Press Releases - Site gets clean bill of health 

More than 100 homes could be built on a former factory site after it was declared 'clean' by inspectiors.  Esh Group has applied for permission to build 121 homes on the former Cape asbestos factory site, in Bowburn.

Contractors have spent ten months cleaning the 30-acre plot adjacent to North Industrial Estate, which had been contaminated with Asbestos.  The factory closed in 1990 with a loss of 170 jobs and was demolished in 1993, but the land has stood unused ever since. 

Its future has been the cause of conflict, with two public inquireses fought between developers and the now-defunct Durham City Council.  Esh Group bought the land in early 2008, with decontamination beginning in July.

Inspectors from the National House Builders Council have now declared it clean and prepared for future development.  If planning approval is granted, funding for the home building scheme will come from the Homes and Communities Agency. 

Phil Brown, technical manager from Sirius Remediation Ltd, which cleaned the site, said "We've removed over 20,000 cubic metres of material from the site and have broken up the huge concrete slabs and brick foundations which had been left after the original demolition works."

"This concrete, brick and stone has been validated, crushed and turned into 15,000 cubic metres of recycled aggregate material, which can be re-used later for road and paving construction.  This is a really sound sustainable practice and now the surface of the site is clean and ready for development."

Janet Blackburn, from the Bowburn and Parkhill Community Partnership, said "We have been most impressed with the work of both Sirius and Esh Group.  It's refreshing to work with people who do what they say they will, and are open and honest."

Extract from press comment in...

• Durham Advertiser, May 23rd 2009