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Contaminated land

Contaminated Land is defined in Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (referred to as the Part 2A regime) 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 a significant possibility of such harm being caused; or

b) significant pollution of controlled waters is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such pollution being caused.

In order for a site to be determined as "Contaminated Land" under the Part 2A legislation, a significant "pollutant linkage" must exist. A pollutant linkage consists of a pollutant (the contaminant), a pathway (the route for the contaminant to move along) and a receptor (person, property, etc).  All three must be linked (and the definition above must be fulfilled) in order for a site to be determined as Contaminated Land.

In practice, most sites with a previous potentially contaminating history are remediated to a condition suitable for use under the planning regime rather than the Part 2A legislation.

Is there any contaminated land in Chichester?

Currently there are no formally determined Contaminated Land sites on the Chichester District Contaminated Land Register.

How does the District Council deal with land contamination?

There are two methods that we use to deal with land contamination:

  • Through the contaminated land inspection process (this is one of our statutory duties);
  • Through the planning process (enables brownfield sites to be brought back into beneficial use).

The majority of potentially contaminated land sites are remediated as part of the planning process (i.e. during redevelopment activities).

The council's priorities are to:

  • Protect human health
  • Protect controlled waters
  • Protect ecosystems
  • Prevent damage to property
  • Prevent any further land contamination
  • Encourage voluntary remediation
  • Encourage the re-use of land considered to be brownfield or contaminated.

For more information, please see the Inspection Strategy for Contaminated Land. 

You can also report contaminated land by emailing landcontamination@chichester.gov.uk.