Work begins on Maida Vale homes despite contamination fears

And neighbours have questioned why Westminster City Council has not disclosed soil test results after their own report revealed toxic substances.

The council plans to build 21 homes on a former car park on the Torridon estate in Maida Vale, following approval by the then Conservative-led council in 2020.

READ MORE: Maida Vale residents urge investigation of 'contaminated land'

Contractor Osborne started drilling and piling at Torridon House on January 4, despite warnings of possible chemical contamination from neighbours including Naima Jewish Preparatory School in Andover Place.

After speaking to the school's headteacher Bill Pratt, Maida Vale ward councillor Geoff Barraclough suggested an independent survey to allay fears, but this was not carried out.

The car park was demolished in October last year by Osborne but concerned neighbours commissioned an independent soil investigation from environmental consultancy Enviro Solution when nothing seemed to grow on the land.

Enviro Solution's report found evidence of dibenzo anthracene, benzo fluoranthene and benzo pyrene, which can cause skin irritation and cancers.

Work begins on the former car park in Maida Vale (Image: Dave Hill)

Westminster Council strongly denies the land is contaminated.

Osborne commissioned a report by RSK Geosciences, which carried out a site visit and took away soil samples on December 14.

It said in its report that the findings "indicate that the identified potential contaminant linkages are absent based on the data available and therefore the site is suitable for the proposed end use".

Before the report was sent to the Ham & High, resident Dave Hill said: "The council has carried on saying the report was false but they haven't given us any results to say it was false.

"They've done this as quickly as they can. Their machinery is going on full on now."

Naima JPS headteacher Bill Pratt said both the school and neighbours were disappointed that the "logical compromise" of an independent report did not happen.

He added: "It was necessary to allay the fears of all the local residents and the school, who were understandably concerned with some aspects of the report they received."

Digger churns up the land that residents believe is contaminated but that Westminster says is totally safe (Image: Dave Hill) 

He said the school had raised concerns about disruption and noise, and the loss of car parking facilities for local people and the school, as well as increased traffic causing "substantial risk" to pupils and contamination. 

He added: "Clearly the council needs to do everything they can to reassure us and nearby residents on this. 

"We would urge them to carry out all possible investigations and provide us with full copies of the results. 

"Anything short of this before proceeding any further is only going to increase our concerns about the potential risks and harm to our pupils."

Cllr Matt Noble, cabinet member for regeneration and climate action at Westminster City Council, said: “The council carries out rigorous safety checks prior to any development to make sure soil on a construction site is safe before works begin.

“To be clear, the reports show that there are very low levels of contaminants in the soil. This is completely normal for a construction site in an urban area."

He added: "We would like to offer reassurance that any small risk posed by these contaminants has been carefully considered and mitigated against in the plans for the redevelopment of the site. This is confirmed in the advice received by the council.

“They do not pose a health risk to residents in the area or neighbouring areas during construction or following completion of the project.

"We want to make this absolutely clear to residents, so we will be holding resident drop in meetings as soon as possible so we can provide advice and reassurance of the risks and safety of the site to the surrounding area.”

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