Fremington Army Camp – Contamination Concerns June 2016

1. Fremington Army Camp – Contamination Concerns June 2016 Andy Cole – Environmental Protection Service Lead

2. Fremington Army Camp – Regulatory Agencies Roles • North Devon Council • planning • statutory nuisance • Environment Agency • regulation of waste management activities • Health and Safety Executive • regulation of health and safety aspects of construction activities (Healthy and Safety at Work Act 1974) • implications of the construction activities on site on developers employees and other persons

3. Planning and Contaminated Land • Underpinning Concept of Pollutant Linkages • Phase I / Conceptual Site Model • Phase II / Remediation Method Statement • Verification

4. Fremington Army Camp - Planning • Planning application received by North Devon Council • Environmental Health and Housing Services statutory consultee –recommended conditions were placed on any decision to be issued – including contaminated land • Committee decision to refuse application - based on issues surrounding the access road and overall character of the development • Appeal hearing April 2013 • Permission granted by Planning Inspector, with conditions

5. Fremington Army Camp – Contaminated Land • C Land conditions consistent with approach outlined previously – and representing best practice • Phase I and Phase II reports submitted to, and accepted by The Council • Reports identified all contaminants of potential concern. • Extensive sampling and analysis for wide range of parameters – including asbestos – no contaminants present at a level which would represent a risk to Public Health

6. Fremington Army Camp – Contaminated Land • All reviewed by suitably qualified and experienced EH&HS Officers, and deemed as being acceptable • Officers await submission of verification report which will be reviewed once received once all the works have been completed • Questions ?

7. Fremington Army Camp – Complaints • Complaints received Winter 2015 concerning : • asbestos having been found on site • the presence of specialist asbestos removal contractors on site • un-sheeted lorries taking material to / from site • imported material being used as topsoil, coming from a contaminated site

8. Fremington Army Camp – Complaints • Investigations undertaken by Officers confirmed that: • asbestos had been found on site – as acknowledged in reports • developers commissioned full time services of asbestos removal contractors on site, to enable them to promptly deal properly with any asbestos found • asbestos contaminated material was being dealt with appropriately on site • imported topsoil material had not come from a contaminated site

9. Fremington Army Camp – Complaint s • Allegations received in May 2016 that: • asbestos contaminated material had been transported from Fremington site to the Anchorwood Bank (AWB) development site in un-sheeted lorries

10. Fremington Army Camp – Complaints • Investigations by Officers confirm that : • AWB was using material from the Fremington site • routine compliance sampling at AWB of material received from Fremington confirmed loose fibres to be present - further analysis confirmed no asbestos present above the acceptable threshold limit of 0.001% • routine compliance sampling of material to be exported – undertaken on site at Fremington - also confirmed loose fibres being present - further analysis confirmed presence of asbestos in 1 sample - at a level of 0.0016 %

11. Fremington Army Camp – Complaint s • AWB subsequently took the decision to stop importing this material • material received at AWB was in un-sheeted lorries – but did not contain asbestos above the threshold limit – as such the risk to public health from material which had been transported is insignificant • there is currently no formal requirement for material arriving / leaving the Fremington site to be sheeted. The developers had opted NOT to implement their consultants recommendation that sheeted vehicles should be used • Questions ?

12. Fremington Army Camp – EA / HSE • Environment Agency have undertaken investigations into waste acceptance procedures at AWB – satisfied these procedures are effective • Health and Safety Executive – been advised of recent allegations - as North Devon Council are investigating they do not intend to investigate these specific allegations at this stage

13. Fremington Army Camp – The Future • What happens next ? • developers at Fremington are working on a Materials Management Plan for this site • this will enable materials on site to be categorised and provide further reassurance / evidence to regulators and community that materials continue to be managed correctly and safely • the site Construction Environment Management Plan shall be amended to include a commitment that sheeted lorries will be used where applicable, to the future

14. Fremington Army Camp – The Future • What happens next ? • North Devon Council is committed to • providing resource to ensure ongoing proactive regulation of the site, to ensure relevant actions are implemented to it’s satisfaction • ensuring that ongoing development of the site continues to be undertaken in a way which will minimise any perceived associated public health risks • continuing to investigate new allegations

15. Fremington Army Camp – The Future • New complaints re environmental protection related planning issues or statutory nuisance : • 01271 388344 • andy.cole@northdevon.gov.uk • Waste management / health and safety : • Health and Safety Executive – ww.hse.gov.uk • Environment Agency – enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk or 03708 506506