Summary

Marlpool Drive has a complex history and it is recommended that anyone with an interest in this public record should read the summary as a precursor to reading all of the documents available.

A number of houses in Marlpool Drive, Redditch are situated on a former landfill site. The site was historically used for the extraction of clay for the adjacent Ferney Hill brickworks which resulted in a large depression, known as Aspen Hollow. Planning permission was granted in 1962 to the owners Ferney Hill brickworks for the infilling of ‘marle hole’. And in February 1963 Birmingham City Council obtain planning consent to infill this hole with waste materials. All tipping came to an end in 1970.Tarmac homes subsequently bought the land and built 34 houses in 1986.

During 1990 investigations conducted at one of the properties confirmed the presence of gas within the internal living areas. Due to this finding extensive investigations took place between 1990-2010 in order to better establish the pattern of 'gassing' and the risk associated with the methane and carbon dioxide emissions from the made ground underneath some of the properties. Concluding these investigations, the Council determined that the gas presented an unreasonable health risk to local residents (methane gas has a potential to explode under certain conditions and carbon dioxide is classified an asphyxiant) and 16 properties were determined as being 'contaminated' in accordance with Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Remediation

In 2011 the council secured grant funding to pay for the installation of gas mitigation measures and in October 16 PPU units were installed at each of the determined properties. These PPU units permanently ventilate the foundation system that these houses are built on and provide an effective safety break preventing gas migrating into internal living areas . In 2012 the PPU systems were independently evaluated for their performance and it was concluded that they were effective and rendered the properties safe to live in.

PPU units

These units are electromechanical air pumps that silently pressurises the atmosphere underneath the properties concrete raft foundation system with clean air. This pushes out any methane/carbon dioxide gas into the open atmosphere away from the house where it can disperses safely. These units are monitored using telemetry 24/7 for correct operation by the company that the Council employ to maintain the pumps. These units have operated successfully now for many years and the Council cover the cost of maintaining the units and contribute to the electrical cost of running for the first 20 yrs.

Current Land Status

Presently the properties are not considered 'contaminated' as pollutant linkages of methane gas have been broken through the installation of the PPU units. However power and maintenance of these units is critical to the preservation of the ‘not contaminated’ status and residents are required to ensure that the units are supplied with electricity at all times and provide the Council with access to their properties so that essential maintenance can be undertaken. A failure to comply with these requests would result in unacceptable risk to themselves and others. For this reason, the Council has decided to maintain the determinations issued under Part IIA of the Act in the unlikely event that concerned householders fail to comply with the above.