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The Environmental Protection Act 1990 defines contaminated land as 'any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by means 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.

The council's duties
The council has four main duties under the legislation. These are:

• to produce a contaminated land strategy
• to inspect the borough to identify contaminated land
• to ensure that contaminated land is cleaned up
• to record certain prescribed information regarding regulatory actions on a public register.

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.

The approval of an application for redevelopment of brownfield (land in the past which has been contaminated by industries such as gasworks or chemical works etc) 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.

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

Planning applications
The council wish to encourage the re-use of brown field land in line with government policy. However, it is important that any potential contamination does not endanger public health, the environment or the development.  Developers will be required to investigate, and if necessary, clean up their sites before development to make sure that the land is suitable for the intended use, and that contamination from the site is not affecting the wider environment.

The council's position is based upon planning policy statement 23 (PPS23), 'Planning and Pollution Control' and the statutory guidance issued under part IIA of the Environment Protection Act 1990, DEFRA circular 01/2006, Contaminated Land.

Legislation and guidance places a duty on the owner or developer to establish the extent and nature of contamination on their sites and to carry out the necessary clean up. The council's statutory responsibility is to make sure that contamination is investigated and cleaned up in a responsible and effective manner.

The council's approach to dealing with development proposals on land affected by contamination is reflected in policies ENV5 and ENV6 of Knowsley's Replacement Unitary Development Plan (UDP) adopted June 2006 (PDF 2MB).

You can download Knowsley's contaminated land strategy and best practice guidance note on land affected by contamination below, or contact us for further information.

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