Contaminated Land
Contaminated land is any land that may cause significant harm to people, animals, buildings, ecological systems or cause the pollution of water due to the presence of substances on, in and under the land. Contamination of land arises mainly from industrial processes, waste disposal and accidental spillages.
The council has published a Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy for identifying contaminated land within its District.
Contaminated Land Register
In accordance with Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Contaminated Land (England) Regulations, the Council is required to maintain a Public Register of information relating to contaminated land. The Public Register is not register of sites determined to have contamination present, nor those which are potentially contaminated, nor the sites which have been investigated as part of the Inspection Strategy.
The Register serves only as a permanent record of all regulatory action undertaken to ensure the remediation of any site which has been determined to be contaminated land as defined by the Regulations.
The Part IIA Register currently has no entries.
Contaminated Land Enquiries
If the land has been used for an industrial activity or for the land filling of waste, then contamination may be present. This Department can carry out a provisional search on your behalf although a fee may be chargeable. A search, when carried out on behalf of a private domestic householder, is currently free. Searches carried out on behalf of a Solicitors or consultants, will be charged the fee of £74.26 plus Vat.
Searches can also be carried out by one of several national organisations who also offer this service using information taken from national registers. They will also charge a fee. However, information about assessments or investigations carried out by this Directorate will only be available via us.
Our records include information relating to historical land use, authorised industrial processes, licensed waste disposal sites, closed landfill sites, pollution incidents and radon gas. Your search request will need to specify what information is required.
A search can take up to 3 working days, depending on its complexity.
Contaminated Land Investigations
To assess the level of any contamination, it will be necessary for you to carry out a preliminary desk top study and site investigation.
In most cases contamination on land will only pose a risk if a receptor i.e. a person, animal, building, ecological systems or watercourse is exposed to it. Therefore for land to be declared contaminated there must be a source of pollution and a receptor with a pathway linking the two. This approach is known as a pollutant linkage. Further information on this issue can be downloaded from the DEFRA contaminated land website.
Where land is identified as contaminated land, then the Council is under a duty to require it to be remediated. Where the risk is to a water course then the site may be classified as a special site and enforcement transfers to the Environment Agency. In serving notice and recovering costs the legislation follows the "polluter pays" principle. However, where the polluter cannot be found then the liability may rest with the current landowner.
It is becoming more common for a site investigation to be necessary when Brownfield land (this is mainly industrial/commercial land) is redeveloped. Redeveloping land can result in changes to pathways and receptors resulting in a site being reclassified as contaminated land. In addition remediation through redevelopment is encouraged in planning guidance. This Directorate has therefore prepared brief guidance for developers to assist them in preparing a desk top study and site investigation, which can be downloaded from this page (see documents)
Investigation work may include the sinking of boreholes, excavation of trial pits, soil and groundwater analysis, risk assessments and the formulation of a remediation strategy. This is specialist work and will require the assistance of a consultant in contaminated land.
Useful information sites;
Construction Industry Research and Information Association.
CIRIA is a UK-based research association concerned with improving the performance of all involved in construction and the environment. It contains some useful information about contaminated land.
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
The professional organisation for Environmental Health Officers. It contains news on legislation and the profession
The Environment Agency
The leading public body for protecting air, land and water and improving the environment in England and Wales.
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