The Instability Of The Site

Patcham residents have grave concerns about the safety of building on Patcham Court Farm. 

Residents have written to Brighton Council planning department, Brighton & Hove councillors, Caroline Lucas MP, Royal Mail representatives and National Highways detailing these concerns. 

We believe there is a real risk that the site is not stable enough to hold the building safely and the weight of 135 electric fleet vans, Royal Mail Articulated lorries and 100's of staff cars every day could be an accident waiting to happen!

History text and references here

In the late 1980's the development of the A27 bypass cut through the land of Patcham Court Farm. On the west side of the farm by the roundabout a collapsed cavern was discovered, 

This collapsed cavern is on the side where Royal Mail are proposing to build the 4000+ sq metre building. They are proposing to use pilings into this area of the collapsed cavern to support the building. 

We believe this is fundamentally unsafe and could in time cause a landslide into the bypass sliproad or more immediately send pollutants into our water in the Waterhall Pumping Station. 

Caverns and sinkholes occur when the surface land collapses due to groundwater dissolving sediments underground, or when too much groundwater is pumped from an aquifer. 

During the development of the bypass a collapsed cavern was discovered,  

Caverns and sinkholes occur when the surface land collapses due to groundwater dissolving sediments underground, or when too much groundwater is pumped from an aquifer. 

Back in 2005 when the council were investigating potential Park and Ride sites for the city, Patcham Court Farm was considered and assessed for a car park with a single storey on the North Side. The resulting report makes interesting reading about the hydrogeology of the site and describes the farmyard as being located over a major aquifer. 

It was determined that the natural soils would be suitable founding strata for a lightly loaded structure associated with park and ride, but that excavation was thought at high risk of discovering the presence of solution features. These solution features are sink holes. One such sink hole was discovered on the West side of the farm by the roundabout when the ground was cut through for the bypass (see below).

There was intended to be a bridge across from the intended to be a bridge across from the farmyard to the farmland so the cattle could be taken onto the fields, but it was not possible to put one there due to instability and so this is why the farmyard fell into disuse. The existing footpath is in a different place further east.