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buried and abandoned tanks


eddy8men

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It sounds as though you have done this before, do you have a indication of what is involved? as I may be interested

 

Presumably along these lines...

 

Approach Land Owner - find out if there are plans to recover the vehicles, If not, find out if they would support a plan.

 

This would best be managed through any intermediary who may have greater influence over the persons you need to deal with - a friendly call is always better than a cold-calling stranger (and face to face if possible).

 

The land owner would presumably want to know what you intend doing with whatever you recover, and what you will do to restore the mess created to their property in the process, if there is anything "in it for them".

 

IF then you get a green light to proceed, you'd need to plan the who, what, when, how etc, for which no doubt several site surveys would be required - to pinpoint the location, to address plant access routes, any required facilities (Jet Wash/Toilets/Canteen/Car Parking etc), then cover insurance and costs.

 

Such that Rick can then roll up with the kit, dig the hole, drag out the wrecks, load them up, backfill the hole, make good to whatever the landowner has requested, then go home.

 

I'd be happy to consider a small project like this, but am also at the wrong end of the country to make it a realistic proposal... it needs someone local to the site to manage it.

 

Am sure there are other elements which also need to be considered and this is probably a very simplistic view.

 

Tim

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BTW, did you find the guns?

Only the upper turret one, the plane nose dived straight in so a lot of it went deeper than they could safely dig.

The historian gave me some unfired bullets from it that he had made safe... they were all crushed and bent but to me they were as good as gold :)

 

Approach Land Owner - find out if there are plans to recover the vehicles, If not, find out if they would support a plan.

If the winery is still owned by someone who's name begins with AW I know someone who's mum was his PA for many years, could be an in, I will inquire.

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Presumably along these lines...

 

Approach Land Owner - find out if there are plans to recover the vehicles, If not, find out if they would support a plan.

 

This would best be managed through any intermediary who may have greater influence over the persons you need to deal with - a friendly call is always better than a cold-calling stranger (and face to face if possible).

 

The land owner would presumably want to know what you intend doing with whatever you recover, and what you will do to restore the mess created to their property in the process, if there is anything "in it for them".

 

IF then you get a green light to proceed, you'd need to plan the who, what, when, how etc, for which no doubt several site surveys would be required - to pinpoint the location, to address plant access routes, any required facilities (Jet Wash/Toilets/Canteen/Car Parking etc), then cover insurance and costs.

 

Such that Rick can then roll up with the kit, dig the hole, drag out the wrecks, load them up, backfill the hole, make good to whatever the landowner has requested, then go home.

 

I'd be happy to consider a small project like this, but am also at the wrong end of the country to make it a realistic proposal... it needs someone local to the site to manage it.

 

Am sure there are other elements which also need to be considered and this is probably a very simplistic view.

 

Tim

 

Yes, thinking onwards locating the object will be the main challenge, as volunteers getting a loan of things like ground radar could be expensive unless can persuade a university or company to donate. Trial holes may also be needed to check location.

It does get interesting to think about it, don't want a repeat of the Polish Nazi Gold Train

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Presumably along these lines...

 

Approach Land Owner - find out if there are plans to recover the vehicles, If not, find out if they would support a plan.

 

This would best be managed through any intermediary who may have greater influence over the persons you need to deal with - a friendly call is always better than a cold-calling stranger (and face to face if possible).

 

The land owner would presumably want to know what you intend doing with whatever you recover, and what you will do to restore the mess created to their property in the process, if there is anything "in it for them".

 

IF then you get a green light to proceed, you'd need to plan the who, what, when, how etc, for which no doubt several site surveys would be required - to pinpoint the location, to address plant access routes, any required facilities (Jet Wash/Toilets/Canteen/Car Parking etc), then cover insurance and costs.

 

Such that Rick can then roll up with the kit, dig the hole, drag out the wrecks, load them up, backfill the hole, make good to whatever the landowner has requested, then go home.

 

I'd be happy to consider a small project like this, but am also at the wrong end of the country to make it a realistic proposal... it needs someone local to the site to manage it.

 

Am sure there are other elements which also need to be considered and this is probably a very simplistic view.

 

Tim

 

-------------

 

You forgot the all important ' Risk Assessment(s) ' + line of supervision (the ultimate person to blame) ,,

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i know i'm an optomist and always see things as fairly straight forward so bear with me but why do we need any health and safety or insurance or any other cr@p. we aren't professionals and there won't be a crowd milling about spectating. i don't see a problem with us getting the permissions and i'm sure the location of at least one tank has already been ascertained. i reckon a recovery would take the following order

 

1. get permission and tank location (might only take one phone call)

2. physical recce with digging equipment to find the tank and it's depth and orientation in the ground and come up with recovery plan.

3. go back with digger and whatever else was deemed necessary then dig it out and load it up

4. make good the groundworks and head off into the sunset

 

doesn't need to be any more complicated than that

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i know i'm an optomist and always see things as fairly straight forward so bear with me but why do we need any health and safety or insurance or any other cr@p. we aren't professionals and there won't be a crowd milling about spectating. i don't see a problem with us getting the permissions and i'm sure the location of at least one tank has already been ascertained. i reckon a recovery would take the following order

 

1. get permission and tank location (might only take one phone call)

2. physical recce with digging equipment to find the tank and it's depth and orientation in the ground and come up with recovery plan.

3. go back with digger and whatever else was deemed necessary then dig it out and load it up

4. make good the groundworks and head off into the sunset

 

doesn't need to be any more complicated than that

 

Can be but thinking out load, what about oils still on board, need a wash down area so that no pollution, could be only dirt and can go back in the excavation.

Risk assessment would be an idea if people complain to the Health and Safety, also do we assume there could be ordnance still on board, just thinking of some jobs where we had bomb disposal on site in case we found some thing.

 

Also would suggest needed for the extraction, hopefully recce would find out if we needed a ramp or could lift out, lifting out could mean trying to loosen sticky mud underneath

Edited by Surveyor
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i know i'm an optomist and always see things as fairly straight forward so bear with me but why do we need any health and safety or insurance or any other cr@p.

1. get permission and tank location (might only take one phone call)

2. physical recce with digging equipment to find the tank and it's depth and orientation in the ground and come up with recovery plan.

3. go back with digger and whatever else was deemed necessary then dig it out and load it up

4. make good the groundworks and head off into the sunset

 

doesn't need to be any more complicated than that

and there's this. People who make wine are happy, guys who run scrap yards in Germany are grouchy, so you're already better off than last time :-D

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i'll do the recce and once the tank is out of the hole any cr@p we find that we don't want can go back in it before we fill it. (if it came out i don't see what harm we can do by putting it back where it came from). however if there is significant contamination and they want it removed then a few 1 ton bulk bags would do the job and could go on the low loader with the tank and back to my yard in manchester where i will make it disappear.

all i can say is that if someone gets me on i will be leaving with the tank :)

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i'll do the recce and once the tank is out of the hole any cr@p we find that we don't want can go back in it before we fill it. (if it came out i don't see what harm we can do by putting it back where it came from). however if there is significant contamination and they want it removed then a few 1 ton bulk bags would do the job and could go on the low loader with the tank and back to my yard in manchester where i will make it disappear.

all i can say is that if someone gets me on i will be leaving with the tank :)

 

That's fair enough, hopefully that wont be needed, again thinking out loud, as we have removed a tank, not sure how many cubic metres in volume, where would we source back fill to level the site

Edited by Surveyor
spellin
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i was thinking about the same thing. how many cubic yards would a covenanter fill. i estimate 3 wide, 6 long and 1 1/2 high so about 27 yds which is 27 ton of soil, which equates to 2 loads from your average tipper. if we used turfing soil then it would be around £400 but access is everything if the tipper can't get to the dig site then we'd need a dumper as well

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i know i'm an optomist and always see things as fairly straight forward so bear with me but why do we need any health and safety or insurance or any other cr@p. we aren't professionals and there won't be a crowd milling about spectating. i don't see a problem with us getting the permissions and i'm sure the location of at least one tank has already been ascertained. i reckon a recovery would take the following order

 

1. get permission and tank location (might only take one phone call)

2. physical recce with digging equipment to find the tank and it's depth and orientation in the ground and come up with recovery plan.

3. go back with digger and whatever else was deemed necessary then dig it out and load it up

4. make good the groundworks and head off into the sunset

 

doesn't need to be any more complicated than that

 

 

Rick, unfortunately it is a great deal more complicated than that, I am not going to go into all the details as I would take far too much time but let me assure you that whilst you can freely buy or hire any construction machinery that you wish but to then operate that machinery on any land which is not owned by you it will cost you many thousands of pounds for the appropriate insurance, licences etc and no businessman worth his salt would let you anywhere near his property without those essentials. Sorry to pour cold water on your optimism.

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Rick, unfortunately it is a great deal more complicated than that, I am not going to go into all the details as I would take far too much time but let me assure you that whilst you can freely buy or hire any construction machinery that you wish but to then operate that machinery on any land which is not owned by you it will cost you many thousands of pounds for the appropriate insurance, licences etc and no businessman worth his salt would let you anywhere near his property without those essentials. Sorry to pour cold water on your optimism.

 

Good point, may be an informal chat with HSE to start with

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Good point, may be an informal chat with HSE to start with

 

It would be much cheaper to hire a local machine with operator, all responsibility then lies with him should anything go wrong provided that you have checked that he holds the appropriate CITB licence, carries the correct insurance and that the machine has been recently tested.

Edited by Degsy
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Having read the above I wouldn't bother and I wouldn't bother to get out of bed either. I thought Job had it bad in the Bible but poor Rick should be frightened to leave his front door let alone pick up a spade. It is almost like a list of things why not to do anything, is this the attitude that encouraged men to set sail and discover 'new' countries and enslave millions for the British Empire?

 

How many projects on here would be done if a risk assessment was carried out first? Every vehicle I've bought I have had doubts about as in Why? But then just got on with it.

 

Surely the simplest thing to do is ring up the owners and ask can I dig up your tank, if no then game over...... But if yes!

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There is always more than one way to look at something. You take the two opposites and end up somewhere near the middle. You have to at least explore what can go wrong before diving in. Ignore that little voice in the back of your head at your peril

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I drive past the winery every day, just lacking the GPR :)

For many years I worked alongside a local historian who knew of the tanks. he had lived in Dorking all his life and saw them burried. Sadly he died 30 years ago so no chance of more info.

 

He had his own maps of all the downed planes and V1's that came down in the area. He took me on a dig once, they were trying to recover the guns from a Heinkel 111 that crashed in Blackbrook, as a kid he had got to the crash site before the home guard got there and recovered the top end of the steering yoke, and discovered that the ball races were marked "made in Birmingham"!

 

It sounds like David Knight (long deceased) who told me about the recovery of the Covenanter. I think many of the previous comments are 'pie in the sky'. Who would seriously expect a award winning multi million pound business to allow heavy plant in to trash a sizeable area unless by chance they were going to develop that site anyway? I should think that they are aware of the remaining tanks and would have suitable contacts (i.e. Bovington) to call.

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The winery is a business premises , therefore must be a employer (full details - as defined in various H&S legislation)

 

The winery will always be the principal as long as they own / lease the land. Therefore - they are the ' employer ' as defined by :-

 

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

 

In the event of any injury or certain type of incident(s) on their premises then the winery would have to complete the RIDDOR form.

 

---------

 

Of course the Greek language students drafting all the legislation , there will be key words where there are (conveniently) no meaning explained in any 'Definitions' Section of the Act / Regulation. So if in the past a previous judgement has not been made - then it is a court case.

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