Topsoil

Due to a utilities company's sub contractor major fudge up, I have now been left with a strip of land to the side of their new track with sub and top soil mixed up and not a lot growing in patches :mad:
We have decided the best way to sort this is to put 6" of topsoil on top of this 3m strip. What's the rules or regulations for buying soil and putting it on the land ? It will be about 180t. Also what's the going rate for soil ? So far the company's that I have phoned only do soil in 1t bags.
I thought asking here first before going to the relevant authority and opening a big can of worms.
Before anyone says, a land agent and solicitor are involved.;:(
 

bovrill

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
East Essexshire
Can't you make your own topsoil by incorporating lots of muck or compost?
They used to give away good greenwaste compost if you took bulker loads and were close enough. My BiL had several loads from a kettle composting place North of London somewhere, and it was good and clean enough to dig straight into a garden.
 

renewablejohn

Member
Location
lancs
You used to be able to get good top soil as waste from the sugar beet factories but then there was talk that only growers who supplied the factory where entitled to the soil. Have a look on the EA web site for the right licence to import top soil and what restrictions you have.
 
Due to a utilities company's sub contractor major fudge up, I have now been left with a strip of land to the side of their new track with sub and top soil mixed up and not a lot growing in patches :mad:
We have decided the best way to sort this is to put 6" of topsoil on top of this 3m strip. What's the rules or regulations for buying soil and putting it on the land ? It will be about 180t. Also what's the going rate for soil ? So far the company's that I have phoned only do soil in 1t bags.
I thought asking here first before going to the relevant authority and opening a big can of worms.
Before anyone says, a land agent and solicitor are involved.;:(
Lots to consider here we had the same with SSE 2 years ago
Id go down as far as the topsoil goes not just 6 inches
Appoint your own contractor don’t let them do it they f##### up once they will try to cut corners
Charge for removal of all mixed
Charge for topsoil,fertiliser ,lime if it’s grass all workings ie plough ,cultivate ,sow roll,spray if small area just charge each as a mininum charge
If it is grass and you have stock on it charge electric fence hire plus £10 a day to check fence and recharge battery’s if you need a new water trough because it is fenced off charge for all works
Riddled topsoil is £20/tonne or £40/ cubic meter if you are working out a cost
Charge for anything you can possible justify just get a quote from them for anything
Ps how long a strip?
 
I agree with everything you say it's being done already, but with sub contractors going bust a week after they were here, and the national company which hired the subcontractor, are being absolute txxts, andatrying to wash their hands of the work. The fexxxxs will never be alowed on here again. As my agent said you dont want them back to sort it out as they will do it on the cheap again, so take a cash settlement and me sort it out. Hence the need for hard figures to back up the claim.
The soil part of the claim is 270m X 3m, There's another for damage to over 100m of private track.
 
I agree with everything you say it's being done already, but with sub contractors going bust a week after they were here, and the national company which hired the subcontractor, are being absolute txxts, andatrying to wash their hands of the work. The fexxxxs will never be alowed on here again. As my agent said you dont want them back to sort it out as they will do it on the cheap again, so take a cash settlement and me sort it out. Hence the need for hard figures to back up the claim.
The soil part of the claim is 270m X 3m, There's another for damage to over 100m of private track.
Their sub contractor means it’s their problem
Did you have land agent involved before there was a problem
Don’t let them grind you down charge a management rate for your time in at least 1 hr segments ie a 5 min call to land agent is charged at your min hour rate
 

Hummin-Cummins

Member
Livestock Farmer
I agree with everything you say it's being done already, but with sub contractors going bust a week after they were here, and the national company which hired the subcontractor, are being absolute txxts, andatrying to wash their hands of the work. The fexxxxs will never be alowed on here again. As my agent said you dont want them back to sort it out as they will do it on the cheap again, so take a cash settlement and me sort it out. Hence the need for hard figures to back up the claim.
The soil part of the claim is 270m X 3m, There's another for damage to over 100m of private track.


Thats 265+ tonnes of top soil at 6 inches deep @ £20 per tonne its adds up to a significant figure!
 
Their sub contractor means it’s their problem
Did you have land agent involved before there was a problem
Don’t let them grind you down charge a management rate for your time in at least 1 hr segments ie a 5 min call to land agent is charged at your min hour rate

Unfortunately did not have the land agent before they started work, and it was only a few months after losing my father, and it had been his pet project of sorts. I only had a vague idea what had been agreed on at the time, but did not have access to my dad's emails. I only got the agent involved after I couldn't get anywhere after the subcontractor whent bust.
 
Unfortunately did not have the land agent before they started work, and it was only a few months after losing my father, and it had been his pet project of sorts. I only had a vague idea what had been agreed on at the time, but did not have access to my dad's emails. I only got the agent involved after I couldn't get anywhere after the subcontractor whent bust.
Sorry to hear about father
 
I was getting a figure of 180t of soil, yes a significant figure, but add on fencing, reseeding, and sorting out the road damage, + agent fees and now solicitors fees, the few quid they were saving by doing the job on the cheap, is loose change to the claim now !
What sort of road have they damaged?
Does your business insurance give you legal cover?
Remember to add in cost to dispose of mixed topsoil if topsoil is deeper than the 6 inches you are claiming go for that too
Might be better for you to subcontract through a local friendly contractor to get the work done they are less likely to argue the costs than if you were to do it yourself and bill them
 
The road was an old tarmac track to a house, perfectly good road for a car and the odd oil lorry. Didn't stand up to 8 wheelers carrying over 750t of shale and the concrete wagons carrying concrete for the base. The tarmac surface broke up, but parts of the road sunk by 6-10 inches, and to make matters worse they tried to repair it using the shale they used for the construction of the track to the site. Problem with the shale it was sh1t stuff with a lot of soil and stone from 10mm - 2 ft flag stones !!!!!!!!
The utility co is suppose to cover the professional fees, I'm going for a cash settlement, so I can be guaranteed that the repair work will be up to standard.
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
I'd be doing some very big adding up all the costs to get it back to at least the pre-event condition, plus lost revenues for the duration. When you're done, add on 20% for 'Project Management', and then another 10% for 'contingency'. Make these on top of all your own time/ staff costs for doing the actual work too.

My gut feel is they shouldn't get any change out of at least £20k, and possibly more than that.
 
The road was an old tarmac track to a house, perfectly good road for a car and the odd oil lorry. Didn't stand up to 8 wheelers carrying over 750t of shale and the concrete wagons carrying concrete for the base. The tarmac surface broke up, but parts of the road sunk by 6-10 inches, and to make matters worse they tried to repair it using the shale they used for the construction of the track to the site. Problem with the shale it was sh1t stuff with a lot of soil and stone from 10mm - 2 ft flag stones !!!!!!!!
The utility co is suppose to cover the professional fees, I'm going for a cash settlement, so I can be guaranteed that the repair work will be up to standard.
So basically they destroyed your tar road does not sound as if it was in perfect condition if 50 lorries broke it up though perhaps they tracked machines along it first? That would have done a lot of damage if they were not using rubber tracks
 
I'd be doing some very big adding up all the costs to get it back to at least the pre-event condition, plus lost revenues for the duration. When you're done, add on 20% for 'Project Management', and then another 10% for 'contingency'. Make these on top of all your own time/ staff costs for doing the actual work too.

My gut feel is they shouldn't get any change out of at least £20k, and possibly more than that.
You would want to be a subcontractor to your appointed contractor (hidden)or you will end up with a hell of an argument when you present your bill
 

TheTallGuy

Member
Location
Cambridgeshire
Importing topsoil for repairs rarely works well as it's unlikely that what comes in will match your own soil type, plus you have no idea as to what's in the soil - regardless of what the supplier may say. I would be looking to build up organic matter in what is there with compost and mature manure, but it will take up to 5 years to get it stable. Whichever way you do it runs the risk of importing weeds so you will need to be on the ball for the first few years to prevent them establishing.

One issue that you may face with your claim is that the "repair" cost will probably exceed the land value of the damaged strip & I have heard of utilities capping compensation at around that level plus say 5 year's lost production - especially if it's not across the middle of the field.
 
As I said, it was no m6, but perfectly adequate for car traffic to the house and the occasional oil lorry, cant take the wife's car there, the roads just too rough.
Importing new soil is my main problem I thought i woukd ask here first before opening NRW's Pandora's box.
Agent and solicitor being employed for all the other stuff.
 
You would want to be a subcontractor to your appointed contractor (hidden)or you will end up with a hell of an argument when you present your bill

This is why we are going for a cash settlement before any work is done.
I get paid, then I either do the work, or get someone in.
They then get to sign off the job, and I get the work done to my spec, and not the cheapest spec.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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