Gateshead’s Cabinet members will be asked to back a £3m scheme to clean up contaminated land at Saltmeadows in Gateshead prior to re-opening the area to the public.
Gateshead councillors will be asked next week to give their backing to a £3m scheme to clean up one of the most polluted pieces of public land in the region.
At their meeting next Tuesday (24 January), Gateshead Council’s Cabinet members will be asked to agree to the appointment of specialist contractors as the first stage in the clean-up of the riverside at Saltmeadows in Gateshead.
Details of the de-contamination scheme have still to be agreed, but it is likely to include:
·Covering areas of the site with topsoil and new vegetation,
·Coppicing riverside woodland to encourage plant growth which will cover and bind bare soil,
·Installing new drains to intercept contaminated water-borne soil before it can be washed onto the rebuilt paths and into the River Tyne,
·Fencing and planting with thorny shrubs to keep people away from some areas.
Once tenders for the work have been received, Gateshead Council will submit a bid for funding to DEFRA who, it is hoped, will make a decision which will allow work to start by late summer. The work is likely to take at least 18 months to complete.
Peter Udall, Head of Design Services for Gateshead Council, says: “Our aim is to bring an important area of public open space back into use, to open it up and improve it for the public, and to re-open the route of the Keelman’s Way cycle path. The plan we are looking at involves both risk management and physical works.
“Our main effort will be on ensuring that, in areas likely to be accessed by the public, there is no contaminated soil on the surface for them to get on their hands or shoes because the main risk has always been from people ingesting contaminated soil from this site, either by eating there with dirty hands or by walking dust into their homes.
“Elsewhere, we can create thickly-planted areas, by coppicing the existing trees and by planting with prickly and defensive species, to prevent people accessing areas where they might get contaminated soil on their shoes.
He added: “These proposals will create new areas of undisturbed woodland, greatly increasing their wildlife value and generating new and important wildlife habitats which will complement the nearby Kittiwake Tower.”
Gateshead Council took immediate action to close the riverside area at Saltmeadows last March after high levels of contamination were discovered. This prompted a lengthy and more detailed examination of the whole site and the results showed significant levels of dioxins across the site, and very high readings in some areas.
It is thought that contamination on the riverside was caused by chemical industries dating back to the Victorian era. It is known that the area was formerly the site of the Alhusen Alkali Works, which was operating in the 1890’s and closed in 1924, though it was not suspected that the works could have been depositing dioxins into the site during this time.
The area was derelict for many years before being reclaimed by the former Tyne and Wear County Council in the 1970’s. It transferred into the ownership of Gateshead Council on the dissolution of Tyne and Wear County Council in 1985.
Councillors have already indicated the importance of re-opening the Saltmeadows riverside to the public because of its popularity with families and fishermen. The site is crossed by the Keelman’s Way, a major cycle route linking Wylam with South Shields which is part of the National Cycle Route Network, and is also home to Gateshead’s unique Kittiwake Tower.