Contaminated Land
Under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, there is a requirement for for the SRS to inspect land in Bridgend, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan to identify sites which may have given rise to land contamination which could cause harm to human health or the environment.
Land may become contaminated when substances have found their way on or into the ground - often due to industrial disposal, leaks or spillages. These substances may still be present in the ground and could be above acceptable levels.
For a site to be designated as contaminated, a significant pollutant linkage must be identified in which all three of the below elements must be present:
- Source - A substance that is in, on or under the land and has the potential to harm humans or to cause pollution of controlled water.
- Pathway - The route by which a receptor is being or could be exposed to or affected by the source substance(s).
- Receptor - Can be any of the following: Living organism, Group of living organisms, Ecological system, Property or Controlled waters.
Any person, organisation or business might be liable for clean up costs if it can be shown that they have caused or knowingly permitted the contamination, or if they own or occupy contaminated land where no original polluter can be found.
Contaminated Land Inspection Strategies
Land formerly used by industries may now be used for other purposes which are more sensitive to the potential effects of contamination.
The three local authority's Contaminated Land Inspection Strategies set out how they inspect areas for potentially contaminated land.
Land development
The Local Planning Authority (LPA) has a duty to consider potential contamination when they prepare development plans and determine planning applications.
Developers should submit enough information with their planning application to determine the risks from contamination and satisfy the LPA that there is a viable remediation option for the site and that developing land affected by contamination will not introduce or create unacceptable risks, or allow existing ones to continue.
Reports for the site should be prepared in accordance with the WLGA 2023 Developers Guide and the Environment Agency online guidance: Land Contamination: Risk Management (LCRM).
Environmental Information Requests and Charges
We hold records which can be used to assess potentially contaminated land.
The factual information we hold can be obtained through Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), but may only be used for non-commercial, research or review purposes.
Under the EIR we have 20 days to respond to your request.
If you need our officers to review the information and provide a detailed written response, there is a minimum charge for this work depending on the complexity of your request.
Please contact SRS to make a formal environmental information request and for details of the cost involved and how to pay.
Guidance