I have to admit I needed to do a little research on the legal definition. The answer seems so obvious, and in many ways it is, contaminated land is land which is impacted with substances which pose a risk. A risk to what? Well, pretty much anything, people or groundwater for example.
The legal definition comes from Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act, I’ve pasted this from source-
““Contaminated land” is any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason 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;”
You’ll hear the term SPOSH used, this refers to point (a) above.
How will the local authority get involved you may ask? Authorities will be interested in any land being developed as part of the planning process, and also they have the power under Part IIA to become involved in land which they believe may be legally contaminated.
An environmental consultant who specialises in contaminated land will be able to help you assess if land is contaminated.
If you want to know what you can do with contaminated land then feel free to download the guide below, or visit the Services section of our web-site.
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