Planning
Contaminated Land Issues during Conveyancing
Requesting information on an area
Contaminated Land Register
Frequently asked questions

Background

Though only a small Borough containing three main towns (Chertsey, Egham and Addlestone) Runnymede is a relatively undeveloped area but has been subject to heavy exploitation of its natural gravel and sand deposits for many decades. Some 572 hectares (9%) of the Borough's area is affected, with another 142 hectares targeted for future extractions.

The voids arising from such mineral extraction have mainly been utilised by landfilling of waste. There are also a number of sites with historic industrial use scattered around the Borough, ranging from former small-scale foundries to old gas works sites. Until relatively recently industry was poorly regulated and its effect on land contamination not fully understood. Consequently waste was disposed of where convenient and developments were built with little regard for former use of land.

Much of the existing information on contaminated land within the Council comprises of local knowledge and existing historical records. Recently RBC compiled a prioritised list of areas identified within the Borough which may be potentially Contaminated Land areas due to their former use. This list changes regularly and the prioritisation status of each site changes with new information gathered.

Legislative Duties

In April 2000 Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as inserted by the Environment Act 1995) introduced a requirement for local authorities to inspect their Boroughs and identify contaminated land.

The council's duties under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which covers land not undergoing development are:

• To cause it's area to be inspected from "time to time" for the purpose of identifying contaminated land. Runnymede Borough Council has produced a Contaminated Land Strategy to explain how contaminated land will be identified and dealt with in this Borough Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy (PDF version).
• Determine whether any particular site is contaminated land and designate special sites giving due regard to the advice of the Environment Agency.
• Act as the enforcing authority for all contaminated land which is not designated as a "special site"
• Establish who should bear responsibility for remediation - of a given piece of land (the appropriate person)
• Maintain a public register of regulatory action taken to deal with contaminated land. Runnymede currently has no entries on the Part IIA Public Register.

Runnymede will investigate all previous land uses in order of priority, which may constitute Contaminated Land, initially by assessing any previous site investigations and remedial works already carried out.

Site inspections and testing by the Council will only be undertaken if there is inadequate information to determine whether the site is contaminated or not. At present (August 2011) the Council recognise approximately 427 potentially contaminated land sites, ranging from infilled ponds to former gasworks sites, however this number changes frequently as and when information is received on any site.

Definition of contaminated Land

Most land that is contaminated is as a result of human activity but there are cases where naturally occurring compounds result in land being described as contaminated.
Section 78A(2) of the EPA 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 reason of substances in, on or under the land that;

(a) significant harm is being caused or there is significant possibility of such harm being caused or pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be caused.

(b) In determining if land should be regarded as contaminated land, the Local Authority must have regard to appropriate guidance issued by the Secretary of State'.
However, where a particular area of land may have potentially contaminative previous uses and there may well be contaminants left in the ground, this does not automatically mean that a particular area of land meets the strict legal definition of 'Contaminated Land' set out in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

For land to have the potential to be contaminated a risk assessment must be completed on that land, to ascertain if a source, a pathway and a receptor are present on that land.

To determine if an area is statutorily contaminated land, the Council must have carried out its duty in accordance with its Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy, comprising a full investigation of by the Council which demonstrates the land meets the legal definition of Contaminated Land above. Please refer to the Runnymede Contaminated Land Strategy which is currently under review.
If an area of land is found to be statutorily contaminated under Part IIA by the Council, the Council must then enforce remediation. Where land could be considered contaminated, the Council requires remediation so it is "suitable for its intended use" through planning conditions and building regulation.

The issue of who pays for such remediation is complex and very much dependant on what contaminants are identified during the investigation. Remedial costs target the original polluter to pay for any remedial works they are found to be accountable for. Details of this land are then placed on the Public Register, to include the nature of the contamination, what has been done to make the land safe and by whom

Tracking down the original polluter of historically contaminated land sites is often difficult as operators may have become insolvent etc. In these cases the current owner or occupier can sometimes be held liable. It is therefore important to ensure the contamination status of properties prior to conveyancing.