Contaminated land
By law, the Council must inspect land within the borough for contamination and its effect on health and the environment.
We must also publish an inspection strategy to explain how the land will be assessed. This assessment is based on a number of principles, including the past and current use of the land. If an inspection finds that land is contaminated, we must then take action to make the land for use.
Where development is proposed on land that has a history of potentially contaminative use, and/or where development is proposed which would be especially sensitive to contamination in terms of health (e.g. houses, schools and hospitals), the developer must then provide sufficient information to demonstrate that the land will be made suitable for the proposed use.
Our specialist officers review the information submitted by the developer and decide whether it is accepted, rejected or further information can be sought. They will then make a recommendation to the planning department to say whether sufficient information has been received; for example, to put a condition on the planning permission, or to discharge a condition from the planning permission.
The public, developers and interested bodies can access the service by contacting us and/or by accessing further information on the Internet.