BIOSECURITY SERVICES FOR CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT SITES
Complete services from risk management to supervision of excavation works, giving you guaranteed operational compliance during groundworks and other building works on sites with invasive plants infestations.
COMMERCIAL BIOSECURITY SERVICES
Where a developer or main contractor wishes to carry out excavation work of invasive plants such as Giant hogweed or Horsetail using their own plant and operators, we can provide a highly qualified site supervisor to oversee operational works (watching brief) to ensure they are carried out correctly.
Our highly experienced team can also help with the drafting and implementation of biosecurity plans to help prevent the spread of seed and rhizome contaminated material to the wider site and the surrounding environment, ensuring legal compliance and environment best practice.
We can also assist with the haulage and disposal of controlled waste at a suitable licenced facility and supply of root barriers where appropriate.
For the full list of invasive plants that we deal with, take a look at our Invasive Plant Directory
WHY YOU CAN TRUST OUR EXPERTS
Our working Site Supervisors have over 12 years’ experience in the invasive plants industry and provide a professional service to ensure the project is compliant with UK law and industry best practice. Where required, we can also assist with drafting site-specific Management Plans and Risk Assessment and Method Statements (RAMS), all in accordance with the Property Care Association (PCA) Code of Practice.
REQUIRE SUPPORT? CONTACT OUR TEAM
OUR INVASIVE PLANTS BIOSECURITY SERVICES
We offer a comprehensive list of support services aimed at developers and their main contractors, including:
- Pre-construction invasive plants surveys
- Management plans and site-specific RAMS.
- Biosecurity plans to prevent spread of invasive plant material during site works
- Toolbox talks and guidance for site personnel.
- Watching briefs during excavation, demolition and enabling works.
- Specialist equipment/ machinery wash down.
- Invasive plant contaminated soil and material movement controls.
- Site supervision, documentation and compliance support.
- Supply and installation of root barriers.
- Haulage and disposal of controlled waste.
- Waste records management and recording.
- Completion Reporting.
WHY IS BIOSECURITY IMPORTANT?
Plants listed as an invasive non-native species of concern in Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) legally cannot be allowed to spread into the wild or onto neighbouring land and property (read specific variations of these laws in England/Wales and Scotland). Even unintentional spread through poor biosecurity practices may result in legal action or expensive remediation costs.
Invasive plants are often spread by the movement of people and equipment from place to place. However, the nature of construction sites, with site staff, visitors and their vehicles coming and going; movement of plant about the site and large volumes of material being imported/exported, greatly increases the risk of rhizomes, seeds and invasive plant contaminated soil spreading to unimpacted areas of the site and beyond the site boundary.
The same is true for non-Schedule 9 nuisance plants such as bamboo and horsetail – a common concern on development sites. It is therefore important to have and implement a biosecurity plan whenever work is happening on a site with a known or suspected infestation of invasive plants, especially if the site is surrounded by homes or sensitive habitats that need to be protected.
PROJECT EXAMPLE: EXCAVATION WATCHING BRIEF FOR PLANNED CONSTRUCTION SITE
Environment Controls was contracted to provide a Watching Brief service for the excavation of Himalayan balsam contaminated soils. As the seed heads have already burst, simply removing the plants was not possible and a full soil scrape of the affected area was required.
Our team drafted a site-specific remediation plan for the Himalayan balsam contaminated soil, which involved the removal of soils in the affected area down to 250 mm depth and the removal of surrounding vegetation to facilitate access. Contaminated soils were moved to a dedicated on-site treatment area was created where soil was stockpiled for future herbicide treatment and hand pulling.
Accreditations
Our top clients
