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Terrafirma new reports! Available now on tmconvey, here’s a handy round-up of their new Ground Report and CON29M…

NEW: Ground Report from Terrafirma

The Terrafirma Ground Report has arrived TODAY on tmconvey, featuring expert risk assessment and analysis on all ground risks and liabilities.

Click here to see a sample report

The Terrafirma Ground Report translates the risk from mining activity, subsidence, sinkholes, radon, fracking, mineral planning activity and more. It also includes Terrafirma’s official CON29M report, as well as never-seen before data and technology driven solutions to analyse the potential impact of man-made and natural ground perils on property transactions.

Key features 

> Pass rate over 97%

> £10 million Professional Indemnity

> 100% of the risk of reporting on mining and natural ground perils is transferred to Terrafirma

> Professional opinion with dynamic and colour coded next steps

> NEW User Key : Highlighting key actions for conveyancers, lenders and purchasers

> Integrated Con29M : Satisfying The Law Society CON29M (2018) guidance report

> SinkholeALERT

> Accepted by all lenders

Pricing 

NOW AVAILABLE: Terrafirma’s CON29M

The Terrafirma CON29M Report is the new official alternative to the Coal Authority CON29M.

Click here to see a sample report

Key features

> Official data licensed from the Coal Authority

> Expert interpreted answers to all 11 questions (14 for commercial)

> Liability for professional opinion passing to Terrafirma

> £10 million Professional Indemnity

> Satisfies the Law Society CON29M (2018) guidance report

Pricing 

Will I still be able to order the Coal Authority’s CON29M? 

Yes, of course. The Coal Authority’s CON29M will continue to be available to order on tmconvey. You’ll now just have a choice of two products, instead of one.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your Account Manager, or our Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571, or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk.

Terrafirma have advised us that they will be making some changes to their pricing on 1st September 2018. 

This includes price increases for a select number of site size bandings on their Coal Extra reports, as well as the introduction of a new site size banding for their Assess reports. 

These changes will be applied automatically to any orders made on tmconvey on or after 1st September.

You can find the full details in the table below: 

If you have any questions, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with our friendly Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

The Law Society is making some important new changes with respect to Mining and Natural Ground Perils which will be covered in the soon to be released 25th Edition of its Conveyancing Handbook. 

Mining and ground report specialist, Terrafirma, is launching a three-part coffee-break webinar series to ensure that you have all of the relevant information at your fingertips. 

Starting on Tuesday 11th September and led by Terrafirma CEO, Tom Backhouse, they will be no more than 15 minutes in length and are designed to give you all of the necessary information including what the changes are, how they impact you and what the benefits are to you and your clients.  

Please register your interest and attendance for each webinar via the following links. A download of the webinar will be made available to pre-registered attendees following each event.

Part 1 : Important Changes to The Law Society Conveyancing Law Handbook

Time : 11am (BST) 

Date : Tuesday 11th September 2018

Click here to register

2. Introducing the Ground Report 

Time : 11am (BST)

Date : Thursday 13th September 2018

Click here to register

3. The Ground Report, a Step-by-Step Overview 

Time : 11am BST

Date : Tuesday 18 September 2018

Click here to register

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Please note you can also include this webinar attendance in your Annual Compliance Declaration to the SRA.

From Thursday 2nd August, Future Climate Info’s Essential, Standard and Premium Residential reports, as well as their Standard and Premium Commercial reports will be available to order on tmconvey.

You’ll also be able to order their Flood and Energy reports - for Residential and Commercial. 

You can see a summary of the new product suite, along with sample reports here: 

Flood:

> Flood Residential - less than 25 Ha : Click here to see a sample report

> Flood Commercial less than 25 Ha : Click here to see a sample report

Energy:

> Energy Commercial - less than 30Ha : Click here to see a sample report

> Energy Residential - less than 10Ha : Click here to see a sample report

Residential:

> Essential Residential Report 

Meets the minimum requirements of the Law Society’s guidance on flooding and Contaminated Land.

> Environmental

> Flooding 

> Standard Residential Report 

 Contains all of the information from the Essential report and includes Ground Stability data.

> Environmental

> Flooding

> Ground Stability  

> Premium Residential Report 

You can see a sample report here

Contains all of the information from the Standard report and includes data on Energy & Infrastructure such as wind farms, shale gas exploration, and HS2.

> Environmental

> Flooding

> Ground Stability  

> Energy + Infrastructure

Commercial:

> Standard Commercial Report

Contains information on:

> Environmental

> Ground Stability

> Flooding

> Premium Commercial Report

Click here to see a sample report

Contains all of the information from the Standard report and includes data on Energy & Infrastructure such as wind farms, shale gas exploration, and HS2

> Environmental

> Ground Stability

> Flooding

> Energy + Infrastructure

For more information, please speak to your Account Manager, or get in touch with Helpdesk on 0800 840 5571  or helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

Groundsure are pleased to announce that they have updated their Groundsure Avista report with a new Transportation section – including the proposed Crossrail2 route. 

Groundsure offer the only environmental reports in the searches market to feature this data – and this report will be available to order on tmconvey from Thursday 5th July. 

Highlights of the new Transportation section include:

• HS2 Noise and visual impact*

• Proposed Crossrail2 route, stations/headhouses, worksites, safeguarding areas*

• HS2 safeguarding, rural support and homeowner payment zones*

• Historical railways and tunnels

• London Underground and DLR* (also including Tyne and Wear Metro and Glasgow Subway)

* Groundsure offer the only environmental reports in the searches market to feature this data. Data available for Phase 1 of HS2 only.

Groundsure Avista is a a clear and comprehensive risk report 

This latest addition to Groundsure Avista builds on a number of key features, which launched as part of the clear and concise environmental report back in June 2017:

• Improved accuracy and pass rates: Avista reports are based on Land Registry polygon data as standard for the highest level of accuracy, with 106 million data points being analysed to significantly improve pass rates. 

• Clear and concise recommendations: Clearly signposted data with unambiguous recommendations leaves customers better informed, without being overwhelmed by confusing jargon. 

• The average report is less than 20 pages long: The average Avista report is less than 20 pages long, making it simple for conveyancers to hone in on what’s important. 

• Review next steps with a quick glance: The Avista Action Alert saves transaction time and trouble by providing a simple visual guide to the complexity of the environmental factors associated with a property. 

The new and updated Groundsure Avista report is available to order now on tmconvey. Click here to see a sample report.

As part of their annual product review, Argyll have advised us that they will be increasing prices across 6 of their reports on 11th May 2018. 

They will also be retiring their Estate Solutions Brief report. 

These changes will be implemented automatically on the tmconvey platform, and will be reflected in any new orders from 11th May 2018.

Find details below:

Price changes:

Estate Solutions Brief : Retired as of 11th May 2018:

Argyll will also be retiring ‘Estate Solutions Brief’, so we’ve put together some alternative products, also available to order on tmconvey: 

Argyll Site Solutions Residence

This product can be ordered for:

> Residential properties 
> Landed estates (only <10ha as size limit) 

Argyll Estate Solutions Farm

This product can be ordered for:

> Agricultural land/farms
> Any Landed estates

Groundsure Agricultural 

This product can be ordered for:

> Farming sites

If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk on 0844 2499200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

Groundsure have advised us that they will be increasing the price of their Enviro Insight report on 1st May – with price changes across all bandings. 

These changes will be implemented automatically on the tmconvey platform, and will be reflected in any new orders from 1st May 2018. 

The price changes are as follows:

If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk on 0844 2499200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

The new and comprehensive residential environmental risk report – Groundsure Homebuyers Plus – is now available to order on tmconvey. 

Homebuyers Plus offers an enhanced version of the existing Homebuyers report and reviews flood, contaminated land and ground stability – alongside screening other environmental risks such as energy, transportation and planning. 

Key features of Homebuyers Plus:

• Each report has fewer pages (up to 70% less) and only includes relevant data, so there are no blank maps or excessive data – and conveyancers benefit from reduced printing and postage costs. 

• Flood risk assessment now includes new JBA 5 metre groundwater data, in addition to all other flooding sources.  

• It uses Land Registry polygons, and so provides a higher level of accuracy. 

Homebuyers Plus also comes with improved layout and design, as well as clearer navigation, to help improve overall workflow. While clear and practical recommendations offer a “jargon free” explanation and make it easier – and up to 10 minutes quicker – for conveyancers to communicate the results of each report to their clients.

The Groundsure Homebuyers Plus report is now available to order on tmconvey. You can view a sample ‘pass’ report here.

About Groundsure

Groundsure is a market leading specialist transforming environmental data into location intelligence for the land and property markets. Utilising the latest digital technologies available to enhance the property buying experience for the end user whilst helping lenders to make informed lending decisions.

From Chalk in the South East, to Fireclay in Yorkshire, mining risks vary dramatically across the UK. 

Here are some regional facts and figures to help you better understand the ground beneath your client’s doorstep, as well as your own.

East Midlands

Regional Case Study : 

Mine shaft collapse in Castleton : Derbyshire

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

East of England 

*This is the highest number of sinkhole appearances in the last 24 months across England and Wales. 

Regional case study : 

Hole in Eden Street : Cambridgeshire

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

North East

Regional case study : 

Gateshead School Mine Shaft : Tyne and Wear

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

North West

Regional case study : 

Sinkhole in residential Manchester Street : Greater Manchester

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

South East

Regional case study :

Car swallowed in High Wycombe : Buckinghamshire

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

South West

Regional case study :

Sinkhole opens in Well road : Somerset

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

Wales 

Regional case study : 

Man falls down sinkhole : Bridgend

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

West Midlands

Regional case study :

Huge sinkhole opens up in front of B&B : Staffordshire

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

Yorkshire & Humber

*This is the highest number of Recorded Coal Mine Entries (Coal Authority) in England and Wales. 

Regional case study : 

Garden mineshaft size of Nelson's Column : West Yorkshire

Watch our Mining Risks : Are you prepared? webinar to find out more.

Our "Mining Risks : Are you prepared?" webinar - featuring Tom Backhouse from Terrafirma, alongside Clare Yates from tmgroup - discusses how new data sets are challenging traditional assumptions about mining risks.

Imagine being told that you only have 15 minutes to pack a bag and leave your family home. That’s the reality residents of Ripon, North Yorkshire, faced back in 2016 when a sinkhole opened up and swallowed their garages, outhouses and even their garden plants. All in all, 10 houses were evacuated and it took 46 months to rebuild their gardens – and their lives. 

That was just one of the many cases explored in the new 3-part TV documentary series “Sinkholes”, which aired this week on Channel 5, revealing the true extent of sinkhole devastation. Additional cases included yet another sinkhole (35ft deep!) in Ripon that had split a house in two, as well as a housing estate in Hemel Hempstead that had been evacuated when a sinkhole not only damaged houses and roads, but damaged pipes and threated a gas leak explosion! 

While these incidents are barely comprehendible, they are superseded by the devastation routinely experienced in Florida, where sinkholes have been known to swallow entire houses in less than 30 minutes – and even cost lives. 

The ground is simply dissolving beneath these homes 

So what is causing all of these problems? Although thousands of miles apart, Florida and Ripon have one thing in common : The ground beneath their homes is made of a substance that dissolves in acid rain. For Florida, this is Limestone. For Ripon, Gypsum. 

Over time, water trickles underground, dissolving the rock and creating caverns. When the weight above them gets too much, the ground collapses into the void creating holes on the surface that take anything and everything down with them. 

The fear of the unknown is what’s really keeping people awake at night

While these cases certainly make for scary reading, the fear of the unknown is even harder to live with – especially for residents of Ripon and Florida who know it is a question of ‘where’ and not ‘if’ another sinkhole will open up in their neighbourhood. 

Fortunately, The British Geological Survey are working extensively in areas such as Ripon to map a true picture of the land beneath the ground. Similar bodies in America are making good use of technology and data too, to help ensure that new houses won’t be built in areas of high risk.  

Terrafirma have also released new interactive mapping tools to make it easier for the general public and their conveyancers to see the full extent of the risks beneath their door steps – simply by adding in their postcode. 

You can try it here: 

Find out more about sinkholes 

To try Terrafirma’s full range of interactive tools and find out what’s going on beneath your doorstep, please visit : https://www.terrafirmasearch.co.uk/understand-the-ground/ 

You can also tune into the rest of the Channel 5 “Sinkholes” series on Mondays at 8pm : http://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/fzn9yf/sinkholes-buried-underground--s1-e1-sinkholes-buried-underground/