Contaminated land

Put simply, it's land that poses a risk to people, the environment or property due to chemicals or other substances it contains. These are usually the result of a former industrial use.

We want to protect people, buildings and the environment from any risk of contamination.

This is land that's had a former industrial use: we assess how potential contamination from the former industrial use may be affecting the site's current use. An example would be assessing the risk to homes built on land that was once the site of a former industry.

This part of our work could affect you if you're:

• a homeowner or occupier
• a landowner
• selling or buying a property or land

An example of this would be a former industrial site where someone plans to build new houses.

This could affect you if you're:

• a developer
• planning to build on previously developed land
• buying or selling a new property built on previously developed land

We can help you find out about the history of individual sites, although there may be a charge for this information.  This service is often used by home buyers, solicitors, environmental consultants and others.

How we identify potentially contaminated land

We use various sources to identify former industrial sites, including:

• historical Ordnance Survey maps
  aerial photography (historic and recent)
• Landmark Historic Land Use data
• council records
• libraries and archives

As we’ve identified so many sites (several thousand) we do a basic assessment to prioritise them.

This means we can investigate the most polluting land uses first, to make sure the sites are suited to what they’re now being used for.

How we investigate potentially contaminated land

We use a phased approach (for example, if we complete phase one and find there’s no risk, we don’t need to proceed to the next phase):

1. Desk study: We assess the risk of contamination based on what the site was used for, where it is and what we found when we visited it. If there’s a possibility of an unacceptable risk, we move on to the next phase.

2. Intrusive investigation: This may involve taking samples of soil, and water (on and below ground), and checking for gases and vapours. This can involve digging pits, boring holes and installing monitoring equipment.

This part of the investigation is designed to let us know if work is needed to clean up the land and what this is likely to involve.

3. Remediation works: Remediation means the actions (such as reducing, isolating or removing the contamination) needed to make a site safe for what it’s being used for.

For each site, we’ll draw up a report showing what steps need to be taken. Then the work will be carried out.

4. Verification: When the remediation work is complete we’ll produce a Verification Report, which confirms that the site is suitable for its current use.

If we’re satisfied that a site is contaminated we must:

• find out who’s responsible for cleaning it up and making it safe
• decide what work’s needed to make the site safe (this is also known as remediation)
• make sure the work is done
• decide who pays for how much of the cost of the work

Work to make a site safe can be done by:

• the landowner, in a voluntary agreement with us
• the landowner, under a remediation notice that we can serve if we can’t reach an agreement
• those responsible for the contamination

After remedial work is complete we’ll record the details of any actions we’ve taken to enforce the regulations that govern contaminated land (for example, any remediation notices we’ve issued, or appeals against these).

We record these details in the public register of contaminated land.

Special sites

We don’t have powers to enforce land contamination regulations over certain sites, including:

• those that only involve water quality
• some kinds of industrial process
• the Defence Estate (Ministry of Defence land)

In these cases, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has enforcement powers.

If you are concerned

If you are concerned that some land may be affected by contamination then you can contact the Land & Air Quality Team.

Fife’s Contaminated Land Register holds the details of any land that we’ve legally identified as contaminated.

At present, the register lists no contaminated sites.

The register does not include details of all the historic land uses or reports we’ve used while investigating potentially contaminated land.

These details are only publicly available when we’ve legally identified land as contaminated.

Who should carry out contaminated land investigations?

We recommend you employ an environmental consultant, although we can't recommend individuals or companies.

If you have to carry out intrusive investigations, you'll also need the services of a drilling contractor and analytical laboratory.

Finding a suitably qualified environmental consultant

You need to be satisfied that your consultant is suitably qualified to carry out the various investigations you may require. You can do this by:

• checking our booklet 'Advice for developing brownfield sites in Fife' for the minimum requirements we need from investigation reports - and asking your consultant about the content of their reports
• asking to see the types of reports your consultant produces

You can find listings for environmental consultants in local trade directories.

When should contaminated land investigations be done?

You need to consider land contamination early on in the development process - well before work begins on site.

This is because your investigations may dictate certain design features, delay works or add to your costs. For example, you may need to:

• upgrade water supply pipes
• install gas and vapour protection measures
• upgrade concrete used for foundations
• remove contaminated material from the site and bring in new material, for example, soil

To save time and money these investigations are sometimes carried out in conjunction with a geotechnical investigation.

What investigations developers need to consider

We advise you to investigate potentially contaminated land in up to four phases:

1. Desk study: Assess the risk of contamination based on what you propose to develop the site for and on all the current, historic and environmental information that’s available about the site. If there’s a possibility of an unacceptable risk you need to implement phase 2.

2. Intrusive investigation: This typically involves trial pits and boreholes to collect samples for analysis and monitoring groundwater and ground gases and vapours over a period of time. The results of these will help you update the risk assessment. If they identify unacceptable risks, you should provide options to remediate the site.

3. Remediation works: You should produce a remediation strategy, detailing the works or measures you propose to remove the risks to the development. You must agree on this strategy with us before you begin remediation work.

4. Verification: When remediation works are complete you must submit a verification Report to us, confirming that the site is now suitable for its new use. The Council will only discharge planning conditions covering contaminated land after we’ve received and accepted the report.

Solicitors representing prospective property buyers often request copies of the Verification Report as proof that contaminated land issues have been sorted out.

Not every site will need all phases of investigation. But it’s important that every phase you do is appropriate to the use you propose for the site.

Sampling strategies and assessment criteria may depend on how sensitive the new use is. For example, a housing development is a more sensitive use than a retail development.

All investigations and risk assessments that you do must comply with the appropriate technical guidance.

There is a range of information and guidance available for developers.

Fife Council Guidance

Our advice booklet for developers and their consultants, ‘Developing brownfield sites in Fife’, includes:

• the minimum information we’ll accept for contaminated land reports submitted in support of a planning application
• what’s required for reports at each stage of the contaminated land investigation process
• a checklist you can download to use in your reports

If you submit a report that doesn’t meet the minimum requirements listed in the leaflet we’ll return the report, asking for more information.

Guidance on developing brownfield sites

The following highlights important guidance documents, but isn’t exhaustive:

• Scottish Executive - Planning Advice Note 33: Development of Contaminated Land (PAN 33)
• British Standards Institute -  BS10175: Investigation of potentially contaminated sites – Code of practice
• Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) - Industry Profiles (various titles)
• DEFRA Soil Guideline Values
• Environment Agency and NHBC - Guidance for the Safe Development of Housing on Land Affected by Contamination 2008 (R&D 66)

Due to copyright we can’t provide you with copies to download.

Guidance is regularly updated and replaced, so please make sure you always use the most up-to-date information available.

General Information

You may also find these organisations helpful:

• British Standards Institution (BSI)
  Building Research Establishment (BRE)
• Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)
• DEFRA
• Scottish environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
• The Environment Agency (EA)
• Water Regulations Advisory Scheme

They produce documents on subjects such as:

• chemical testing for contaminants
• concrete: choosing the appropriate concrete for site conditions
• cover systems, such as barriers and caps
• gas and vapour monitoring, including appropriate installations and monitoring frequency
• risk assessments
• sampling techniques
• water pipes: choosing the right materials for site conditions