New homes are needed all over the UK -However, this can also be a contentious issue, as the environmental impact of building them also causes issues. Building over land that is currently greenfield means that precious habitats are lost, and the environment therefore suffers.
However, a good solution to this problem is to build new homes on brownfield sites. Brownfield land is land that has been developed previously – it might have been used in the past for industry or for commercial reasons, and now is no longer in use.
One of the issues that comes with building on this type of land is that it can be contaminated due to its former uses. Land that has been used by a factory for example may then have left contamination in the soil which would then make anything that is built on it unsafe.
However, this is something that can be resolved. Before any work begins to develop the site, a survey will be carried out to assess whether the land is contaminated, and if it is, what it is contaminated with.
Land that is contaminated then needs to be cleaned up and made safe by a professional like this contaminated land remediation company before it can be built on. This process will vary in procedure and in the length of time taken depending on the type of contaminants, as well as the severity of the contamination.
However, once the land is clear it can then be built on, not only helping to house more people but also clearing up land that was once polluted.