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Throughout the UK there are thousands of sites that have been contaminated by past activities or practices. These may present a threat to the environment and pose a risk to human health. Many of these sites are cleaned up during the planning process as the government has encouraged building on "Brownfield sites", land that has been used for industrial purposes in the past. Some sites however may remain that may cause a risk if they are left as they are.
In response to this the government introduced legislation in 2000 that required local authorities to inspect their areas from time to time to identify contaminated land and to publish a written strategy laying out how they will do this.
We have produced a Contaminated Land Strategy which outlines how we will deal with contaminated land in the borough. It describes how we will identify and prioritise sites for further investigation, as well as information about liability, enforcement and remediation; and contacts that we draw on for advice and expertise when we conduct investigation.
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Contaminated land is defined as land where:
Significant harm is being caused or there is significant possibility of such harm being caused.
or
Pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be, caused.
The term 'harm' is used here to describe damage to any of the following:
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When we identify a site as being contaminated land there is a formal determination process. We then have to set about having the site "remediated" or brought to a condition that does not pose a risk of harm.
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When land has been identified as being contaminated then the details involved in dealing with that issue are help on a public register available from the offices at Menzies road. At the time of writing (March 2004) the only entries on our register relate to the fire at the former Broomgrove power station.
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We receive a growing number of enquiries about potential contamination as a result of questions solicitors are asking during property purchases. We are able to answer such questions only where they relate to known facts and information regarding our work under the Contaminated land legislation. We are not able to act in the role of a consultant providing interpretation of facts or advice to purchasers that goes beyond our duties under the legislation.
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Download the Download the Contaminated Land Strategy (.pdf 480Kb).
(You may find it useful to read our Help before downloading information.)
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The following sites contain further information about contaminated land:
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For further advice on matters relating to contaminated land please contact our Environmental Protection section.
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This page last updated: 02/03/2004