Minsterley Road, Pontesbury

A series of site investigations by the Council had revealed several properties were constructed on the site of a nineteenth century lead works.

Further investigations confirmed the presence of heavy metals in the gardens of seven residential properties and the Horseshoes Public House.

The remediation strategy required the excavation and disposal of around 4,000m³ of contaminated soils, installation of a geotextile separator and the placement of a capping layer. Once the required depth of excavation was reached, the highly visible and permeable geotextile separator was placed. This was designed to prevent any remaining, underlying, contaminated soils cross contaminating the clean capping layer. Following placement of the membrane, the capping soils were imported and placed to 450mm in front gardens and 600mm to the rear of the properties.

Close resident liaison and environmental monitoring was required throughout the project as the entire scheme was undertaken whilst the residents remained in occupation.