed, remediation work will have been carried out in the past prior to building.
Often remediated sites are developed last due to the expense of the work involved.

Do you know anyone near the area? If you're doing another viewing or are near the area It might be worth asking any more elderly residents you see (or try a local shop) and ask if there were any factories/industrial sites nearby, mention xxx avenue. We did this when househunting and the nice elderly gent we spoke to told us quite helpfully that the place we were looking at was fine but "that" new mini estate over there was a metal processing plant until the 1960s..... Newsagents/grocers type shops are also often worth a try if you ask "where wouldn't you want to live around here?" ....

Good luck!

Don't buy the report. When you instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf, let them know. It will probably be revealed in the searches and your solicitor will carry out the relevant search.

Try looking for your area here maps.nls.uk/additions.html - should give you a rough idea if can identify a still-extant steet.

Contact the contaminated land officer for the local authority where you are buying the property. They should have access to historical maps of the area and may have other information about the previous use. They may also have information about whether the site has been investigated for contamination and any remediation which has taken place as part of a planning permission. Often there is a charge for this information, but they will have better information than Home check.

Often when env searches are carried out by the solicitor as part of the conveyancing process anything of concern is raised with the local authority to see what they know about the site.