Pollution Control - Contaminated Land

Bath and North East Somerset Council have two areas of responsibility for land pollution, these are: 

• To investigate potentially contaminated land and

• To ensure that developers investigate any potentially contaminated land that may be subject of a planning application or a planning permission.

Investigation of Potentially Contaminated Land.

Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act came into force on 1st April 2000, introducing a new regime for the regulation of contaminated land in England. The purpose of the regime is to provide an improved system for the identification of land that is posing unacceptable risks to human health or the environment, and for securing remediation where such risks cannot be controlled by other means.

The regime places a duty on local authorities to inspect land in its District for contamination and bring about its remediation. As a result Bath and North East Somerset has produced a strategy which: 

• Includes the proposed methodology for inspection of the district, identification of contaminated land and how information gathered will be handled

• Outlines relevant legislation

• Provides brief details on the general characteristics of Bath and North East Somerset

For further details please consult the full version of the Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy.

Like many local authorities, Bath and North East Somerset has an inherited legacy of contaminated land. Much land has been present for long periods of time, largely from the 18th Century onwards as a result if industrial, mining and waste disposal activities. You can help by providing us with information that may help us to identify and clean up land that may be affected by contamination. 

Land Contamination and New Developments - the Planning and Development Process

The Government has set a target for 60% of all new housing to be built on brownfield sites. As a result of these issues we expect to see land contamination being a factor in many new developments. Planning applicants, their agents, developers and consultants are therefore required by planning policy guidance (PPS23) to give routine early consideration to land contamination development proposals. It is the developers responsibility to ensure that their development is safe for its intended use. Failure to do so can result in harm to human health and the environment, land blight, failure to sell properties and legal action.

The Council expects potential land contamination issues to be professionally and thoroughly approached and all work should reflect modern good practice. A guide has been produced by the Council that clarifies the current requirements. It is important that planning applicants follow this advice to ensure the efficient processing of their application or enable them to comply with any attached contaminated land planning condition.

Please note that this advice is subject to revision from time to time in line with advancing government requirements, legislative changes and best practice guidance.

Contaminated Land Guidance Note for Developers 2007 can be downloaded from the right and has a link on the left.