Contaminated land
The UK has areas of land which have had a previous industrial use, which may have resulted in elevated levels of contamination.
Every Council in the UK is required to inspect their district to identify sites where there is the potential for contamination to exist from previous site uses.
Land which is identified as potentially having a previous potentially contaminative use is turned brought back into a useful state either by the site being redeveloped through the planning process or under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act.
Development on contaminated land through the planning process
Most contaminated sites will be dealt with by redevelopment through the planning system.
We work with developers and their agents to ensure that all conditions are met and discharged.
We have worked with the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Pollution Advisory Group (YALPAG) to produce a series of guidance document for developers and their consultants. These can be accessed here.
The documents available include:
- development on Land Affected by Contamination: Technical Guidance for Developers. Landowners and Consultants (to provide guidance on large developments and medium to high-risk sites)
- Screening Assessment form (to be completed for low-risk sites).
We have also developed a joint contaminated land strategy to detail what we do to prevent land from contamination. Read the joint strategy
Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990
To comply with this legislation the council has developed a ‘Prioritisation List’ which contains all potentially contaminated land within Broadland and South Norfolk. Each site is assessed and where necessary physically investigated to assess the significance contamination. If the risk is assessed as being significant then the site can be determined as contaminated land, at which point the site is placed on our Contaminated Land Register.
once a site has been determined as contaminated land the councils have a duty to ensure that the site is remediated such that no significant harm or significant possibility of significant harm remains. To achieve this, we try to encourage informal action by the polluter or landowner, but if this is not possible legal action may be taken.
Contaminated Land Register
There are currently no sites within South Norfolk and Broadland that have been determined as contaminated land as defined in Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as amended).
Reporting a spillage or potentially contaminated site
If you are aware of a spillage or a site which has had a potentially contaminative history, we would like to hear from you as local knowledge is a valuable source of information which we rely on when we have no information from maps.
Conveyancing – environmental searches
There is an increased awareness amongst mortgage lenders and solicitors of possible liabilities associated with contaminated land. Consequently, it has become increasingly common for solicitors and conveyancers to undertake an environmental search through a private company.
The searches are generally based on information obtained from historical maps, local authorities, and the Environment Agency. If a search shows the presence of a past industrial activity, on or in the vicinity of a property, it raises the possibility that a source of contamination may be present. In these cases, it is common practice for the solicitors to contact us for further information relating to the site. Our response will generally include our assessment of the risk associated with the site and a timeframe for any investigation.