Contaminated Land
Land
contamination in its broadest sense describes a general spectrum of
site and soil conditions. It can include areas with elevated levels
of naturally occurring substances, as well as specific sites that
have been occupied by former industrial uses, which may have left a
legacy of contamination from operational activities or from waste
disposal.
It can also include areas of land in which substances are
present as a result of direct or indirect events, such as
accidents, spillages, aerial deposition or migration.
In general terms these circumstances can be described as ‘land
affected by contamination’. However, for any individual site the
land owner or other interested person faces two questions:
- Does the contamination matter and, if so
- What needs to be done about it?
The answers to both questions depend to some
extent on when the contamination happened. For ‘new’
contamination, the accepted principle is that deterioration of the
environment needs to be avoided. This principle underlies the
approach in legal regimes aimed at controlling potentially
polluting activities.
However, Government policy recognises that
when dealing with past contamination, the opportunity to maintain a
clean environment has already passed. In deciding whether
contamination matters, the amount of, or concentration of, any
contamination present is always going to be a significant factor,
but it does not provide the whole answer. It is also
necessary to consider to what extent the substances present may
harm human health or the wider environment, including damage to
property such as buildings. In short, what risk, if any, is
caused by exposure to the contaminants and is that risk
acceptable?
Is there any land affected by contamination within Ashford
Borough?
With an industrial history based upon activities such as railway
engineering and brick making it is no surprise to learn that some
land affected by contamination is likely to be present. However,
the opportunity to address this legacy of contamination often
arises when the land is redeveloped. Environmental Services play a
major role in securing the safe redevelopment of land by working
closely with developers and environmental consultants to ensure
that land is ‘suitable for use’.
The Council has also prepared an inspection strategy to fulfill
its legal duty under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act
1990. If you wish to read the strategy please refer to the link
below.
Disclosure of Environmental Information
General awareness of land affected by contamination has
increased since Part IIA of the Act was introduced in April 2000.
Although not a statutory requirement, land condition reports and
environmental searches often raise issues relating to the previous
use of land and potential purchasers may seek further information
from the Council.
The Council will normally respond to such requests in accordance
with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and a
minimum fee of £50.00 + VAT will be imposed. Such requests should
preferably be submitted in writing with a suitable plan identifying
the land in question. Any requests that are likely to require
research in excess of one hour will be charged at a further £50.00
per hour.
Please note that the Council does not certify the land as ‘free
from contamination’ because it is relying upon an historical land
use dataset rather than site specific sampling and analysis.
Useful Information
The following links provide access to further information:
Could Your Property Sale/Purchase be Affected by Land
Contamination?
See our FAQ section.
Further Information
For further information please email Richard Woodcock
or telephone on 01233 330225
This webpage was updated on
2/10/2012