South Derbyshire District Council - Pollution control

Some land in this country has been contaminated in the past by industries such as:

gasworks
tanneries
chemical works
landfills

These are often called brownfield sites. If you own or occupy contaminated land now, or you did in the past, you may be responsible for cleaning up the pollution.

Charter Mark - Customer Service Excellence

The problem

Brownfield sites can be a problem for two reasons:

there may be harmful substances in, on or under the land
substances at the site might cause water pollution

However, brownfield sites do not generally cause a problem unless they are redeveloped for a different use.

'Pollutant linkage'

Land is only declared 'contaminated' if:

it contains a source of pollution - the source and
someone (or something) could be affected by the pollutant - the receptor and
the pollution can get to the 'receptor' - the pathway

These three elements together are known as the pollutant linkage.

Action required

If you own or occupy contaminated land now, or you did in the past, you may be responsible for cleaning up the pollution. You may still be responsible for cleaning up the pollution after you have sold the land.

Some contamination can be a hazard to current occupants or neighbours and the law says the problem must be put right immediately.

Who pays?

The law follows the 'polluter pays' principle - the person or organisation that caused or permitted the contamination must pay to have it put right. If that person or organisation is not known, then the current owner of the land may become responsible.

Owners and occupiers of domestic properties are not usually liable for these costs.

Re-use of brownfield sites

The approval of an application for redevelopment of these sites will only be granted on condition that the contamination is cleaned up to a standard that makes it suitable for the new use of the land.

You should obtain specialist advice from an environmental consultant or a specialist lawyer before you buy or sell contaminated land. When you buy land in Elmbridge, the Land Charges department at the local council will tell you if a site has been declared 'contaminated land'.

What we do about contaminated land

We are responsible for enforcing the 'contaminated land' legislation. We:

publish a Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy, which says how we will find contaminated sites in our District (available below)
carry out inspections of land that may be contaminated
find out who is responsible for putting right the contamination and discuss the problem with them
formally declare land contaminated
agree the necessary action and makes sure it is done
keep a Public Register of contaminated land sites, the action that was required to put the problem right, and any legal action that has been taken.

In some cases the Environment Agency may take over the regulation of a site from us, once it has been declared 'contaminated land'.

Contact details

South Derbyshire District Council
Environmental Services
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE11 0AH

Tel: 01283 595724
Fax: 01283 595855
Online: contact form
email: environmental.health@south-derbys.gov.uk

Page ref: LGSL 418

Pollution control - contaminated land