Sustainability and Environmental Consultants

Natural Environment

Pick Everard’s Natural Environment Team provides a full suite of assessment, investigation, project management and reporting in the following main areas:

• Contaminated Land Surveying
  Changes to waste management regulations have made it uneconomic to deal with land contamination by simply digging it out. Developers need innovative solutions for treating material on-site, that don't compromise the project timescale or leave difficult site conditions after development. We start with Phase 1 Site Investigations - desk studies and site walkover surveys to highlight potential problems. This is done early on so that detailed site investigation and remediation can be built into the project timetable. From there on we can provide a full consultancy and management service throughout the process, including verification and sign-off at the end of the scheme.

• Geological and Geotechnical Investigation
  Unreported geological and geotechnical hazards can prove very expensive for constructors. Pick Everard’s detailed investigation and interpretation service provides information on a full range of issues, alerting you to anything from the possible presence of mine-workings to the potential for landslips and dissolution, radon gas or high groundwater. We can advise on foundation loads, design of soakaways and site preparation works.

• Flood Risk Assessment
  The need to protect new developments from flooding has become much more important in recent years. And you must ensure that any proposed development will not worsen flooding in other areas. Pick Everard provides a full flood risk assessment service, including (if necessary) producing detailed hydrological models of nearby rivers and drainage systems, and we can calculate rates of surface water run-off. We can then agree any requirements for flood protection or compensation with the Environment Agency and provide in-house design for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS).                               

• Ecological Survey
  Any project without an ecological survey can be stopped dead because of a sensitive habitat or an invasive plant. Pick Everard’s ecological surveyors provide an initial assessment of the ecological habitats on a site (the Phase 1 Habitat Survey) to assess the presence of any sensitive species. We also check for invasive plant species like Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed, both of which need specialist treatment.

• Due Diligence
  We know that the continuing growth of environmental regulation carries with it an increased risk of non-compliance. Due diligence audits, especially for existing industrial or commercial properties, offer you a compliance health check, assessing activities and facilities and determining what permits, licenses or systems you need to comply with present or forthcoming legislation. Where there are significant gaps the audit report sets out actions, ranked by degree of risk, cost or urgency. Due diligence audits can be equally useful to purchasers as a negotiating tool, or vendors as part of a site information package to facilitate a transaction.