20 November 2008Sevenoaks District is set in the mostly rural North Downs of Kent. In common with most areas in the UK, historical land use in small parts of the District may have left a legacy of chemicals and substances which have the potential to harm human health, the quality of rivers, streams and ground water, sensitive ecological sites and the integrity of buildings.
It is the policy of Sevenoaks District Council to ensure through planning controls and legislation within Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 that harm is either prevented from happening or harm currently being caused is stopped.
Sevenoaks District Council deals with contaminated land using either of the following methods:
Planning conditions
Not all historical land-uses pose problems unless they are altered in terms of land-use from a less sensitive to a more sensitive use. To prevent pollutants in the ground causing harm through the new use of the land, conditions are attached to planning permissions given in response to applications. These require applicants to ensure that the site is investigated and remediated to prevent harm from occurring. These require applicants to undertake investigations into the history of the site and usually carry out soil sampling to determine whether remedial works would be required to make the site safe for use.
Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990
Sevenoaks District Council is required to actively inspect land within the District to identify where hazards exist or are likely to exist which will harm or are causing harm to people, water quality of streams, rivers, ponds, buildings or delicate ecological sites. If harm appears to be occurring or is likely to occur, the land can be designated as 'Contaminated Land'.
As part of this inspection process, the Council is required to produce a strategy which sets out how it will prioritise sites for further inspection and how it will go about confirming whether land can be designated as Contaminated Land.
You can download a copy of the Council's Contaminated Land Strategy (
PDF 828K file details).
For more information or wish to comment about sites which have been identified by Sevenoaks District Council as 'Contaminated Land', please contact environmental.protection@sevenoaks.gov.uk.
Alternatively, if you are a developer, solicitor, home buyer, land owner or simply interested, our Frequently Asked Questions section may help you with any queries you may want to be answered:
How is contaminated land identified?
Contaminated land is found where a source of contamination is discovered which has the potential to cause harm to the surrounding environment.
Three factors contribute to contaminated land. These are:
'Receptors' that may be harmed could be:
The Council carries out regular investigations to find potentially contaminated land. When a significant level of contamination is found to be capable of spreading to other areas, the land containing the source will be designated as 'Contaminated Land'.
For more information contact the Environmental Health Department.
Who carries out the investigations?
Desk studies and site surveys are carried out by members of the Strategic Services section to find out the extent of the contamination.
Where investigations of land are required, the Environmental Health section may employ external contractors help. They record ground conditions, obtain samples of soil and controlled waters and, where required, assess ground conditions and the risks they pose.
For more information contact the Environmental Health Department.
How land investigations may affect you?
You may be affected by investigations if you own land, occupy land, are a tenant of land or operate a process on land that the Council has reason to believe may be contaminated.
The Council will inform all those who may potentially be affected by investigations in advance.
The investigations may take three stages:
It may be decided during stages 1 or 2 that no further investigations are necessary. If this is the case, you will be informed with the overall findings. Alternatively, the Council may consider that the problem is so severe that further investigations are not necessary and that remedial works are needed immediately.
For more information contact environmental.protection@sevenoaks.gov.uk
Who pays for the Contaminated Land Team's work?
The Council will pay the cost of investigation into the contaminated status of the land. In cases where works are needed to prevent unacceptable risks of harm, other parties must meet the costs. This process is made as follows:
People who have been found liable for costs may appeal against the Council's decision, but are advised to consult a solicitor before doing so.
Should a liable person feel that they are unable to afford the costs of remedial works, they can apply to the Council for 'Hardship' status. On application, the Council will assess the applicant's assets and income before making a decision. The Council will cover the costs of the remediation works if the application is successful.
If the Council is unable to appoint a Class A or B (landowner) person, it will accept all costs.
For more information contact the Environmental Health Department.
Site inspections and remedial works
The following requirements must be included in a site inspection report:
1 Desk study
Where a desk study is inconclusive or shows that there is a potential for contamination, further investigations may be needed to determine the risk of harm to future users of the land.
2 Intrusive sampling investigations and risk assessment
This investigation will be carried out in response to the findings of the desk study.
The Contaminated Land team recommends that investigation proposals should be submitted at this stage for comment. Otherwise, the Council may request further information or reject the investigation data as inadequate for the purpose for which it was intended.
The investigation must include analysis for all potential contaminants identified in the desk study or those associated with former and current site uses.
Ground conditions must be assessed in detail and also water which is suspected of being contaminated. This particularly applies to sites where groundwater may be affected by contamination present within the site.
Standard published contaminant concentrations within CLEA are the defacto standard which drives risk assessments and remediation. Where CLEA guideline values are not available for particular pollutants, other values may be used, such as ICRCL or Dutch Clean up target levels.
This authority does not accept values from other published sources, such as the Kelly Scale. Alternatively, soil remediation target levels may be produced from standard risk assessment tools. For all inputs, full reporting on the choice of input into any calculation must be made and justifications presented for these (including sources of toxicological data).
3 Remediation
Remedial measures must address all risks found in the desk study and investigations and must be shown to be permanent. The Council will not accept measures where they are shown to be:
Click here to view the Council's guidance leaflet which sets our a summary of its requirements.
For more information contact the Environmental Health Department.
When are risks considered to be adequately dealt with?
If investigations and remediation are being undertaken as part of a planning condition, risks are accepted as reduced to an acceptable level when the following is demonstrated and achieved:
A copy of the remediation certificate must be provided to the purchaser upon exchange of contracts.
A copy of the remediation certificate must be provided to the Council for each of the plots or houses.
For more information contact the Environmental Health Department.
What are contaminated land planning conditions?
Members of the Contaminated Land team review all planning applications made to Sevenoaks District Council's planning department. In cases where officers feel there may be health implications for a change of land use, conditions may be applied which require investigations to determine the status of the site in terms of contamination.
It is up to the applicant to demonstrate to the Council that the land is either suitable for use in its current state or that it can be made suitable for the newly proposed use.
Any investigation which demonstrates unacceptable risk from levels of pollutants in the soil must set out how it is proposed these risks should be mitigated. Details should include a specified number of remedial steps to be carried out to prevent contamination causing harm to the environment.
The contaminated land conditions will not be lifted by the Council until all investigation and remedial works have been made, reported on and accepted in writing, which includes sampling of all sub and top soils. The conditions are made to make sure that there is little excess risk of harm to the environment by levels of pollutants left within the soil.
For more information contact the Environmental Health Department.
What do I need from a developer if I am buying a new house on a site which has had contaminated land conditions attached as part of its planning approval?
You should ask for the original documents of the following:
You should also seek confirmation from the Contaminated Land team that the contaminated land condition has been fully complied with, that there are no outstanding issues and that the conditions have been lifted.
If developers attempt to sell properties without first complying with these conditions, you should try to ensure that they are not attempting to do this in your case. This can cause problems for you later on should these conditions remain unresolved.
For a full written account of the type of questions and information to ask for from a developer, the Environment Agency has provided a brief guide.
For more information contact the Environmental Health Department.
What is the role of the Contaminated Land Team in terms of contaminated land planning conditions?
The Strategic Services department's role is to provide an objective audit of the investigation reports presented by planning applicants. These reports are prepared in response to the contaminated land conditions placed on the planning approval.
Officers of the department work with applicants and consultants acting on their behalf, to ensure that investigations meet minimum requirements under 'best practice guidance'. This is to make sure that an acceptable outcome is achieved should remedial measures be needed.
The planning officer dealing with the planning application will also liaise with the relevant Contaminated Land officers, relying upon their advice about when to lift contaminated land conditions.
Who is responsible if things go wrong?
In the event of problems with contamination on a development at a future date, all liability and responsibility for the situation lies with the applicant and their consultants. The Council does not accept liability in any respect.
Should an applicant neglect their responsibilities, several options are available to the Council, including placing liability for contaminated land remediation on developers at a later date.
If property owners wish to bring about private actions, this should be done separately from action brought by the Council.
For more information contact the Environmental Health Department.
Useful links
There are a number of websites that contain information which may be of use.
The Environment Agency's website or visit the 'What's in your backyard' section of the Environment Agency's website to find out about land contamination issues in your area.
Alternatively visit the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) web pages that deal with land contamination.
Contacting the Contaminated Land Officer
Environmental Health
Sevenoaks District Council
Argyle Road
Sevenoaks
Kent
TN13 1GP
Tel: 01732-227000
E-mail: environmental.protection@sevenoaks.gov.uk
