Environmental risk assessment beyond contaminated land

GroundSure Review, an environmental risk assessment that also looks at operational environmental liability issues.

The original purpose of environmental searches was to advise on the risk of property being identified under Part 2A of the Environmental Portection Act 1990.

We have recognised that clients however would benefit from more wide ranging advice than simply a comment on statutory liability for contaminated land. Over the years GroundSure Review has evolved to include substantially more data and indeed carries a comparable amount of data to a Phase 1 Environmental Risk Assessment.

The format of the professional opinion mirrors the environmental searches that we have developed for the lending sector, describing environmental risk in the terms that are familiar to lenders. The environmental risk assessment is not limited to contaminated land and we also consider wider, operational environmental liability issues – all the more pertinent with the introduction of the Environmental Damage Regulations 2009.

More recently we have taken the decision to also include a full flood risk search in the GroundSure Review. Whilst many clients now actively choose to obtain additional flood risk searches it seemed like a natural evolution to include this data as standard. The report now contains surface water flood data, groundwater flood data, river and costal flood data in addition to dam failure information as well as NaFRA data and details concerning flood defences, flood storage areas and historical flood event information.

GroundSure consultants support clients in resolving identified risks.

Having identified environmental risks, GroundSure Environmental Consultants are available to discuss the report findings and more importantly support clients in resolving these risk issues. We have developed a specific experience in working with banks which benefits clients in two ways. We are able to map out a favourable lender liability position and at the same time we can support the client team in negotiation of the sale. Our mantra is always that commercial resolution of environmental risk should precede deferring to further consultancy work. However should this be required then we are very happy to support.

GroundSure Review is suitable for commercial property purchase, transfer of a property into a pension fund arrangement, bank finance arrangements and as a pre-cursor to development – recognising that more detailed environmental risk assessment may be appropriate thereafter.