Contaminated Land in Leicester: Get a Fast Risk Assessment

What you need to know about contaminated land in Leicester

Leicester’s former industries such as textiles, dyeing, and manufacturing, have left areas of contaminated land. Common contaminants include heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and chemical dyes.

Leicester City Council’s approach to contaminated land

Controlling threats from contaminated land to ensure public health and environmental safety while promoting sustainable development is a priority. This north west Leicestershire council’s approach is guided by both national legislation and local strategies tailored to Leicester’s industrial history.

The council’s contaminated land strategy comprises:

• Inspection and identification: systematic inspections are carried out to identify potential land contamination, prioritising those sites posing the highest risk to public health and the environment.
• Contaminated Land Register: a public register is maintained, documenting sites designated as contaminated under Part iia of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This ensures transparency and public awareness of contaminated sites.
• Guidance for developers: the council provides detailed guidance for developers planning to build on land that may be contaminated, ensuring safe and suitable development practices.

Promoting brownfield redevelopment

Leicester City Council is committed to the redevelopment of (formerly developed) brownfield sites, aiming to reduce pressure on greenfield areas and promote sustainable urban growth. The council maintains a Brownfield Land Register, identifying sites suitable for residential development. Notable projects include the regeneration of former industrial areas to create thriving communities.

Developing on contaminated land in Leicester

If you’re considering developing a potentially contaminated site in the city, the first step is to arrange a pre-application consultation with the council’s planning department to discuss the reports that will be needed.

A contaminated land risk assessment is likely to be required. This assessment is carried out by geo-environmental consultants who work in accordance with the Environment Agency’s Land Contamination Risk Management guidance. This phased approach involves:

• Phase 1. Desk study: a thorough review is made of the site’s history along with a preliminary risk assessment to identify related links to the present site and potential contaminants.
• Phase 2. Site investigation: if necessary, detailed investigations are performed, including soil and groundwater sampling, to assess contamination levels. Ground gas samples may need to be taken, and trial pits may be dug to monitor ground conditions.
• Remediation strategy: a comprehensive plan is drawn up to remediate identified contaminants, ensuring the site is safe for its intended use. This might involve capping the site to contain contamination or cleaning polluted soil.
• Validation and reporting: after remediation, evidence must be provided to the council demonstrating that the site meets all safety and environmental standards.

The risks involved with contaminated land

Developing a polluted site creates the possibility of enabling new routes for any existing pollution to spread. The result could be harm to human health, water sources and the wider environment. For such risk to exist, all these three elements must be present: the lack of just one makes any threat minimal.

1. A contamination source.
2. A pathway for contamination to spread and reach receptors such as people or ecosystems.
3. A receptor.

Important legal obligations

In the UK, the management of contaminated land is primarily governed by Part iia of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This legislation mandates local authorities to identify and remediate land where contamination poses significant risks to health or the environment. Part iia defines contaminated land as a site where substances in or under the ground present significant risks to health, property, or the environment. Sites must be remediated according to the `Polluter Pays’ approach, making remediation the responsibility of the polluter if they can be identified, and contaminated land must be cleaned up as part of future development.

A regulatory role falls on local authorities to identify, monitor and improve land where contamination poses significant risks. Further guidance is contained in the National Planning Policy Framework: paragraph 197 states the developer, landowner, or both, are responsible for safely remediating contaminated land.

A site assessment can enable a scheme to proceed

Redeveloping contaminated land is a key part of Leicester City Council’s plans for regenerating the urban area and protecting the environment. Collaboration with developers and consultants is central to this approach; often following investigations and risk assessments, a geo-environmental consultant can recommend measures that will enable a development scheme to proceed safely.

For further information about how Arbtech’s geo-environmental consultants can help you, fill in our quick quote form at the top of this page.