Remediation Verification & Validation
Make sure the evidence needed to close out remediation is captured before it disappears beneath the finished development.
Clear reviews the approved strategy and planning requirements, identifies what must be inspected, tested and recorded, and brings that evidence together into a verification report for regulatory review.
From completion of works and receipt of all required information. Evidence planned from the start avoids gaps at sign-off.
Know what must be demonstrated
Start with the approved strategy and condition wording so everyone knows which evidence the regulator will expect.
Capture evidence before it is covered up
Inspect and record critical stages such as excavation limits, clean cover, membranes, imported materials, disposal and confirmatory sampling.
Identify evidence gaps while they can still be fixed
Missing test results or records are easier to resolve during the works than after landscaping, occupation or contractor demobilisation.
The remediation can be right and still be difficult to verify if the evidence is missing.
By the end of a project, clean cover may be landscaped, membranes covered, excavations backfilled and material removed from site. If the required evidence was not captured at the time, proving compliance later can become difficult.
Verification works best when the evidence requirements are understood before remediation starts and checked as the work progresses.
Plan the proof before the work.
We treat verification as part of remediation delivery, not an administration exercise at the end. The aim is to build a clear evidence trail from the approved strategy to the completed works.
Review what has been approved
Review the remediation strategy, planning condition, regulator comments and contractor proposals to understand what must be demonstrated.
Define the evidence that will be needed
Set out the inspections, samples, photographs, delivery tickets, waste records, membrane records or other evidence required.
Verify the work as it happens
Attend key stages where needed, review test results and records, and flag gaps or changes before they become difficult to correct.
Compile the close-out evidence
Bring the evidence together, explain how the completed works compare with the approved strategy and identify any outstanding items before regulatory submission.
What should verification establish?
We report what the evidence supports. Each outcome is a legitimate answer, and the first is often the most valuable.
The agreed remediation has been completed
The records, testing and inspections show that the measures in the approved strategy have been carried out and the verification criteria have been met.
A gap in the evidence needs to be closed
The work may be satisfactory, but a missing record, test or inspection needs to be resolved before the report can support discharge of the condition.
Further remedial work is required
If the remediation has not met the agreed criteria, unexpected contamination remains or the work has changed from the approved strategy, we explain what further action is needed.
A clear evidence trail for regulatory review.
The verification report should make it easy to understand what was required, what was done and what evidence shows that the objectives were met.
Explore how contaminated land conditions move from investigation through remediation to verification, and why the evidence requirements should be defined before work starts.
A recent project.
What this looked like on a real site, and what the client could do as a result.
Defining verification requirements before remediation starts.
For a residential development in Tilbrook, Clear combined supplementary investigation with a remediation and verification strategy. The work focused remediation on gardens and soft landscaping and defined the inspection, testing and documentation needed to demonstrate completion, giving the developer a clear evidence plan before the works were carried out.
Read the case study →Read more on this.
Plain-English guides from our insights, written for developers, buyers and their advisers.
Discharging Contaminated Land Planning Conditions in the UK
Step-by-step guide to discharging contaminated land planning conditions in the UK. Learn about Phases 1–4, compliance, and commercial benefits.
Do I Need a Phase 3 Remediation Strategy? (And What Is It?)
When a Phase 3 Remediation Strategy is required, what it contains and how practical remediation supports planning and contaminated land management.
From Phase 2 to Remediation: What Happens if Contamination is Found?
What happens when a Phase 2 investigation identifies contamination, from risk assessment and remediation strategy through to verification.
Common questions.
What happens if verification is not done?
Without it, planning conditions may not be discharged and completion certificates can be withheld, delaying occupation or sale. Planning the evidence from the start avoids this.
Get a quote for your site.
Send us the address and what you’re planning. A senior consultant will reply with a quote and the right first step, usually within one working day.