Contamination of land can occur as a result of previous commercial uses or pollution incidents and may represent harm to human health and the environment.
Under Part IIa of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 the Council is required to identify and prepare a programme of inspection of sites which may have been used for industrial purposes or have become contaminated by a current or former land use.
Brentwood Borough has produced a Contaminated Land Strategy pdf for dealing with contaminated land in the Borough.
Register of contaminated land
The Council is required to maintain a Register of Contaminated Land including information on sites which have been determined as contaminated land.
The register only contains sites that have been formally identified under the Environmental Protection Act as contaminated land; it does not contain a list of sites that may be contaminated.
There are currently no entries on the Council's Contaminated Land Register - any updates will be added to this page.
Remediation of contaminated land technical guidance
Contamination is a "material planning consideration" which means that a planning authority must consider contamination when they prepare development plans or consider individual applications for planning permission.
Local planning authorities are responsible for ensuring that land contamination is dealt with through the planning system and that remediation takes place where it is required. It is the responsibility of the developer to carry out the works and satisfy the local authority that the remediation has been carried out as agreed.
The Essex Contaminated Land Consortium, which consists of representatives from all Essex local authorities, Essex County Council, and the Environment Agency has produced an informative guide for developers and applicants. This document aims to clarify and ensure consistency in the process of investigation and remediation of contaminated land.
A copy of the document can be downloaded below:
Contaminated Land Technical Guidance pdf
For further information please contact Environmental Health Service on 01277 312500 or email envhealth@brentwood.gov.uk