Ingrebourne Hill, Rainham
This site was completed in close partnership with the Forestry Commission, and is located in a densely populated part of Essex, south of Hornchurch and north of Rainham. The site was again a former sand and gravel quarry, which was filled with a range of materials, including bricks, concrete and metal before IVL purchased the site.
Nearby Hornchurch Country Park was created on the site of RAF Hornchurch, and was an important fighter base during the First and Second World Wars.
The project
The partnership between IVL and the Forestry Commission enabled a restoration scheme to be developed so that this disused site could be transformed into a country park and provide an informal approach to the wider green belt countryside of South Essex.
The restoration works improved the soil quality which provided the foundations to create a suitable landscape for tree and shrub planting. Once this was established, a suitable access was created for the general public to provide amenity use and wildlife conservation. Despite early complications with the uneven and unresponsive nature of sections of the site, there are now established woodland blocks all over the park.
To reflect the area’s aviation heritage, we created two ‘flight ways’, enabling the proper establishment of a good grass sward and additional opportunities for planting a range of wildlife habitats.
Ingrebourne Hill is now open for visitors to enjoy the enhanced scenery and wildlife, which incorporates 4km of pathways and connections to the adjacent Hornchurch Country Park.
Aftercare
IVL are providing aftercare for the site in partnership with the Forestry Commission.
Kemps Farm
Kemps Farm is located to the north west of South Ockendon in Essex and is bounded to the north by open fields, whilst the Romford to Grays branch line forms the site’s eastern boundary. To the south east of the side is an industrial estate, and to the west of the site is the restored Belhus landfill site. It is a 60-hectare site comprises flat, open agricultural land.
The project involves extracting the mineral reserve and then restoring the land using suitable inert material back to agricultural use.
The project
Historical borehole logs show the description as 0.5 metres depth of topsoil, 0.3 metres of sandy clay, 1.5 metres of loamy sand, 0.6 metres of brown clay, 2.1 metres of clay gravel and 1.5 metres of blue clay. The groundwater level is between 1.8 and 3.6 metres below the surface.
Planning is again, at a very early stage but the plan is to extract the saleable mineral reserve which is believed to be around 1.2 million tonnes. The site will then be restored using imported suitable reclamation material to restore the land back to productive farm acreage.
Baldwins Farm
Baldwin’s Farm is a former quarry site, which was backfilled with domestic and commercial waste, and is located close to South Ockendon in Essex. It is a relatively flat site with 6-7 metres of contaminated land overlying London clay, it is surrounded by historical landfill sites all of which formerly received inert industrial and commercial waste but these have now been restored. IVL are now looking to restore this 60 hectare site into community green space for the Forestry Commission.
Environmental protection
Before purchasing and taking complete responsibility for the site, water samples were taken from ditches and two ponds to assess the water quality. The results concluded that the site was contaminated.
Aftercare
IVL will carry out scheduled maintenance on site, including groundwater and landfill gas monitoring, as planning for this site is still in the very early stages. There are boreholes on site which record both leachate and groundwater levels and all site maintenance staff are aware of the ground and water contamination.
Little Gerpins
Little Gerpins is located 3km north east of Rainham in the London Borough of Havering. The 17-hectare site is a former quarry which was most recently used for rough grazing, with a small number of ponies occupying the field for a limited annual period. Several attempts had been made to farm the land using contrasting agricultural techniques, but all have proved unsuccessful because of the poor quality of the soil.
This was another site where IVL worked in partnership with the Forestry Commission, by successfully turning several aces of contaminated, disused land into a forest, with new planting of over 17,000 trees and shrubs.
The project
By working in association with the Forestry Commission, the land was restored to a high standard and this improved the overall soil quality and drainage to provide a surface covering for any potentially contaminated areas. Native trees and shrubs were then planted and suitable access for the general public was implemented to enhance the local environment for public enjoyment and wildlife conservation.
Skills and resources
To maximize the potential of the site, IVL liaised with both English Nature and the Royal
Denham Park Farm
Situated to the north of Denham in Hertfordshire, a few miles south of Rickmansworth, the site is flat, open agricultural land, currently used for arable farming. The site is underlain by glacial sand and gravel, overlying reading beds with chalk beneath. Bounded by the M25 and woodland, this agricultural site will be excavated for minerals in phases over a 20 year period. Each phase will be progressively restored back to high quality farmland, after extraction is completed.
The project
The plan is to work the sand and gravel deposit in a progressive sequence across the site, there is an estimated reserve of 1,500,000 million tons.
Development will be divided into 11 phases over a period of 20 years, with sand and gravel extraction being replaced by building sand extraction after approximately 6 or 7 years. Restoration of the worked out void will commence after 3 years.
The site will eventually be restored back to agricultural use through importation of inert reclamation material.
Aftercare
After operational works have ceased, IVL will continue to maintain the site to prevent the risk of pollution. Any necessary work will be agreed at annual site meetings with the local planning authority and central government agriculture agency.
This work may involve: removing any large stones from the surface; making up any low spots with topsoil; provision of a drainage scheme if required; analysis of the soil acidity and nutrient deficiency; cropping, fertilisation and drainage measures to correct acidity and nutrient deficiency and to improve soil structure; provision of and measures to maintain hedges, trees and fences, and to replace any dead or diseased trees and shrubs, as approved by the county planning authority; the maintenance and/or provision of mean of access to and within the site; and the provision of water supplies as necessary for efficient farming of the land.
Elsenham
Elsenham represents a joint venture project with Viridor, and is located 1 mile west of Elsenham, a village in Essex, close to Stansted Airport and the Hertfordshire border. It was previously worked for sand and gravel by Brett Aggregates. This site accepts both inert and non-hazardous reclamation material. It will be restored back to agricultural land after final mineral extraction has taken place.
The project
Once Brett Aggregates have completed mineral extraction on site, IVL will operate the site and complete the restoration works. It is estimated that 2,200,000 million tons of suitable inert and non-hazardous restoration material will be required to complete the project. The remediation process is divided into three stages:
• Create a base with in-situ London clay
• Create a sideliner bund, formed with London and boulder clay
• Create internal phase boundaries from engineered London or boulder clay
Licences and quality assurance
Elsenham holds a permit for accepting both inert and non-hazardous material; all restoration phases of the project are inspected and tested to ensure that they comply with the Construction Quality Assurance (CQA). Once the restoration works are completed, both leachate and gas monitoring boreholes will be drilled at various locations, with a target pad at the bottom made from baled tyres.
On completion of the project, a CQA validation report will be submitted to the Environment Agency, which will also serve as a permanent CQA record for this site.
Goshems Farm
Goshems is located on the River Thames at East Tilbury in Essex, it borders Tilbury power station. The land at Goshems Farm has been subject to historical landfill activity, with a predominant mixture of ash and bottles. The aim of this restoration project is to raise the land using inert material and restored it back to high quality, arable farmland. This remediation scheme will also incorporate the construction of a riverside public footpath, to connect this area with the wider public footpath network.
The project
This site was poorly restored and has very little topsoil present, much of the surface is littered with debris and the land is very uneven. These negative characteristics have presented IVL with the opportunity to complete high quality restoration works. On the 25th November 2003, planning consent was granted for the ‘restoration of the former waste disposal site by spreading soil from civil engineering works transported along the River Thames with the diversion of a footpath along a new route to be constructed beside the river’.
This 6 phase project involves the importation of cohesive inert construction material transported via barges to the one-site wharf at Goshems. The first barge was received in March 2011 and the restoration works are ongoing.
Skills and resources
As all imports are via barges, the need to coincide barge deliveries with high tide is essential; the site is also open around the clock to work in conjunction with high tide. In partnership with GPS marine who supply the barges, IVL have recently constructed a bailey bridge to increase docking capacity so that more restoration material can be imported.
Environmental protection
Before starting work on any new restoration phase, ecological surveys are undertaken to ensure that there are no reptiles or any other important species on site. If any are found, they are relocated to conservation areas in accordance with the approved Goshems Farm method statement, produced by Green Environmental. Once this work is complete, vegetation will be removed and composted on adjacent land. Any topsoil will be removed and stockpiled for re-use.
Aftercare
Once the site has been fully restored, there will be a five year aftercare period where any necessary remedial work will be completed, for example due to settlement or poor drainage. Annual aftercare meetings will be held with the local planning authority to review progress on site, and to agree a schedule of operations and management activity for the coming year. Monitoring of the site will be in accordance with the site closure plan.
Spring Farm
Spring Farm is located close to Rainham in Essex, and is a former sand and gravel quarry. Aggregates were transported via lorry across adjacent Launders Lane for processing at Rainham Quarry, which is operated by Bretts. IVL operations at Spring Farm involve the importation of suitable reclamation material to restore the site back to ground levels, creating land for agricultural use.
The project
The planning permission requires the former quarry to be restored back to existing ground levels, with the void to be filled to within 1 metre of the final pre-settlement level with inert material. There is provision for any shortfall in existing soil stockpiles to be supplemented by the importation of screened soils from Rainham Quarry.
Carefully selected materials either sourced free from stones greater than 22.5mm or screened to remove stones greater than 22.5mm, will be placed to the underside of the subsoil level. Based on pre-project surveys, this level is expected to be approximately 600mm below the final ground level.
The final stage of restoration will involve removing all buildings and hard standing used in connection with the importation operations, and then these areas will be landscaped ensuring that access from the road is retained for farm vehicles.
Skills and resources
Currently there is three IVL staff operating the site, with two plant operators and one employee working on the weighbridge. The soils from the stockpiles will be placed using a backacter and articulated dumpers.
Licences and quality assurance
This site holds a permit for importing non-biodegradable materials. The project is divided into several phases, before importation and restoration works can be implemented, each phase must have Construction Quality Assurance (CQA), with brown/blue in-situ clay being used to achieve the required standard.
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon is another former landfill site that we are currently restoring as an extension to the prestigious Hertfordshire Golf and Country Club at nearby Broxbourne. The 13.5 hectare site is situated in a former sand and gravel excavation, operations ceased in the early 1990s and it was dormant until 2006.
The local geology comprises Pleistocene fluvial and glacial gravels of variable thickness, overlying up to 60m of London clay.
The project
IVL began importing cohesive, reclamation material into phase 1 in August 2006, operations started in the south western corner with restoration progressing in a northerly direction to the north eastern corner. Although the majority of the sand and gravel reserve was extracted prior to IVL’s involvement, there were some remaining aggregates which remained in phases 4 and 5. These were subsequently extracted and sold for use in construction of the Olympic Park in Stratford.
Environmental protection
All reclamation material that was used on site at Hoddesdon has been in accordance with the Materials Acceptance Procedures, which are designed to ensure that only suitable inert material will be sourced which is in compliance with the Landfill Directive. This ensures that no detrimental impacts are inflicted on the local environment.
Licences and quality assurance
Hoddesdon is only permitted to accept inert material and is therefore, considered to be ‘low sensitivity’. All five restoration phases received Construction Quality Assurance prior to the importation of reclamation material.
Marks Warren
The site is located approximately 3km to west of Romford in Essex, overlooking the River Rom valley, with the A1112 to the west and the A12 at its southern boundary. The surrounding land is a mixture of agricultural and urban, with the nearest residential properties lying adjacent to the western site boundary. The site is not within the 100-year River Rom flood extent, but is approximately 500m from its western extent.
During the Second World War, Marks Warren was used as a strategic military defence site. In more recent years, it was operated as a sand and gravel quarry by Brett.
The remediation scheme at Marks Warren involves the restoration of the former quarry to ground levels and then returning it back to agricultural use.
The project
This is a 10 phase project which initially started in 2006 with the importation of suitable clay materials to provide a clay liner. Brett finished extracting material from the site in 2011, and IVL have been responsible for the operational site since the beginning of the project in 2006.
Skills and resources
Prior to the importation of inert reclamation materials, other materials were used to ensure compliance with the engineering conditions. Basal and sidewall engineering is required in each phase, prior to placement of any imported materials.
Licences and quality assurance
This site has a permit for landfill with inert materials only, with a limited range of such materials specified. IVL have held the permit to the site since 2007. Prior to earthworks being undertaken, each phase must have Construction Quality Assurance (CQA).
