Contaminated Land Investigation
Previous estimates from the Environment Agency indicate that there are somewhere in the region of 100,000 sites in the UK that are to some degree affected by contamination from historical activity. This equates to approximately 300,000 hectares of land, of which 1% are deemed to be seriously contaminated.
Recent UK Government strategy has targeted the re-use of sites with past uses, commonly termed “brownfield land” with a recent target of 60 per cent of new developments to be built on such land. With sustainable development being high on the agenda it is likely that this will continue as central to UK Government policy.
Within the UK the two main legislative drivers within contaminated land are:-
- Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
- The National Planning Policy Framework (March 2012)(DCLG 2012).
It is essential for all those involved in the development of land, whether buyers, sellers, owners, occupiers or developers, to have an understanding of the obligations, liabilities and legal requirements that the contaminated land regime places upon them. The legislation is applicable to all sites, large and small. In each case some form of site assessment in terms of potential contamination may be required by the regulatory authorities.
TGEN routinely carry out investigations of potentially contaminated sites as described in the risk assessment and site investigation sections of this site within the context of:-
- The investigation and identification of Contaminated Land and requirements for remediation within Part IIA.
- The investigation and assessment of potential land contamination issues and requirements for remediation within the planning process.
- The investigation and assessment of potential land contamination issues and environmental liabilities for pre-acquisition and due dilligence surveys.
- The investigation and assessment of potential land contamination issues and requriements for remediation in conjunction with warranties issued by the National House Builders Council (NHBC) and other warranty providers or lending organisations for developments.
In general a phased investigation as described in our Risk Assessment and Site Investigation sections will be required to address the statutory obligations associated with contaminated land and the requirements of the other regulatory and/or non-regulatory frameworks.
For further information please see our associated pages on Risk Assessment of contaminated land within the UK, which can be in the context of The Part IIa Framework,The Planning Process,Due Diligence or
Alternatively, should you require any further advice or wish to discuss a particular site or project then contact us at info@tgen.co.uk
Please use the left hand menu for further details of our capabilities within this sector.