Contaminated land case study - Norwich

Residents on a housing estate in Norwich have been told the land their houses are built on is not contaminated.

The Thorpe Park estate was constructed on land which was home to an engineering works from 1938-1987, before being developed for housing in the 1990s. Norwich City Council feared chlorinated solvents, which were used as degreasers, had poisoned the soil and got into the groundwater.

Initial tests carried out by the Environment Agency had revealed asbestos in all 18 samples taken from the site, however further investigations took place between August and September 2006 and revealed the risk to human health was extremely low.

Although residents had an anxious six month wait for the test results a spokesmen for Norwich City Council was pleased to confirm: "The estate's got the all-clear after the asbestos scare – at the end of the day it was quite successful and we're glad we've been able to put residents' minds at rest".

<< Back to contaminated land case studies in the South East of England