Slough Borough Council’s cabinet is set to discuss how to deal with contaminated soil found at Upton Court Park.
During routine tests carried out in preparation for the installation of a new Slough landmark play area in the park, issues around the soil quality in two areas were discovered.
Two areas of the park are affected:
* north-east corner – bunds
* north-west corner – near main car park
Testing has been carried out across the Slough park to find the extent and spread of the problem.
Nigel Dicker, assistant director Slough environment services and quality, said: “We think the high levels of lead are a legacy going back to the 40s or 50s and though risk assessments show no immediate health hazards; there is a potential risk if there is long term exposure to soil dust or in the unlikely event of someone eating the soil.
“This risk is only likely to be a problem if there is very regular contact with the soil over a period of many years, and so all park users are highly unlikely to have had this kind of contact.
“Now we are aware of the issue, we want to take action to sort it out as soon as we sensibly can. We are putting options for the park before cabinet so they can decide how they want to proceed.”
North East Corner – Bunds
The bunds (mounds of land) in the north-east corner run parallel to the access road for the cricket and rugby clubs and are contaminated with elevated levels of lead, arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene.
Slough Officers are recommending planting dense vegetation across the affected area to ensure long-term human contact with the soil does not occur.
This is expected to cost £294,000 over three years.
North West Corner – near the car park
The north-west area affected covers a large area and runs from the main car park down the field and east to the main pathway.
The soil has areas with elevated levels of lead.
This problem was found while doing precautionary work prior to the installation of a new play area in the north-west section.
Events planned to be held in this part of the park have been moved to unaffected areas and the planned play area is being relocated.
Slough Officers are asking cabinet to look at a number of options including:
* hard surface sports facilities such as tennis courts or artificial football pitches
* planting of dense vegetation but with paths and trails laid so people could still access the area
* fencing off the affected area
* removal of soil and replacement with fresh soil
The Slough council is applying for grant funding from DEFRA to cover some of the total cost of the work which, depending on the cabinet decision, is expected to be between £130,000 and £2.7million.
The council has also been in contact with the Scout Association which has a scout hut on the border of this area and Long Close School, which is next to the park.
Nigel Dicker said: “I want to stress there is no immediate risk to health and the vast majority of the park is not affected by this issue.
“The decision to be made now is how to make the best of the situation, so the park does not lose its character, whilst making sure it is safe to use in the long term.”
Councillor Satpal Parmar, commissioner for environment and open spaces, said: “The land quality issues were discovered during preparations for the installation of a large play area in Upton Court Park.
“As soon as the contamination was discovered, work began on identifying the extent of the problem as well as how we could minimise the already low risk to park users.
“We obviously want to make sure people can continue to use as much of the park as possible, in the same way as they have in the past where it is safe to do so, so we will be looking at options at cabinet to maintain the amenity of the land.”
The main report will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting on Monday 12 July, 6.30pm, Council Chamber, Bath Road.
Slough Borough Council.
