Valueconveyancing : February 2015

Land Contamination

Lead poisoning is a serious and sometimes fatal condition. Lead is a highly toxic poison which slowly accumulates in the body over a period of months or years. Symptoms and signs of lead poisoning can be varied, affecting many different parts of the body, with even small amounts of lead causing sombre health problems, effecting every one of the body’s organ system, the nervous system, bones and teeth, the kidneys, the cardiovascular, immune and reproductive systems.

Exposure from lead can come from contaminated air, water, soil and consumer products. Children are at more risk of lead poisoning as the lead is absorbed at a faster rate compared to adults, causing more physical harm in their smaller bodies. In adults, lead poisoning is mostly occupation-related. The occupations mainly involved are the smelting, refining, alloying and casting industry, the lead battery industry and the scrap industry.

In September 2012 residents in the villages Coedpoeth and Brymbo were told by Wrexham Council that they needed to test their land for lead contamination.
Two former lead smelters in the village ceased operation in the 1800’s but it is a concern as ground contamination could still remain in the land in Smelt Road, Smelt Lane and Minera Road.
Public Health Wales had since confirmed there had been no cases of lead poisoning or related illnesses since the smelters ceased. However some of the 18 Coedpoeth and Brymbo residents will have to pay more than £10,000 to part-fund remedial works by Wrexham Council.
As the contaminator is no longer alive the law states that the residents are now liable.
In a statement, a Welsh government spokesperson explained that the Environmental Protection Act 1990 states that the appropriate person to pay for the clean-up of contaminated land should be the person who "caused or knowingly permitted" the contamination or, if they are no longer in existence, then it falls to the "current land owner or occupier of the land".
Some of the unidentified properties are currently up for sale with the owners fearing their house prices have been affected.
Two months of remedial works on 11 properties will begin in March, with dates for the remaining houses having yet to be decided, however it may take years to finally get rid of the potentially toxic lead in their gardens. For now, residents have been given precautionary health advice to minimise any risks to themselves or their families.

For more information on the residential and commercial search types which would alert you to this and many more types of land contamination please click here

Radon	Monopoly Board	History of Mapping



In a remote village in Kazakhstan, known as Sleepy Hollow, residents have been unexplainably falling asleep for days at a time. Nearly one in five of the 600 citizens are affected, including children. It has taken over four years of research, however scientists have recently discovered that radon gas escaping from nearby uranium mines is the cause leaving a deadly legacy for the villagers. Local government officials are even considering relocating the entire village as it is impossible to stop this release of radon gas into the atmosphere. Radon is a natural gas which is colourless and odourless. It is formed by the radioactive decay of the small amounts of uranium that occurs naturally in all rocks and soils. The elements decay and emit radioactive particles. When inhaled the particles can cause damage in living tissues leading to cancer. There has also been suggestions that exposure to radon increases the risk of leukaemia. Radon is everywhere in the UK; both outdoors and indoors. In many areas the radon levels are low and the risk to health is small. The darker the colour on the radon maps, the greater the chance of a high radon level in a building. However not all buildings, even in the darkest areas, have high levels as changes in construction techniques have helped to reduce radon levels in confined spaces. Radon gas is measured in Becquerel’s per cubic metre of air (Bq m-3). The average level in UK homes is 20 Bq m-3. For levels below 100 Bq m-3, your individual risk remains relatively low and not a cause for concern. However, the risk increases as the radon level increases.[1] To read more please clickhere	Bow Street is the first Orange property on the London Monopoly board. Bow Street is a road situated in Covent Garden in Westminster, unlike the other streets in Covent Garden, Bow Street derived its name from its bow like shape rather than the Royal family. Bow Street was a diverse area, with houses in the street varying considerably in value and the occupants also distinctly contrasting. The first Covent Garden Theatre was built in 1731 but on the morning of the 30th September 1808 it was totally destroyed by fire. Twenty three firemen were killed as part of the building collapsed. Covent Garden Theatre Royal was then built in 1809 and one of the earliest Greek Revival Buildings in London. The building was altered and added to and reinvented as “The Royal Italian Opera House” which was again destroyed by fire in 1856. The third and present theatre was rebuilt in 1857 and opened on the 15th May 1858. The Floral Hall was added in 1860. The theatre was renamed the Royal Opera House. In 1740 Sir Thomas De Veil, a justice of the peace from Middlesex, acquired the lease at 4 Bow Street and transferred his office there. Two years after he died the novelist and playwright Henry Fielding and his brother moved into Bow Street as magistrates and began administering justice. In 1748 every fourth shop in London was a ‘gin house’ whereby gin consumption and the resultant crime was at its height. In Bow Street alone there were eight licensed premises. Hundreds of brothels also lined the streets, along with gangs of highway men terrorizing roads armed with cut throat razors. To tackle crime and disorder Henry Fielding brought together eight constables to patrol along the main thoroughfares who became known as the Bow Street Runners. To read more please click here	In ancient Egypt when the Nile River overflowed its banks, washing out farm boundaries the boundaries were re-established by a rope stretcher, or surveyor, through the application of simple geometry. In Medieval Europe beating the bounds was the practice of gathering a group of residents and walking around the boundaries of a parish or village to establish a mutual memory of the boundaries. Young boys were included to make sure the memory lasted as long as possible. In England the Domesday Book was commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086 which recorded the names of all land owners, the area of land they owned, the quality of land and specific information of the content and inhabitants. It did not include maps showing the exact location. In 1783 a team from the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain began the Principal Triangulation of Britain using the specially built Ramsden theodolite, the survey was finally completed in 1853. At the turn of the 19^th century, during the Industrial Revolution Surveying became a professional occupation in high demand as surveyors were used on industrial infrastructure projects such as canals, railways and roads. At the beginning of the 20^thcentury, despite improvements of the measuring chains and ropes, measuring long distances was still a problem, until 1950 when Dr Trevor Lloyd Wadley developed the Tellurometer which measured long distances using two microwave transmitters/receivers. During the late 1950’s Geodimeter introduced Electronic Distance Measurement Equipment (EDM) which measures the shift of light waves. Modern instruments still use this method. In 1978 the Global Positioning System launched proving more accurate. In the 21^st century we use the Theodolite, Total station and GPS as our primary methods of surveying with new technologies including 3D scanning and the use of LIDAR for topographical surveys.

Valueconveyancing

Thursday, 26 February 2015

LAND CONTAMMINATION

Monday, 23 February 2015

Conveyancing Act 1881

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