Rank: New forum user 
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Good Afternoon, I am a CDM Coordinator based within an Architectural Consultancy. We have been asked to design a building at the local port, the site is within close proximity of two COMAH sites; oil refinery and bulk hazardous storage facility on the docks.
Could anyone advise if there are any specific design factors that we must incorporate for the protection of the inhabitents in the event of an incident from these two sites?
Any guidence will be gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance.....
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Rank: Super forum user 
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andrew,
try this :- "http://www.hse.gov.uk/landuseplanning/index.htm
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Rank: Super forum user
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From memory - didn't something come out of the Buncefield Enquiry about this very subject?
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Rank: Super forum user
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The first question will be whether you are actually allowed to build in the area. Assuming the answer is yes you will need to talk to the adjacent companies to find out abut any requirements. They will have carried out hazard and risk analyses and prepared a COMAH report. This will tell you if you are building in a risk area and hence what you need to consider.
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Rank: New forum user
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Thanks for your comments, The website was most helpful redken thanks for that.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Speak to the site!
They will be able to provide information and accident scenarios you may encounter, it's their risk to manage!
If you are building within their PIZ you will be entitled to certain information anyway.
As for planning not sure how it has changed re; Buncefield, but when I worked in COMAH the presence of our site didn't appear to stop the council granting planning permission!
(Apparently this is very different in France (I recall Merv speaking on the topic)
We had offices built in the field where the lid of a reactor was meant to end up in if things went really wrong!
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Rank: Super forum user
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Andrew
Also do a google search for PADHI.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Andrew:
the simple answer to your query (as ever...) is "it depends..."
What is the facility you are building? If a school or care home for the elderly then the requirements are going to be very different than for (say) a port control building...
Is the facility within the Consultation zone of either of the COMAH facilities? (you suggest 'close proximity' but this is largely meaningless unless 'close' is defined...)
HSE practice generally is to oppose all or most development in the statutory consultation zones on the basis that any development will bring in new people and hence raise the risk... They generally do not take account of any risk reduction that may occur e.g. by replacing a school with 1000 pupils with a port control building with 5 staff...
If during statutaory consultation, your development does fall foul of HSE requirements (they advise the LA Planning team to refuse permission) then it is still sometimes possible to persuade the planning authority to ignore the HSE advice. There's a good chance the plans will then be appealed and 'called in'. It is still possible to 'win' but the process can take many years and may require specialist technical consultancy support which is rarely cheap.
So at the very least - make inquiry with the site operators, establish their requirements, then make inquiry with the local plannners, and establish their requirements, then make inquiry with CHID (or whatever their acronym may be) and find out how strongly they may oppose the proposals.
Do all this up front or your practice could be designing something for building next year that (at best) won't be built for ten years (if ever). If the client is willing to pay - then fair enough (if morally questionable), but you can shortcut an awful lot of delay, expense and heartache if you make the right inquiries at the outset.
A good consultancy will be able to provide support and point you in the right direction. I am not employed in one at the moment, but am happy to make recommendation if you PM me.
Steve
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Rank: Super forum user
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Contrary to Steve's comment, call in by HSE is VERY rare. HSE has recently revised its call in policy (which remains essentially as previously) at www.hse.gov.uk/landusepl.../advice.htm#callinpolicy (which points out that HSE has only requested call-in on five occasions in 30 years) and at www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/hid/spc/spctg49.htm The latter comments: “It is an exceptional course of action for HSE to request that an application be called-in and it will only consider doing so in cases of exceptional concern or where important safety or policy issues are at stake. HSE will normally consider its role to be discharged when it is satisfied that the HSA/PA has given HSE’s advice the most careful consideration and it is acting in full understanding of that advice and the consequences that could follow”. If your development is only one cell away from where PADHI would indicate the likelihood of a Do Not Advise Against response from HSE, then it is unlikely that HSE would ask for the application to be called in. HSE stated policy is that it's for the Land Use Planning Authority to consider any societal benefits including safety benefits that accrue from a development. As Steve indicates that the risk is reduced big time by replacing school with a port operations building does not impact on HSE thinking!!
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Rank: New forum user
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Thanks for all your advice, the Building is a Border Inspection Post for the EHO. We have a meeting this week, I can ask all the pertinent questions to both the client and the Port Authority. Thank you all again it has been an enlightening experience.
Regards
Andy
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