Geological factors in land-use planning at Aldridge—Brownhills, West Midlands

AbstractThe Aldridge-Brownhills area, 14 km north of Birmingham, though largely urban, still contains large reserves of sand and gravel, brick clay and coal in areas of open country. The present work, carried out by the British Geological Survey, is a verification of the planning as it affects future land use. Pillar and stall workings in Wenlock Limestone are a hazard around Daw End. The effects of subsidence induced by coal mining are greatest on the Vigo and Clayhanger faults, which locally define the limit of working. The largely dry, abandoned coal mines at Aldridge and Walsall Wood and the old marl quarries overlying them are a major, controlled, chemical waste disposal facility, sealed in by the Etruria Formation. Boreholes into Triassic sandstones are used for public water supply and any future infill in nearby gravel pits is also a matter for close control.

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Land evaluation and site assessment: mapping for planning purposes

Geological Society London Engineering Geology Special Publications ◽

10.1144/gsl.eng.1987.004.01.24 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 195-201

Author(s):

W. R. Dearman

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Land Evaluation ◽

Geological Survey ◽

Thematic Maps ◽

British Geological Survey ◽

Site Assessment ◽

Thematic Mapping ◽

Direct Applicability

AbstractMaps and plans represent essential tools of the trade for planners and applied earth scientists alike, and thematic maps produced by geologists should be able to be understood by planners. Geology, geotechnics, geomorphology, hydrogeology and related sciences can provide essential data on some of the constraints to development and resources for development. Recognition of these permits safer, more cost- effective planning and development, and allows rational decisions to be taken as far as the exploitation of resources is concerned. Consequently the Department of Environment had been commissioning research to investigate the best means of collecting, collating, interpreting and presenting, in sets of maps and reports, geological results of direct applicability to land-use planning. For example, some years ago initial studies in thematic mapping were undertaken by the British Geological Survey and more recently a number of private consultants have carried out such work. Unfortunately, the results of some of these surveys have not, as yet, been published.

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Environmental geology maps of Bath and the surrounding area for engineers and planners

Geological Society London Engineering Geology Special Publications ◽

10.1144/gsl.eng.1987.004.01.28 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 221-235 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

A. Forster ◽

P. R. N. Hobbs ◽

R. J. Wyatt ◽

D. C. Entwisle

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Field Survey ◽

Slope Angle ◽

Surrounding Area ◽

British Geological Survey ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

Ground Conditions ◽

Fuller’S Earth

AbstractIn March 1984 the British Geological Survey commenced an environmental geological study of parts of west Wiltshire and south east Avon for the Department of the Environment. The objective of this study was to collect the available geological data relevant to the area, and to present them as a series of thematic maps accompanied by a descriptive report and a database/archive of the data used.The output is intended to be used by land-use planners. It is designed simultaneously to be understandable by people not trained in geology and yet to contain detailed information required by specialists concerned with the environment and its development. The 14 maps which were produced describe themes which include solid lithostratigraphy, drift deposits, the inferred distribution of Great Oolite Freestone, the inferred distribution of fuller’s earth, groundwater, ground conditions in relation to groundwater, geotechnical properties of bedrock and superficial deposits, landslipped and cambered strata, distribution of slope angle, and mining.Although the task was primarily a desk study, it was found necessary to carry out a small amount of field survey to re-interpret the foundered strata to the north-west of Bath. This re-survey has been presented in a style consistent with the mapping of the rest of the study area. A fifteenth map showing the result of the re-interpretation of the foundered strata was produced as a supplement to the main report.This paper describes the methods and the results of this study and comments on the implications of the technique for land-use planning.

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