• The legal definition requires there to be a significant probability of significant harm to humans, water, protected ecology or crops/buildings from substances in, on or under the land.
• These substances can include certain chemicals like metals and acids or oils, fuels and gases usually associated with industrial use of the land, although natural contamination also occurs.
• The simple presence of such substances is not enough for land to be considered contaminated. There must be a proven linkage between the source of contamination and a certain vulnerable receptor.
• Land which may be affected by contamination but has not been proven to be so by investigation and testing should be managed carefully.
• It is nonetheless important to remember that in most cases the risks to health presented by industrial past use are low, as usually some form of clean up or containment has occurred and concentrations actually reaching humans or the environment are usually very low.  
  

Contamination usually comes to light when industrial sites are being redeveloped and in such cases we assess the suitability of sites through the Development Control planning process. However, land contamination may also be already present on developed sites and local authorities now have a duty to identify any potentially contaminated land and seek appropriate remediation in instances where it is deemed to pose unacceptable risks to human health or the environment. It is therefore important that you know if the site you currently occupy, are selling or purchasing is suitable for its current or proposed use.

No. It is important to note that past industrial land use does not always indicate contamination is present or that it poses any risks. If the industrial pollution occurred a long time ago, there is a possibility that any contaminants present will have changed to such a degree that they may no longer be considered to be harmful.

Furthermore, many houses are built with the industrial past of the site in mind and appropriate remedial works may have been undertaken as part of this, or there is no possible linkage between any contamination and a receptor in any case.

Most people do not need to be worried about contaminated land as in most cases the risk of living on or near land affected by contamination is very low. More often that not there is more affect on the value of the property from perceived risks rather than the actual effects to the health of occupiers or the wider environment.

It is only in isolated cases that land contamination presents a significant possibility of significant harm to groundwater, ecosystems and people who occupy the land. In such cases long term health effects can emerge from regular or prolonged contact with the source of contamination, via dust or vapours produced by it for example.

The government guidance policies CBC uses, including guidelines of amounts of substances in land that may be considered unacceptable, is conservative and protective of young children who may be directly exposed to soils.

Specific harm to water environments such as aquifers or rivers is regulated by the Environment Agency and they may seek the improvement of water quality towards drinking standards.

• Central Bedfordshire Council officers will seek to protect public health by advising planners as to how to protect new developments from the risks of potentially contaminated land.
• Local Authorities are also lead regulators for Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Introduced in 2000, this legislation provides a regime for the management of historically contaminated land.
• The Act  requires local authorities to take a strategic, prioritised approach to identifying land which may be historically contaminated and seek to clean it up. The CBC Strategy to do this is available in the ‘Download more information’ section.
  

Anyone buying property or vacant land should ,via their solicitor usually, be aware of potential contamination sources on or near the land in question as it can influence perceived value, development potential, safety of the site and whether a lender will accept the asset as collateral.

When involved in the buying or selling of a house, standard land searches and past history checks are usually undertaken, however this may not always be sufficient . Central Bedfordshire Council provides a service to check its records and share any investigations in order to add more detail to such checks. This may currently present a fee of £82.50 which can be progressed via Customer Services.

Contaminated Land Strategy 2010-2015 (PDF 486KB)

Herts and Beds Contaminated land planning guidance (PDF 222KB)

Central Bedfordshire Council has compiled a comprehensive database of sites which may have been affected by land contaminations. If you are concerned that you might live on a site which may be contaminated you can contact the Council to find out whether we have any information. as outlined above. Please note that various commercial suppler also provide environmental data which may help in this regard

• In terms of the redevelopment of contaminated land it is typically the developers who fund the cost of ensuring that the site is suitable for use.
• With regards to historic contamination or that encountered under the Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act, the 'Polluter Pays' principle applies.
• It may simply not be possible to say who caused the contamination or the company may have gone out of business. In this situation you may be responsible for any costs of remediation if you own or occupy the land even though you did not contaminate it and did not know it was contaminated.

Contaminated land can be dealt with in a variety of ways e.g. isolation, source removal, or the use of alternative treatments to ensure no further harm is caused. The choice is very site specific and depends on factors such as the type of contamination, site geology, regulatory requirements and future plans for the site.

In the unlikely event that your actions inadvertently cause contamination it is important that you take all actions necessary to minimise any potential risks, which may arise. If there is an immanent risk to public safety it is the Emergency Services which may assist in the first instance. However, this level of risk is unlikely to arise within a domestic setting and therefore advised to contact Central Bedfordshire Council or the Environment Agency for advice.

Professionals need wide ranging skills to deal with multidisciplinary problems posed by land contamination. It is therefore essential that specialist advice is obtained in order to deal with a problem both effectively and efficiently.

This can be found via dedicated private consultancies (obtainable via an internet search) or agencies such as DEFRA (Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the EA (Environment Agency)..