The expansion of UK wind power infrastructure in the UK since the early 1990s, has been somewhat slow. Wind power has long been a source of contention amongst homeowners and communities affected by nearby planned wind farm installations. But now, geopolitical events and the emerging energy resilience crisis have once again refocused attention on the […]Read More
“Do solicitors have a legal duty of care to advise their clients on climate-related risks?” – this is the question that Stephen Tromans QC, one of the pre-eminent environmental law barristers in the world, will pose at The Conveyancing Climate Change Conference on 14th June in the Law Society Common Room. Hosted by Groundsure, this […]Read More
What are Practice Notes? Over the years, the Law Society of England and Wales has issued more than 100 Practice Notes to its 160,000 members. They are designed to describe good practice and, whilst we are not strictly obliged to follow them, it makes sense for us to do so. In case of complaints by […]Read More
Leeds is a prominent city in Yorkshire which made a name for itself in the wool and textiles trades. Often forgotten are the deep, dark cavernous coal mines which lie silent beneath the vibrant, bustling city. But equally, they co-hosted another valuable mineral – fireclay, whose seams were weaved into the carboniferous black coal, making […]Read More
The Conveyancing Climate Change Conference, hosted by Groundsure. In this inaugural and exclusive event, hear from leading lawyers, policymakers and experts across the industry and gain practical guidance on how to advise your clients about the impacts of climate risks on residential and commercial property transactions. Do you understand the impacts climate change will have […]Read More
As property lawyers will know, contaminated land can give rise to a range of liabilities and unexpected costs, whether they relate to human health, land, buildings, businesses, or the wider environment. The statute that has attracted most attention since it was brought into force over 20 years ago is Part IIA of the Environmental Protection […]Read More
Groundsure has announced the details of a major new climate change summit for the conveyancing industry. The inaugural in-person event, hosted by the environmental analytics business, will be held at the Law Society on Chancery Lane in London and will take place on Tuesday, 14th June 2022. The keynote speech, Reporting from the Climate Front […]Read More
Lawyers and environmental data My fellow solicitors and their Professional Support Lawyers sometimes tell me they feel besieged by an ever-increasing number of different types of environmental reports which they are required or encouraged to commission: reports for flooding, contaminated land, ground stability and other types of geo-environmental risks. There are now separate reports for […]Read More
Barclays adds Groundsure’s climate data to its environmental screening in expanded deal Barclays has expanded its agreement with environmental analytics business Groundsure to start screening commercial transactions in the UK for environmental and climate change risks. Groundsure has been working with Barclays since 2006, providing the bank with a definitive opinion on lending security in […]Read More
See details of Groundsure’s upcoming webinars in May 10th May 2022: How is coastal erosion and climate change affecting UK properties already on a cliff edge? The next session of Groundsure’s Climate Change series will take a closer look at coastal erosion. Strategic Account Manager Nick Treble is going to start with a definition of […]Read More
Birmingham’s brickworks and brick making heritage is a prime example of a city’s industrial reaction to nationwide expansion and growth With a surging demand for property and infrastructure, both to house the country’s growing population as well is its booming commercial industries, the need for brick and mortar was at its peak. The legacy of […]Read More
In the first of a special two-part blog, we will review the contaminated land regime and how Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 has been managed in practice, through the lens of some specific examples. It highlights how the noble intentions of rooting out the worst offenders has been blunted over time and […]Read More
Environmental analytics business Groundsure is to screen Santander’s commercial transactions for legacy and ongoing environmental and climate change risks. In conjunction with Santander, Groundsure has designed a new report that includes a four-tier risk assessment summary with explicit opinions on environmental liability, loan security risks and potential property value impacts. Groundsure says the report, Siteguard Climate, is the first to provide major banks with an […]Read More
Yorkshire has a long and proud coal mining history, but it has played host to a far wider range of other mining and excavation. The city of York sits within a vale of glacial gravels, sands and clays that has proved to be rich pickings to equip the urbanisation and industrialisation of the major population […]Read More
April marks the start of Groundsure’s new webinar series on Climate Change. 5th April 2022, 11:00am – 11:45am: “Flooding & Climate Change: A stormy relationship and its impacts on property” In the first webinar of Groundsure’s Climate Change series, Strategic Account Manager Iryna Minimurzina, will look at the definition of flooding and how it may […]Read More
Mining in Norfolk’s county town is suggested to date back as early as the 12th Century. However, across the county, there is clear evidence of mineral extraction dating back over 5000 years. In this latest case study examining major cities and the impacts of non-coal mineral mining, we look at how chalk has shaped the […]Read More
Whether it is the act of naming storms that has brought them to more prominence, or the fact that three of them happened in one week, our latest turbulent weather has again publicised and underlined our vulnerabilities from the changing climate. Storm Dudley crossed the north of England and brought high winds and damage to […]Read More
Groundsure are running the final two instalments of their Compliance series in March. They will dive into the environmental impacts of ground stability and flooding to help you better understand the risks to your client. Hidden hazards: interpreting ground stability risk for your client With Andy Crawshaw, 1st March, 11:00am – 11:30am. By the end […]Read More
Part of the challenge of assessing past tin mining activity is that its history stretches back thousands of years and yet effective records have been in existence only comparatively recently. With the introduction of the Coal and Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act of 1872, detailed plans were produced and deposited with the Mining Records Office (MRO) […]Read More
London is perhaps the best example of where a landscape has been built over for millennia, but would you associate chalk mining as a potential risk to London Property? As our capital grew, it concealed many stories of its past, chalk mining being one of them. It is easy to look at the web of […]Read More