Thousands of years of glaciation, river action and sea level change have created the unique East Anglian landscape. Hidden beneath the surface is a bewildering variety of loose soils, often subject to water saturation or unexpected collapse.

For centuries, man's activities have been dominated by these ground conditions, and they have in turn further moulded the landscape by excavation, filling, contamination and all kinds of local disturbance.

So today we are faced with inherent uncertainty about what exists at depth.There can be major implications for the value of the land, its fitness for the intended use, the suitability of particular foundations or the risk of future environmental liabilities. Other areas of potential uncertainty might include the extent of archaeological remains or the existence of water/aggregate resources.

Modern engineering and remediation methods can overcome most ground problems - but only if based on reliable site investigation beforehand.