Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Consultants in the West Midlands
Trusted ground investigation, site assessment, and engineering consultancy delivering across Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry and the wider Midlands region.
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North West & Midlands
Faraday Wharf, Holt Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B7 4BB
Phone: 0191 917 2310
Email: info@northpointgeotechnical.com
Hours: Mon–Fri 08:30–17:00
Specialist Ground Engineering for the West Midlands
From our Birmingham office, we deliver geotechnical and geoenvironmental consulting across Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, and throughout the wider Midlands region. The area’s geology is equally complex, with extensive Coal Measures and abandoned mine workings, Mercia Mudstone prone to heave and dissolution features, river alluvium and glacial tills in valleys, and a legacy of brownfield industrial land. These conditions bring risks of subsidence, swelling clays, contamination, and groundwater challenges that demand careful investigation and design.
Northpoint’s chartered engineers deliver tailored Phase 1 Desk Studies, Phase 2 Ground Investigations, and practical foundation and temporary works design aligned with BS 5930, Eurocode 7, and NHBC/CIRIA standards. Whether you’re redeveloping brownfield plots in Birmingham, planning housing on former colliery land in the Black Country, or building infrastructure across the Coventry-Warwick corridor, we design investigations that reduce uncertainty, de-risk delivery, and keep costs under control.
Typical regional risks we manage:
Coal mining legacy & shallow workings - CMRA reports, rotary probing, grout stabilisation or piled foundations.
Mercia Mudstone shrink/swell & dissolution - ground movement assessment, heave precautions, and foundation design.
Brownfield contamination & ground gas - risk assessment, remediation, and protection measures.
Soft alluvium & compressible deposits - settlement analysis, ground improvement or piling.
Floodplain & groundwater issues - SuDS infiltration testing, drainage design and temporary works advice.
Explore our Services
Recent Regional Projects
A few West Midlands highlights that show our local ground risks, methods, and deliverables:
Where We Work in the West Midlands
Local delivery from our Birmingham office across the West Midlands and surrounding counties. Browse key locations across Birmingham & the Black Country, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire & Telford, and Herefordshire.
Trusted & Accredited in the West Midlands
To give Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, and wider West Midlands clients complete confidence, our regional team holds nationally recognised accreditations that demonstrate safe, compliant delivery in geotechnical engineering, ground investigation, and geoenvironmental consultancy. These memberships also streamline procurement for councils, housing associations, and principal contractors across the Midlands, ensuring projects move forward quickly and with full regulatory assurance.
Local Regulations & Ground Context — West Midlands
Every West Midlands project touches different rules and different ground. Use this quick explorer to see the likely regulators, datasets and typical subsurface conditions we design for across Birmingham & the Black Country, Coventry & Warwickshire, Staffordshire and the wider region.
1) Choose your sub-area
Birmingham & the Black Country (Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell)
- Typical ground: Extensive Made Ground over Glacial Till; Etruria Marl & Coal Measures bedrock.
- Common risks: shallow coal workings, mine entries, historic industrial contamination, ground gas, limestone dissolution.
- Design implications: piling through variable fill, comprehensive mining risk assessments, remediation strategies.
- Key bodies: Black Country/Birmingham LPAs; EA; Coal Authority; Severn Trent Water; Canal & River Trust.
Coventry & Warwickshire (Nuneaton, Rugby, Leamington Spa)
- Typical ground: Glacial Till & river terrace deposits (River Avon); Mercia Mudstone Group bedrock.
- Common risks: shrink–swell clays, high sulfate content in ground, localised soft alluvium.
- Design implications: foundation design for clay heave/shrinkage, sulfate-resistant concrete, flood risk near rivers.
- Key bodies: Coventry/Warwickshire LPAs; EA; Severn Trent Water; HS2 consents where applicable.
Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent
- Typical ground: Glacial deposits, extensive Coal Measures & Mercia Mudstone; significant Made Ground from potteries.
- Common risks: widespread shallow mining, contaminated fill from industry, slope stability issues, ground gas.
- Design implications: robust mining investigations, specialist contamination testing, earthworks design.
- Key bodies: Stoke/Staffs LPAs; Coal Authority; EA; Severn Trent Water; National Highways (M6).
Shropshire & Telford
- Typical ground: Complex geology; Glacial deposits over Permo-Triassic sandstones & older bedrock.
- Common risks: historic mining (coal and metals near Ironbridge), slope instability in the Severn Gorge.
- Design implications: non-coal mining assessments, slope stability analysis, variable foundation design on rock.
- Key bodies: Shropshire/Telford & Wrekin Councils; Coal Authority; EA; Severn Trent Water; English Heritage.
Worcestershire & Herefordshire
- Typical ground: River terrace deposits (Severn, Wye); Mercia Mudstone bedrock; localised peat.
- Common risks: widespread flooding, soft compressible alluvium, shrink-swell clays, landslips (e.g., Malvern Hills).
- Design implications: Flood Risk Assessments, piling solutions, foundations for expansive clays, slope analysis.
- Key bodies: Worcestershire/Herefordshire Councils; EA; Severn Trent/Dŵr Cymru; Natural England.
2) What are you building?
3) Likely approvals & datasets you’ll need
This checklist is indicative. We confirm site-specific requirements through formal enquiries, PAS 128 surveys and a Phase 1 Desk Study.
NEXT STEPS
Discuss Your Project with Our Birmingham Team
Need expert geotechnical or geoenvironmental advice in Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, or across the Midlands? Our local team delivers safe, compliant ground investigation and design support from feasibility through to construction sign-off.
Email: info@northpointgeotechnical.com | Tel: 0191 917 2310
Or contact us online to discuss your project requirements.