As part of its plans for the redevelopment of brownfield land at Redbridge Paddock, OX Place is set to begin ground investigations next week.
Redbridge Paddock was used for landfill in the 1960s and 1970s. It is now earmarked for development in the Local Plan 2036 and Oxford City Council hopes to build more than 200 homes on the site.
Ground investigations will involve the use of heavy machinery to dig plotted holes across the site for taking soil samples.
Each hole will be refilled once samples have been taken. Where it is not possible to do this on the same day, temporary fencing will protect the hole until it can be refilled.
The work will be carried out by Hill Partnerships and ecologists RPS Group and is expected to take until the end of November.
OX Place will use the results of ground investigations to shape its plans for the proposed development. The council’s housing company hopes to be able to hold a first round of community consultation in early 2024.
“As a former landfill site, Redbridge Paddock presents environmental, engineering and design challenges that need to be addressed ahead of development beginning. There’s a lot of work to do before this can happen, and the ground investigations starting next week are the first step in the road.”
Councillor Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies
Why are ground investigations needed?
Building on former landfill sites often needs specialist work for issues like ground quality and contamination.
‘Made ground’ is land where natural and undisturbed soils have been replaced by man-made materials like landfill.
An independent feasibility study in 2020 found made ground at Redbridge Paddock reached up to 6.6 metres deep in parts of the site that were surveyed. This has implications for the design and depth of foundations.
The presence of contaminants requires further testing to decide what kind of pathway break – a physical barrier giving a clean cover, like a thick layer of clean topsoil – will be needed.
Ground investigations will also help inform what else will be needed for the safe redevelopment of the site. This could include ground improvement measures like compaction and gas protection measures to mitigate the release of carbon dioxide and methane from the former landfill site.
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