Owners and developers have a responsibility to establish the extent of any potentially harmful materials on their sites. In dealing with planning applications, local planning authorities have a duty to make sure that appropriate investigations are carried out by owners and developers, and that appropriate information about this is submitted with planning applications.
The National Planning Policy Framework requires applicants to consider at the application stage, risks to human health and the environment and ensure that their site is suitable for its proposed use.
We require, as a minimum, a Phase I Land Quality Assessment (see below) to be submitted with applications.
The potential for land to be contaminated is a material consideration for the purposes of town and country planning and it places the responsibility on owners and developers to establish the extent of any potentially harmful materials on their site. It is the local authority's duty to ensure that owners and developers carry out the appropriate investigations and formulate proposals for dealing with any contamination.
The document below contains guidance on the information which is required to be submitted with planning applications for sites/buildings, where contamination will be a material consideration. It clearly sets out the type of contamination assessment we require by developers for different types of planning application.
Contaminated land in the planning process [PDF, 152KB]
Environmental consultancy
We offer an environmental consultancy on contaminated land, which includes assessments, reports, provision of information on commercial searches and property transactions. It's advisable to book an visit prior to submission of a planning application to discuss your proposals.
Book a support visit
Essential guidance
Please be aware that guidance is continuously being updated and changed, the above documents are a guide and you should ensure that revisions have not been made.
Standard planning condition
We'll apply the model planning conditions recommended by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. There will be times when different conditions are required but these are considered on a case-by-case basis.
We strongly advise anyone dealing with land contamination to appoint an appropriately qualified consultant to carry out the work. We are unable to recommend consultants, however, you can use the ENDS directory to search for services.