Property developers seeking prime development opportunities on major arterial routes should not discount the potential of decommissioned petrol stations, according to the latest advice from premier risk management consultancy Argyll Environmental.
While a third of decommissioned petrol stations in the USA are thought to be contaminated, research conducted by Argyll Environmental across 100 UK petrol stations has shown that only 10 per cent of decommissioned UK sites are seriously contaminated.
Indeed, Argyll believes that widespread trepidation regarding petrol station sites has driven market values down, meaning savvy developers who do their research, could easily snap up a profit turning bargain.
Chris Loaring of Argyll Environmental explains: “It seems that in every town across the UK there are decommissioned petrol stations which have remained empty for months if not years. Such sites are crying out for redevelopment and they are often in good urban locations on prime thoroughfares, ideal for office or retail redevelopments. These often require less rigorous remediation than housing developments and so can present a very good return on investment.
“Our research has shown that large numbers of disused petrol stations in the UK are not seriously contaminated and indeed, compared to some brownfield sites, can be relatively simple to get through planning and remediate in conjunction with a new well-designed development.
“I would strongly advise that property developers don’t discount petrol station sites. Simple environmental desktop reports can help identify how much remediation a site is likely to require. Such cost effective and expedient information can swiftly help developers decide whether to proceed with a purchase and also provide a powerful negotiating tool when agreeing a favourable purchase price.”
The commissioning of early detailed searches and environmental reports which can include soil and ground water sampling, can also be of value in helping to speed up the planning process for developers. With detailed ground investigation reports often turned round in as little as 2 to 4 weeks, such sites can be swiftly evaluated.
“The best advice we can give is for developers to do as much research into a site as early as possible,” continued Chris. “The longer there is to remediate a site the more options will be available and the lower the costs will be. Unexpected problems can arise during redevelopment, such as unrecorded tanks or old soak-aways full of oil residues being discovered, but again the sooner these are spotted the easier they are to address and the less of a problem they become.”
Specialising in environmental due diligence and risk assessment for property and land transactions, Argyll Environmental offers a series of products to support developers through the acquisition process. This includes a range of environmental search reports and advanced contaminated land risk screening reports, with prices starting from £245 plus VAT for its flagship desktop commercial screening report.
