Seaford Childcare Centre

Overview

Beveridge Williams’ environmental division completed an environmental assessment of a former service station in Seaford for a proposed childcare centre. An Environmental Audit was required to determine the site’s contamination status and confirm that site soil, soil gas and groundwater were suitable for childcare use.

Work Undertaken

A detailed soil contamination assessment was completed at the site, which included:

• A detailed review of existing environmental information
• A detailed site walkover to identify contamination indicators
• Soil sampling and testing
• Soil vapour sampling and testing to assess contamination from former fuel storage tanks and associated infrastructure.

The site was impacted with bonded asbestos fragments in surface soils, resulting from the demolition of previous site structures. However, the residual bonded cement impact was effectively managed/cleaned up as part of the construction process, via:

• The creation of a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) which detailed the safety and environmental management measures as well as legal compliance requirements (EPA, WorkSafe) to be followed by the building contractors.
• Routine site supervision during the construction and landscaping of the childcare centre to ensure the long-term health of future site users

Through consultation with the builders and landscapers, all management measures were adhered to during construction, and the site received Environmental Auditor verification in October 2023, with the childcare centre opening in early 2024.

Beveridge Williams was pleased to help our client evaluate risks upfront before site purchase and provide practical environmental strategy and solutions to convert the property into a valuable community asset.