From Closure to Construction: Brownfield Redevelopment After Decommissioning

Redevelopment starts before the last skip leaves

Decommissioning is only the first act. If the goal is redevelopment, the groundwork for planning should begin while demolition is still mobilising. A scoped Phase 1 Desktop Study brings historic mapping, aerials, permits and incident records together to identify contamination sources, sensitive receptors and planning constraints. This informs demolition sequencing, protects future platforms and accelerates the planning pack for the next phase.

Where legacy mining is possible, add a Coal Mining Risk Assessment. Ground stability, shallow workings and recorded shafts can transform foundation strategy, piling feasibility and drainage routes. By closing these questions before a layout is fixed, design teams avoid expensive pivots later.

Bridge the gap to planning

Local planning authorities increasingly expect a coherent story: what was on site, what was found, how risks were removed and how the redevelopment manages what remains. Linking decommissioning records, WAC Testing certificates and verification photos to the Phase 1 Desktop Study narrative gives planners confidence. Where infiltration‑led SuDS are plausible, measured Infiltration Testing proves soakaway viability and influences where public realm and attenuation can sit.

On a former engineering works, the developer used a combined Phase 1 Desktop Study+Coal Mining Risk Assessment to fix the masterplan early. Areas of made ground informed capping layers; shallow workings directed the building grid; infiltration testing sized basins. The outline application landed complete and progressed without major RFIs.

Carry momentum forward

EnviroSolution coordinates decommissioning evidence into a planning‑ready bundle—Phase 1 Desktop Study, Coal Mining Risk Assessment, Infiltration Testing and supporting waste documentation—so you can move from closure to consent without losing time.