ABSTRACT
Any urban renewal project will, almost certainly, bring with it a multiplicity of problems. It should always go without saying that, when contemplating the redevelopment of a site which has previously been used for some other purpose, great care should be taken so as to overcome any problems which may remain hidden from sight. Fleming (1991) observed that in an industrialized community such as Europe, much of the land used for redevelopment has a history of previous uses and went on to point out that the state of such land is often so poor as to be unsuitable for continued use or re-use without major land engineering works. The cost of such works will, in many instances, have a significant effect on the viability of a redevelopment project. Such costs may well be far in excess of the reclaimed value of the land in question and, in such circumstances, the balance of a potentially successful urban regeneration project may well be tipped from profit into substantial loss.
