Remediation and contamination removal from the Bradley Mill Site, Bradley Lane, Newton Abbot

The Future High Streets Fund (FHSF) expenditure deadline of March 2025 had been softened from a spend deadline to a committed by deadline with funds defrayed as soon as reasonably possible thereafter. Previously the Bradley Lane project was 100% grant funded, however, MHCLG approved a funding swap to change the non-committed Bradley Lane funding into the Market Hall project reducing the amount of TDC capital for that project. This resulted in the unspent non-committed budget for Bradley Lane (principally the £987,000 earmarked to transfer to Devon County Council) being released of any deadline constraints.

Ideally, in addition to demolishing the existing buildings, the site should be remediated at the same time to remove any contamination - the project scope did not originally include this as it was not possible due to the time constraints imposed on the grant funds. Doing this would eliminate a significant development barrier and reducing risk thereby increasing the land value and the deliverability of any proposed scheme - both in terms of viability and timescale. By doing it with the contractor onsite the efficiencies are significantly improved as it reduces the need to double handle vast quantities of rubble and eliminates time / mobilisation delay and costs.

Given these advantages officers asked the onsite demolition contractor, Haywood Crushing Demolition (HCD), to provide a scope and cost estimate. The base cost is £254,990 and we have allowed for an additional contingency of £108,610 (40%) to mitigate unforeseen elements.

Rationale

HCD is uniquely positioned to undertake the remediation as they are already on-site, offering significant cost savings compared to engaging a new contractor or remobilisation costs and potential price increases. The works can be incorporated into the existing demolition contract.

Remediating the site before sale is strategically beneficial, as developers would otherwise factor remediation costs into their purchase price. A "clean" site accompanied by certificates and guarantees will likely increase the land value, shorten delivery window and ultimately make the opportunity much more attractive to interested parties.