Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy 2019-2024

In April 2000, Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (inserted into that Act by section 57 of the Environment Act 1995) came into force.  The main objective requires local authorities to implement a "strategic approach" to inspecting their areas to identify land where contamination is causing unacceptable risks to human health or the wider environment.

This is the fifth review of the Contaminated Land Strategy to reflect the changes in service provision, contaminated land legislation, and published guidance. The strategy sets out the manner in which Stockton Borough Council proposes to implement its duties under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This should be read in conjunction with the Contaminated Land Statutory Guidance issued by the Defra (April 2012).

The Council carried out a site risk categorisation exercise in 2002 with Jacobs to identify those sites which are potentially contaminated. This classified sites into 4 preliminary priority categories (PPC1-PPC4) according  to possible impacts on development, surface water and groundwater. Significant progress has been made in the inspection of the high risk sites within the Borough, and in 2019 the majority of the top priority [PPC1] sites have been inspected.

The Council has made a number of successful capital funding bids to DEFRA of approximately £750,000 to remediate the following sites:

• former Yarm Gas Works, West Street Yarm (£300,000 investment)
• Tilery Landfill Site, Talbot Street Stockton
• former waste site at Cowpen Bewley Billingham
• land adjacent to the Kings Arms Thames Road Billingham
• Pocket Park, Station Road Norton
• land at Stapleton Street Norton
• land at Fuller Crescent Norton
• land adjacent to A19 Billingham Road Norton
• 96 Ha site, Portrack Industrial Estate, Stockton

From the work carried out to-date, one site (former Yarm Gas Works) has been determined as contaminated land and designated a 'Special Site' under the definition stated within the statutory guidance.

A change of approach to the inspection regime was implemented following the strategy review in 2014. It is proposed that during the period of 2019-24 the authority shall continue to concentrate on project work to remediate the PPC1 high risk category sites, where there is the greatest risk to human health.

The medium and lower risk categories (PPC2, PPC3 and PPC4) category sites will continue to be given lower priority. In implementing the strategy, the authority will prioritise reactive work, dealing with complaints from the public, and dealing with contaminated land through the development control regime. It is envisaged that through the Planning Regime a proportion of the remaining potentially contaminated sites will be identified and remediated.

The forthcoming strategy has been made based using the experience of officers, and the level of risk posed to human health using the relevant Statutory Guidance. The future budget allocation for contaminated land shall determine when the remaining medium and lower risk sites will be proactively inspected during this period.