Technical guidance for LA officers

One of the key issues that local authority contaminated land officers face on a regular basis is the quality of reports that are received from consultants and developers when looking at the redevelopment of potentially contaminated sites.


To address this, the second edition of the Essex Contaminated Land Cons-ortium’s Land affected by contamination – technical guidance for applicants and developers document has been published.

This second edition follows on from the first which was published in 2004 to help applicants and their agents understand what will be required by local authorities to ensure the safe and efficient management and development of such sites.

In the absence of nationally available and suitably comprehensive guidance and information, the Essex Contaminated Land Consortium decided that a simple booklet outlining the key elements would be of benefit to both the applicant and the local authority.

However, in the years following the initial publication, the contaminated land regime evolved and so this latest edition seeks to address these new issues, national policy and guidance, as well as introducing some additional considerations, such as quality of imported soils. This guidance has since adopted by all 14 of the Essex local authorities.

The Essex Contaminated Land Consortium was formed in 2003, as a continuation of the work originally carried out by members of the Essex Environmental Protection Study Group. It consists of representatives who have responsibility for dealing with, and making decisions regarding, land potentially affected by contamination, from all 14 of the local authorities in Essex.

The key aim of the consortium is to establish county-wide best practice and consistency with regard to land dealt with under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and also the development of land affected by contamination under the planning regime.

  • For further information and details on the document, contact Mary Rickard, chair of the Essex Contaminated Land Consortium: at: mary.rickard@colchester.gov.uk

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