Building on brownfield: Cost-effective ground gas protection

Building on brownfield: Cost-effective ground gas protection

If asked whether houses should be built on unsightly industrial sites, or green fields that supply habitat for hundreds of species, what would your answer be? It is presumed that most people would vote with gusto for the former. It’s a seemingly easy choice. So, why do developers not always jump at the chance to acquire brownfield land?

Hesitancy arises over the perceived challenges of building on brownfield, such as making the land fit for human use. In fact, remedial services for brownfield land, such as ground gas monitoring, help add value to the land as well as making it safe for development. Other benefits of choosing pre-developed sites, such as their proximity to urban infrastructure, are also less evident due to the perception that brownfield land leads to expense, complexities, and delay.

Here we look at the benefits of building on brownfield, and how ground gas monitoring adds value.

Reasons to build on brownfield

• Protect our green spaces – Building on brownfield land directly reduces the amount of countryside that’s lost to development, meaning more green spaces and more space for nature to thrive.
• Easier to get planning permission – It’s more difficult to attain permission to develop green belt and greenfield land and is considered ethically questionable.
• Proximity to urban infrastructure – Brownfield sites are often close to where people live and work
• Transform and rejuvenate – Building on brownfield has the power to help transform a neighbourhood through the provision of affordable houses and high-quality buildings for infrastructure.
• Parallel to government policy – The government is investing up to 180 billion pounds in brownfield development between 2022 – 2025, making it the perfect time financially and politically to build on brown field.
• Cost effective purchase – Brownfield land is cheaper to purchase, and the cost of remediation can be offset by the purchase price.
• Brand positivity – People are increasingly choosing companies that make sound ethical choices, therefore rejuvenating a former landfill and turning into housing is a mark of distinction.

Ground gas monitoring simplified for brownfield  

Ground gas is one of the most common issues on brownfield land, but with the right expert team, the presence of ground gas can be quickly identified and any threats to future users rectified using innovative technology and professional skill.

Whether developing land for residential, commercial, or infrastructural use, ground gas monitoring can help by reducing uncertainties. Through a robust ground gas risk assessment, any abnormalities can be identified and mitigated, leaving land viable and valuable for future use. Successful project delivery is accelerated through best practice techniques such as continuous ground gas monitoring, with the focus of traversing the planning permission system with ease and maximising land value.

We can help land developers:

• Achieve regulatory compliance in a timely fashion
• Apply innovative and trusted technology that is preferred by regulators
• Acquire quality data which enables informed decision making
• Increase confidence through reduced uncertainty
• Limit number of site visits, reducing costs, timescales, and carbon footprint

Get in touch to learn more and join us at 10.30am on Wednesday 16^th August for our free webinar, “Ground gas monitoring for land development”. Click here to register for free.