More mitigation works for Huncote

Further remediation works are planned for land surrounding Huncote Leisure Centre.

Last night, during an extraordinary meeting of the Full Council, Blaby District Councillors approved an extra £200,000 to support the new measures as well as provide a fund for mitigation at other legacy landfill sites in the District if necessary.

The leisure centre is situated on the grounds of a former landfill site and various remediation works have taken place since elevated levels of landfill gas were detected in November 2021.

These measures have included the installation of boreholes, gas extraction points, an upgraded internal monitoring system within the leisure centre and a flare stack, all designed to make the area safe.

The most recent phase of operations started on 24 October and involved the installation of a new gas cut-off trench to the side and rear of the leisure centre building. Unforeseen challenges have arisen due to greater than expected ground movement resulting from landfill waste decomposition. Problems with pooling water have also been identified.

The original planned trenching works were expected to cost around £93,000 which took the total spend on remedial works up to the £600,000 previously approved by the Council.

Some £40,000 will go towards installing the additional infrastructure at Huncote. This includes a pump and pipework below the new trench to drain water away from the building onto surrounding land at the rear of the site and further active gas extraction to draw landfill gas away from the building towards the flare stack.

Councillor Terry Richardson, Leader of Blaby District Council, said: "On sites such as this you often don’t know exactly what you are dealing with until works begin. Our latest round of remediation has revealed issues we could not have anticipated and which require more extensive measures to resolve.

"The safety of the site and the safety of local residents has always been of paramount importance. Our investment in these further remediation works continues to show our commitment to public safety at Huncote."

Councillor Terry Richardson
Leader of the Council