Paddock full of rubble - advice?

[HazelHoney]

I have the chance to take on a convenient field near me but it’s full of builder’s rubble - it’s next to some barn conversions so the builders used the field to put the rubble from the demolished buildings etc. Is it worth attempting to shift all the rubble and make the field back to grazing? I have a suitable location to dump the waste but I’m not sure what I’m letting myself in for in terms of cost of hiring someone with a digger and lorry to cart it out, plus the cost of getting the field right afterwards, eg, would if need topsoil or could I use farm manure? It’s about an acre and surrounding fields are clay soil. Ideally want it for my horses but if not for horse grazing would it be useful for sheep or cultivation? Or should I just turn away and not take on the potential stress and expense! Thanks for any help!

 

[Jellymoon]

It will be work to get it useable, but if
You have a good person to get rid of it and somewhere to put it, might be worth jt. I’m no expert, but we had a lot of rubble to get rid of at our field and grass recovered really well, bit too well! We had topsoil put down and reseeded. Also about an acre. Was def worth it for me as I now have a field next to my house.

 

[ycbm]

Have you allowed for the licence you'll need to move waste off site? Old farm buildings will often contain asbestos, too, and if that's been dumped it's a serious and expensive problem. I think I'd be very wary of taking that on unless you're sure it's clean and there was planning consent to dump it there in the first place.
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[HazelHoney]

Have you allowed for the licence you'll need to move waste off site? Old farm buildings will often contain asbestos, too, and if that's been dumped it's a serious and expensive problem. I think I'd be very wary of taking that on unless you're sure it's clean and there was planning consent to dump it there in the first place.
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Thanks for this!

 

[HazelHoney]

It will be work to get it useable, but if
You have a good person to get rid of it and somewhere to put it, might be worth jt. I’m no expert, but we had a lot of rubble to get rid of at our field and grass recovered really well, bit too well! We had topsoil put down and reseeded. Also about an acre. Was def worth it for me as I now have a field next to my house.

Thanks for your post. Like you as it's so convenient it is very tempting. Can you remember how much topsoil you had to buy? eg, in tonnes?

 

[Red-1]

I know nothing about the technicalities, but of the surrounding area is all clay and the rubble is just that, I would be tempted to spread the rubble flat around the site and then roll with an industrial roller. It would be less bottomless come winter. Plus quicker and cheaper than removing.

 

[PeterNatt]

If you are not going to buy the field then forget it as it will cost a fortune to get the rubble removed by a legal contractor and safely sorted and disposed of.
If the rubble was dumped recently then unless the builders obtained the consents required to dump the rubble in the field then what they have done is illegal and the local authority will be able to serve an enforcement notice on them to safely remove it.

 

[JumpTheMoon1]

It can be done with the right people and equipment .Also there will be things you cannot see just under the ground so get a metal detector if you do clear the rubble and scan for any metal which will in time surface and will be dangerous to horses.

 

[Quigleyandme]

Could you not hire a digger to dig a big hole and bury the rubble in situ?

 

[honetpot]

You can people who clean land, they put it through a 'sieve', its used for things like clay shoots and clearing glass, I know someone who used one, but I can not find a link. The other way is to bury it, level it off as best you can, and then put topsoil on top. I am still picking up rubble out of my field, after ten years, but really it is not a problem to the horses.
I made the mistake of having a paddock power harrowed and it brought up stuff that had been buried, including a Bronze Age (I think) tool.