Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990

View the South Holland  Contaminated Land Strategy (PDF) [837KB] (opens new window) .

The above strategy sets out how we, South Holland District Council, will approach the inspection of our district with respect to ours statutory requirements under:

• Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Part 2A), as inserted by Section 57 of the Environment Act 1995, and
• meets the requirements of section 2.6 of Contaminated Land Statutory Guidance dated April 2012.

The strategy has set out the approach that we will take towards dealing with contaminated land in the area, and identified key priorities to guide our implementation of the regime. The planning regime is identified as the significant driver for consideration of land contamination in the district.

One of the key elements of assessing whether a site is contaminated is establishing whether a pollutant linkage exists. This consists of:

• Source - a contaminant which exists in, on or under the site.
• Pathway - a means by which the contaminant can reach a receptor.
• Receptor - someone or something, which could be affected by the contaminant (e.g. a human being, water resource, building).

If a viable pollutant linkage exists (source-pathway-receptor is present) then an assessment of potential risk to the receptor(s) needs to be carried out.

If you own or occupy contaminated land/land affected by contamination now, or you did in the past, you may be responsible for cleaning up the contamination. You may still be responsible for remediating the contamination after you have sold the land.

Some contamination can be a hazard to current occupants or neighbours and the law says the problem must be rectified.