WP3276A - Site Investigations for the Challenge Block site - AWARD

Walsall Council is seeking a suitably experienced and qualified consulting engineer to undertake Site Investigations - Phase I Desk Top Study and Phase II Intrusive Ground Investigation - for the Challenge Block site, Hatherton Street, Walsall.

The site is made up of a mixture of occupied building, former derelict buildings that have been cleared to slab level and land that is used for car parking. The site is directly adjacent to a railway line and the Ford Brook which also runs in a culvert beneath part of the site. The northern part of the site is within a wider area that has been infilled as a result of previous limestone mining. An aerial photograph is included below for reference.

The Council is currently at the advanced stages preparing an Area Action Plan (AAP) which allocates sites for development in Walsall town centre. A series of consultations on the AAP have been undertaken and the AAP was submitted to the Secretary of State for examination on 7th June 2017. The Examination was held by the Planning Inspector between 16th to18th October 2017 and the Council are awaiting the Inspectors report.

Policy AAPINV3: Walsall Gigaport of the emerging AAP states that:

Challenge Block (TC41) is allocated for the following uses:

• oOffice development
• oMulti-storey car park (Policy AAPT5)
• oConvenience retail/ bulky goods, if sequentially preferable sites cannot be delivered (Policy AAPS2).

The site is therefore seen as a key development opportunity within Walsall town centre. In order that future development of the site can be progressed there is a need to understand existing ground conditions and any potential issues that exist. As majority landowner Walsall Council is therefore commissioning Phase I & II site investigations to provide this information.