21st January 2026
Planning Department
Sefton MBC
DC/2025/01178 Approval of details reserved by conditions 6 (CEMP) and 8 (HIGHWAYS) on planning application referenced DC/2023/01277 approved on 10/12/2024
Objection to Driven Piling and Failure to Apply Best Practicable Means and Statutory Duties.
Please find enclosed a report by EnviroSolutions, ‘EnviroSolutions Technical Note’, who where commissioned by Formby Parish Council to review Redrow’s geotechnical submissions and justification for foundation strategy and piling method at West Lane Formby. EnviroSolution’s technical note concludes that the ground conditions at West Lane do not justify Betts Geo Ltd’s dismissal of CFA piling. The site investigation data, including SPT results and successful cable percussion drilling through the peat, show that CFA piles are technically viable and, in several respects, preferable, this is before considering the wider environmental benefits they provide. Driven displacement piles, by contrast, pose significant risks in these soils leading to ‘vibration transmission, excess pore pressure generation, potential artesian effects, and increased likelihood of long term negative skin friction as peat consolidates’. EnviroSolution also points out that these issues were not adequately addressed in Betts Geo Ltd’s response.
The note emphasises that CFA piles offer better control of vibration, reduced disturbance to saturated soils, and the ability to ‘design a reliable socket into dense sands below 12m bgl’ something driven piles cannot achieve with the same certainty. It also highlights that Betts Geo Ltd provided no pile design details and ‘relied instead on unsubstantiated claims about CFA unsuitability’. While driven piles may be cheaper and quicker, EnviroSolution concludes that they present unacceptable environmental and geotechnical risks for this site, and that CFA piling represents the more appropriate and defensible
foundation solution.
In light of the above, claims by Betts Geo on behalf of Redrow seem completely undermined.
CFA piling is typically 20-40 dB quieter than driven concrete piles, making it several times less intrusive to nearby receptors. Because CFA rigs generate steady engine and auger noise rather than the high impact hammer blows associated with driven piles, they avoid the impulsive peaks that travel efficiently through loose sands and peat. This distinction is directly relevant to BS 52282 (BPM Best Practicable Means), which requires developers to adopt the method that minimises noise and vibration where reasonably practicable. In the West Lane context, CFA piling clearly represents the BPM compliant option.
Given the above Formby Parish Council ask that Redrows foundation strategy be refused and a more comprehensive approach be adopted by Sefton Council in scrutinising any new submissions in this matter.
Yours sincerely
Claire Jenkins BA hons
Parish Clerk