History of the Hoole Bank site

The site near the village of Hoole Bank has been used for a range of industrial purposes over the years.

It was formerly home to the Hoole Bank Brick Works which is thought to have begun operating here in around 1900. Clay was excavated at the site and transformed into bricks for use in the local housebuilding industry.

When the brickworks closed just over forty years later, a large pit was left behind.

A disposal location

During the 1950s and 60s, the site was used for the disposal of industrial waste. Most of the material deposited at the site was a byproduct of historical oil refining processes and was known as acid tar waste.

The waste was disposed of by a company called Lobitos Oilfields Ltd, the former name of LUKL, and came from the company’s Ellesmere Port refinery. At the time the disposal activity took place, it was an accepted and legal industry practice.

Waste disposal activities were undertaken under an agreement with the then owners, Cestrian Brick Limited which has since been liquidated. Now the site has no apparent legal owner. At no point has it been owned by LUKL.

Management over subsequent decades

The site was determined as ‘contaminated land’ by the Local Authority in 2006 and designated as a ‘special site’ in 2007. From then, the Environment Agency has acted as the site regulator.

In 2011, the Environment Agency identified LUKL as an appropriate party in relation to potential remediation of the site. Since then LUKL has been working in consultation with the Environment Agency. This included undertaking monitoring works in 2013-14 to better understand the site and sharing the results with the Environment Agency. Since April 2022, LUKL has been working towards developing a voluntary remediation strategy for the site in consultation with the Environment Agency.

The team working on the site remediation plan

A highly experienced team, including the project manager Arcadis, has been appointed to lead the plans for remediation of the site.