Asbestos plan for Riverside development site in Shrewsbury after substance found

Work began knocking down the former Riverside Medical Practice and shopping centre last month, ahead of a much-anticipated regeneration of the Smithfield Road area, initially including the creation of a new public park next to Roushill.

But ground investigations required as part of planning approval for the scheme in the county town have revealed buried asbestos deposits in the eastern part of the site, which will eventually become a mixed use retail and commercial development.

A remediation statement added to Shropshire Council’s planning portal said soil contaminants were found in 11 locations across the site, which has previously provided a number of industrial uses.

Groundwater contamination was also found on the site, although the risk of contamination to the nearby River Severn was deemed to be “low”.

“Soil contaminant concentrations were generally low and below the public open space generic assessment criteria, based on the proposed end use of a public park and temporary ‘meanwhile’ land use,” said the statement by the council’s environmental contractors.

“Three rounds of groundwater sampling were undertaken, with exceedances for six metals, three inorganic compounds and three PAHs [organic pollutants]. However, the risk to controlled waters (River Severn) has been assessed as low, and the concentrations are likely a result of diffuse pollution of the general urban environment.

“Gas monitoring indicated that no gas protection measures are required in new buildings and no vapour sources were identified.”

The statement recommended that remediation measures were taken to protect construction workers from asbestos inhalation on the eastern end of the site, and added that capping of the area ahead of proposed “meanwhile uses” would protect the public while further planning applications were brought forward.

Meanwhile imported subsoil and topsoil at Roushill Park would provide a “clean capping layer” in public areas of the new parkland spaces.

“The proposed permanent commercial and retail development, a combination of buildings and hardstanding, will provide a barrier between future users and contaminated soil,” the statement adds.

“No remediation is required to protect end users of the proposed Roushill Park public open space.

“It is anticipated that clean topsoil/subsoil will be placed in soft landscaped areas to provide a growth medium for planting which will also provide a clean capping layer for human health receptors.”

The demolition work and creation of the new park comprises the first phase of the regeneration scheme, which has benefited from a £19 million Government grant.

The new park is expected to open in 2025, with planning applications for future phases of the Riverside project expected to be brought forward by Shropshire Council next year.