Contaminated Land
- What is contaminated land?
- The Council’s approach to contaminated land
- When is remediation required?
- Who pays?
- Why are there differences in the level of remediation required?
- Investigation procedure
- What is required from a desktop study?
- Guide to report requirements
- How to make an enquiry
'Contaminated land' is any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, on or under the land, that—
(a) significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm being caused; or
(b) pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be, caused
Environmental Protection Act 1990
In this instance the word ‘harm’ refers to harm to the health of living organisms, interference with ecological systems, and harm to a person’s property.
View the contaminated land legislation.
The Council’s approach to contaminated land
Contaminated land is being dealt with in three ways:
- Planning: When an application is made to the Council for planning permission, our records are checked for historical land use and other environmental factors. Where there is need to, a condition will be added to the planning authorisation stating that a desktop study must be carried out into the condition of the land.
If the survey shows that the site could be contaminated, an intrusive site investigation must then be carried out to determine the content and extent of the contamination. The land must then be remediated to a standard that makes it suitable for the end use of the site. - Inspection Strategy: Under Part II A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, all local authorities have a duty to inspect their land to identify where contamination is present. This is to ensure that the appropriate person (the polluter) is made to remediate the land to a standard that makes it ‘suitable for its use’. The Council has written an Inspection Strategy which details how it intends to carry out its duties under this legislation.
- Prevention: The Council is also involved with the prevention of pollution that could lead to the contamination of land. The Council, along with the Environment Agency, is responsible for the authorisation and monitoring of all polluting processes within the Borough. This ensures that all industrial and commercial processes are actively controlled, and that appropriate standards are enforced.
Remediation of contamination is only required when certain criteria are met:
- a contaminant has been identified;
- a receptor has been identified (human, ecosystem or property);
- a pathway from the contaminant to the receptor has been identified;
- and where there is a significant possibility of harm to the receptor.
For example, research suggests that previous land use may have resulted in contamination underneath what is now an industrial site, but the site is covered in concrete as there are buildings on it now. Unless the concrete is going to be broken up and the contaminants exposed, there is no pathway linking the contaminant to a receptor, and so no action is required.
However, if the site was going to be demolished and redeveloped into a residential area, it would then be necessary to ensure that the site was remediated to a standard suitable for residential use.
Where investigations are being made as to the state of land, the person making the enquiry pays. If contaminated land is identified, the interested party may volunteer to pay for the cost of remediation.
If, for example, a developer has bought land and has identified that contamination is present, the developer often does the remediation works as it can save time and money in the long run.
Where contamination is identified and the interested party does not volunteer to pay, a remediation notice can be served. The following process is used to determine on whom the notice is served, and so who pays for remedial works.
- Class A – Class A persons are the people who caused the contamination in the first place or who knew it was there but did nothing about it. These are the people who are sought after first. If no class A person can be identified and found, then the class B person is sought.
- Class B – Class B persons are the current land owners.
Where a person bought land that was contaminated but was unaware of the state of the land when they bought it, they may not necessarily have to pay the cost of remediation. An exclusion test would be carried out to identify who would have to pay (so long as the class A and B people have been identified).
Why are there differences in the level of remediation required?
Remediation is carried out to make the land suitable for use. The level of remediation required is subject to the end use of the land.
For example, land that is going to be used for a residential development which contains houses with gardens (where people have the potential to grow and eat their own vegetables) has to be remediated to a greater extent than if the land were to be used for an industrial development.
The procedure involved in the identification and remediation of contaminated land is described below:
Phase 1 – The Desk Study
This identifies the state and condition of the land, and will assess the need for further investigation.
Phase 2 – The Investigation
This identifies the location, concentration and mobility of all contaminants present, and decides whether further action is required.
Phase 3 – The Remediation
This involves an appropriate method of remediation, to a level appropriate for the end use of the site.
Site Completion
A document is produced that summarises what contaminants were present, what remediation works were carried out, why that particular method of remediation was used, to what level works were carried out, and how that level was derived.
What is required from a desktop study?
When carrying out a desktop study, it must include sufficient information and analysis to allow the Case Officer to be able to decide what further action (if any) is required.
It is important to remember that when submitting a desktop study to the council for consideration, it must contain with it interpretation of the results and recommendations on how to proceed. It is not the responsibility of the council to interpret the results and come up with recommendations.
The Berkshire Contaminated Land Group consists of representatives from each of the Berkshire Local Authorities and the Environment Agency. It has put together a leaflet specifying the requirements of Phase 1,2,3 and site completion reports.
The leaflet was created to ensure that people know what is required of them when submitting reports. It also speeds up the process, as councils are sent the right information from the start, and do not have to go back and request more information.
The Berkshire Guide to Developing Potentially Contaminated Land (400kb)
You can make an enquiry as to the condition of any piece of land within the Borough.
There is a fee for the retrieval of this information, and the fee must be paid in full before the results of the enquiry can be released.
Fees 2009-2010
| Initial Enquiry | Fee |
| Domestic: | |
| Telephone enquiry (requiring telephone call back) | £24.15 |
| Letter/fax enquiry (requiring letter/fax back) | £36.75 |
| Commercial: | |
| Telephone enquiry (requiring telephone call back) | £48.30 |
| Letter/fax enquiry (requiring letter/fax back) | £60.90 |
| Further Information | |
| Domestic: | |
| Additional telephone call | £6.30 |
| Additional letter/fax | £12.60 |
| Commercial: | |
| Additional telephone call | £17.85 |
| Additional letter/fax | £24.15 |
Payment can be made by cheque made payable to ‘Bracknell Forest Borough Council’. To make an enquiry, please use the contact details on the right-hand side of this page.
You will need to state the following:
- Your name
- Your address
- A contact telephone number
- The address of the piece of land you are enquiring about (including the postcode where known)
- How you wish to pay
- What the enquiry is (including any specific questions you may have)
- What format you would prefer the response to be in (email, phone call, letter, fax)
If you wish to ask specific questions, we would prefer to receive your enquiry in writing. If you are enquiring about a large site, it may help if you send us a map with the area in question highlighted.
Be sure to give us sufficient information to allow us to respond to your enquiry.
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