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North Norfolk District Council
Council Offices
Holt Road
Cromer
Norfolk
NR27 9EN
You are here : Home > Environment & Waste > Environment Protection > Contaminated Land
Contaminated Land
Introduction
On the 1st April 2000 Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act (1990) came into force. This piece of legislation introduced the statutory regime for the identification and remediation of contaminated land with the specific aim of addressing the problem of historical land contamination.
The enforcement of Part IIA falls within the responsibilities of the local authority which has a duty to inspect and identify contaminated land within the district of North Norfolk. Under the provisions laid out by Part IIA, the authority has established a strategy for the identification of contaminated land and implemented procedures for the classification of sites exhibiting a ‘potential’ to cause significant harm.
North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) adopted and published its original strategy in June 2001 in accordance with current guidance relating to Part IIA. The document lays out the way in which the Council intends to undertake its duty to inspect the district for potentially contaminated land.
Since its adoption, NNDC has been progressing with its strategy and has successfully identified a list of potentially contaminated sites within the district. These sites are undergoing a basic risk assessment, which is enabling the authority to prioritise each one according to their potential risks and to ascertain the need for further action.
As part of this process North Norfolk District Council keeps a public register of identified contaminated land sites. This includes both a record of regulatory action taken by the Council on specific sites, remediation work undertaken and a record of those sites which hvae been designated as a special site.
Please note that, at this time, there are no sites currently recorded within the public register.
It is expected that the vast majority of contaminated land sites across North Norfolk will be dealt with under the provisions of the planning system rather then part IIA. Land contamination is a material planning consideration dealt with by the planning system under the guidance of Planning Policy Statement 23 (PPS23). PPS23 states that the broad approach, concepts and principles of the Part IIA regime with respect to identifying risks from land contamination and dealing with them should be applied to plan-making and the determination of planning applications.
The document gives guidance to Regional Planning Bodies, Local Planning Authorities, developers and other interested parties on the issues relevant to development and use of land affected by contamination.
Under the Planning system it is the developer's responsibility to ensure that a development is safe and suitable for use and is thus expected to take action to determine whether land is suitable for a particular development or whether further remedial action is required.
Guidance Advice for Domestic Oil Spills
A guidance note is available to download entitled Guidance Advice for Domestic Oil Spills.
If you require further information or have any queries regarding contaminated land issues please contact the Environmental Protection Team:
Tel: 01263 516085
Fax: 01263 514627
Email: ep@north-norfolk.gov.uk
Write to:
Environmental Protection Team
Environmental Health Department
North Norfolk District Council
Council Offices
Holt Road
Cromer
Norfolk NR27 9EN
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