London, UK, Europe

Member of Environmental Industries Commission

UK Registered Pre-Qualified Construction Service

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Toxic Land Check (TLC) Limited

(Company No. 06768501).

Postal Address : Unit 8 Oldhouse Gardens, Park Rd, Twickenham, London, TW1 2QB.

Telephone / Fax No : 0844 736 2505 (Combined).

Concerned about contaminated land and the regulations?

Wondering how to find out if your property is contaminated and what you can do about it?

Toxic Land Check provides a A Two Step Process to Guide you Through the Contaminated Land Regulatory Maze.

If you are asking yourself these questions and are about to sell, purchase or re-finance your property, or if you are applying for planning permission, then please read on.

If you are planning any one of these activities you will be required to determine if the land is contaminated.

The process begins by completing a site search on the property. This must be completed during the due diligence process, usually by a solicitor or conveyancer who will request information from a site database search, which will then list all recorded uses of the site and neighbouring areas (usually using a buffer zone of 250 m around the property).

Approximately 5% of all such UK site searches fail because the property is located on or near land once used for industrial activities. If your site search fails, you will require a contaminated land assessment. The steps to complete such an assessment are varied due to the UK’s use of a phased approach. To guide you through the maze of regulation TLC has devised the following simplified two step process:

Step 1: Check with the Local Authority and Environment Agency. As the statutory regulators of contaminated land issues, their views on the property are the most important. They are able to determine if the property is acceptable or if further assessment is required. If the Local Authority does state that there are no land contamination concerns with your property, no further action will be required. However, if there are concerns with the site, further action must be taken and the Local Authority will be able to guide you on what to do next. If the land is contaminated to the extent that it may be affecting groundwater or surface water, the Environment Agency must be contacted as they regulate the water environment. In similar fashion to the Local Authority, they can state whether or not there are concerns with the property. If there are issues that must be addressed, they will provide you with guidance on what to do next.

Step 2: Risk Assessment. If the regulators cannot discount the contaminated land issues associated with the property the next step is to conduct a risk assessment of the property, required under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This step must be completed using a qualified contaminated land consultant or practitioner. They will interpret the information obtained from the site searches and other publically available information such as geological and hydrological maps. They will also conduct a site walk over to gain an on-the-ground understanding of the property. Using the public information and site walkover they will then complete a Phase 1 Desk Study of the property, involving the development of a conceptual site model (CSM) and the completion of a qualitative risk assessment (QRA) in accordance with UK guidance. If the QRA demonstrates low risks then no actions are required. However, if the QRA indicates medium or high risks then a Phase 2 Contamination Assessment is required. This involves physical sampling of the property to confirm the level of contaminants against UK soil and groundwater thresholds (Generic Assessment Criteria or GAC). Should contamination be identified, then remediation is required (sometimes referred to as Phase 3 Assessment). It is important to remember that throughout the process your Local Authority must be involved so that they can confirm that either no further actions are required or can agree to the actions if remediation is necessary. Regarding housing, the relevant guidance documents are DEFRA & Environment Agency (2004) Model Procedures for the Management of Land Contamination and NHBC & CEIH (2008) Guidance for the Safe Development of Housing on Land Affected by Contamination.

If you require contaminated land assessment, site construction waste management or land and/or groundwater remediation services please do not hesitate to contact Toxic Land Check for a discussion or to obtain a quote.

Call 0844 736 2505 or email info@toxiclandcheck.co.uk. You can visit TLC’s website at www.toxiclandcheck.co.uk .