Contaminated Land Investigations For NHBC Warranties
The National House-Building Council (NHBC) is the standard setting body and the leading warranty and insurance provider for new and newly converted homes in the UK. Approximately 80% of new homes built in the UK each year are registered with NHBC and benefit from their ten year Buildmark warranty and insurance policy. In 1999, Buildmark was extended to provide the homeowner with contamination cover to provide protection against the issue of a statutory notice. This was done in the anticipation of Part IIA, which came into force a year later.
The NHBC identifies land affected by contamination in several possible ways:-
- By builder declaration through the NHBC registration process.
- By review of site investigation reports submitted with building control/Buildmark applications.
- By the NHBC through the screening of commercial, environmental databases for previous land use or through inspection.
NHBC seeks to ensure that any contamination hazards identified are managed in accordance with NHBC (2008) and NHBC (2011). The specific standard relating to contamination is provided in Chapter 4.1: Land Quality - Managing Ground Conditions. The NHBC will carry out a technical assessment on all sites, which have been identified as being potentially contaminated. Where remediation is undertaken, validation is usually sought from the builder/consultant to confirm that this has been carried out.
Land contamination assessments may also be driven by other financial institutes, such as lenders, as part of pre-acquisition surveys and/or due diligence audits.
At TGEN our site investigations and risk assessments can be tailored to address the requirements of conditions related to the investigation and subsequent management of potential contamination attached to development sites by the NHBC, other warranty issuing organisations or lending institutions. Should you require any further advice or wish to discuss a particular site or project then contact us at info@tgen.co.uk