Further remediation works are planned for land surrounding Huncote Leisure Centre.
At 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 involve 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.
© The Journal 2023