Contaminated land

Some of the common causes of contamination are:

previous industrial use
use of contaminated materials as infill
high levels of naturally occurring contamination such as radon, methane or arsenic

The potential risks of contaminated land need to be taken into account when planning a development or if you are considering buying or selling a house or piece of land. Many potentially contaminated sites can be developed without risk of harm to people if they are cleaned up.

What to do if you are planning to develop a site

A Phase I desk study report must be submitted with the planning application if:

there is reason to suspect that contamination could impact on the proposed development
the proposed end use is considered vulnerable for example, residential uses, allotments, schools, nurseries, children’s play areas, playing fields

Building one house in an existing garden

If you are building one house in a garden then you may not need to complete a Phase I desk study. Instead you can submit a review of historical maps and any landfill sites within 250m of the site. Please include comments about the previous use of the site and its immediate surroundings. You'll also need to let us know whether or not further investigation is required to ensure the site is suitable for its new use.

Depending on the outcome of the Phase 1 desk study, a Phase 2 (site investigation) report and Remediation Statement may also be required in support of the application

The YALPAG development of contaminated sites leaflet (PDF 1.3MB) will give you more information about what you need to submit with your planning application. Please contact us if you would like to discuss the information you need to submit.

When considering remediation of a site you may also need to show you have taken appropriate steps to protect people from contamination by using gas protection systems or using a cover system. Additional technical guidance from YALPAG is available on verification requirements for Gas Protection Systems(PDF 4.5MB) and verification requirements for Cover Systems. The Cover Systems guidance also includes details on the assessment of material being imported on to a site.

Submitting a planning application

When you are considering developing a potentially contaminated site you must follow these steps when applying for planning permission:

make sure the question on existing use on the planning application form has been correctly filled in
ensure you have submitted the correct remediation and verification information to show that the site is suitable for use

We would also encourage you to:

raise land contamination issues at an early stage and discuss them with us
agree the scope of the site investigation works with us
include information about remediation in the deeds to individual properties, in particular where cover systems have been used and where buildings include gas protection measures

It is the responsibility of the developer to ensure that the land is safe for the intended use.

Inspecting and cleaning up sites

We are required by the Government to regularly inspect land to identify where historical contamination may pose a significant risk to people or the environment. Read our most recent Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy:

Contaminated Land: An Inspection Strategy for Leeds as required by Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 - December 2023 review and update

December 2023 review and update

1. Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Part 2A) came into force on 1 April 2000. This established a new statutory regime for the identification and remediation of contaminated land.

2. Under Part 2A each local authority has a duty to inspect its area for contaminated land. Leeds City Council published its first Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy in June 2001. Following a review of the 2001 Inspection Strategy, the January 2013 Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy was published, followed by October 2018 version a copy of which is attached as Appendix A.

3. This review of the October 2018 Inspection Strategy has been carried out following five full years of its implementation. In this review it is not proposed to update the 2018 Inspection Strategy document itself as there have been no fundamental changes to the technical and legal approach to inspecting Leeds for contaminated land, nor to the characteristics of the Leeds area. Whilst it is acknowledged that some sections could be updated, for example, Chapter 2 Existing Council Policies and Statutory Functions, these updates are not considered necessary at this current time given service priorities and resource constraints. However, please refer to the following Amendments and Updates sheet, attached as Appendix B, that identifies some updates that should be read in conjunction with the 2018 Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy.

4. At the time the March 2013 Inspection Strategy was published, service provision was allowing detailed inspection of approximately 20-30 sites a year. Over the past ten years, detailed inspection work has been taking place although at a much reduced rate due to service priorities (focussing on increasing planning consultation workloads) and resource constraints (reduced staffing levels).

5. In meeting the council's obligations under Part 2A, work will be continued in line with the Inspection Strategy. It continues to be difficult to estimate when detailed inspection for the whole of Leeds will be complete and at what rate sites will be investigated. Moving forward, available staff and financial resources will focus on the completion of sites that have been started.

6. As the Inspection Strategy is fundamentally remaining the same technically, a consultation process is not considered necessary. Following approval by the council (via delegated decision by the Chief Planning Officer in consultation with the Executive Member for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure), this review has been published and formally adopted on 12 December 2023.

7. The Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy will continue to be reviewed on a five yearly basis or less, where necessary, until routine detailed inspection of the Leeds area is complete.

8. Please note that the contact details for enquires about the Inspection Strategy have been changed. Please address any queries to the:

Team Leader (Contaminated Land)/Project Officer (Contaminated Land)
City Development
Merrion House
110 Merrion Centre
Leeds LS2 8BB
Tel: 0113 378 7608 or 0113 378 9865
Email: contaminated.land@leeds.gov.uk

Appendix A Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy dated October 2018

Please refer to Inspection strategy for Leeds.

Appendix B Amendments and updates sheet

The Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy 2018 has been reviewed in autumn 2023. Following this review, only a small number of amendments and updates were considered necessary. As a result, this amendments and updates sheet provides a summary of the outcome of this review. Whilst the CLIS still remains the 2018 version, the CLIS should be read in conjunction with this Amendments and Updates Sheet. The format of referencing below follows the Sections and Appendices of the CLIS 2018 report.

Section 1. Background and regulatory context

No necessary changes have been identified.

Section 2. Existing Council policies and statutory functions

The Best City Ambition replaces certain policies referred to in Section 2 including: Leeds 2030 - Vision for Leeds 2011 to 2030, the Best Council Plan and the Environment Policy 2012-2015. The council's Estate Management Strategy 2021 appears to replace the Asset Management Plan 2014-2017.

Para 2.9 - As of December 2023, the council's plans and priorities are available within the Leeds Best City Ambition (Leeds Best City Ambition.pdf). One of the priorities of the Best City Ambition is that Leeds will be a healthy city for everyone by 2030 with people living healthy lives for longer. The council's CLIS contributes directly towards this ambition. Although the implementation of Part 2A is a statutory duty, as opposed to a strategic priority or decision, the carrying out of the Inspection Strategy will help to enable the council to fulfil these priorities.

Para 2.12 and 2.38 - Public Health England has now been incorporated into the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Para 2.22 - The National Planning Policy Framework is now dated 2023 however the content of this publication has not significantly changed for land contamination matters.

Section 3. Characteristics of the Leeds Area

Section 3.7 (population) -2021 census data indicates population is around 812,000 for the Leeds district.

Para 3.43 - There are currently 107 Local Wildlife Sites. SEGI/LNA sites have now been assessed and have either been reclassified or removed.

Para 3.53 - There are currently 7 active and 2 dormant mineral extraction sites in Leeds. To date no planning permission has been sought for shale-gas extraction in Leeds.

Section 4. Aims objectives and priorities

No necessary changes have been identified.

Section 5. Strategy outline and work programme

Under the Inspection Strategy documents dated June 2001, January 2013 and October 2018, the following detailed inspection, determination and remediation work has been carried out:

Part 2A activity - Jun 2001 to Dec 2012	No. of sites	No. of properties*
Detailed inspection completed	114	3,123
Determination of contaminated land	4	48
Remediation of contaminated land	4	48

Part 2A activity - Jan 2013 to Oct 2018	No. of sites	No. of properties
Detailed inspection completed	64	1193

Part 2A activity - Nov 2018 to Dec 2023	No. of sites	No. of properties
Detailed inspection completed	18	895

Section 6. Prioritising sites for inspection

No necessary changes have been identified.

Section 7. Carrying out detailed inspection

No necessary changes have been identified.

Section 8. Leeds City Council land

No necessary changes have been identified.

Section 9. Providing information to third parties

Para 9.10 - updated contact details are provided in Paragraph 8 in the December 2023 Review and Update section above.

Section 10. Responding to information from third parties

Para 10.16 - updated contact details are provided in Paragraph 8 in the December 2023 Review and Update section above.

Section 11. Inspection strategy review

No necessary changes have been identified.

References

Department for Communities and Local Government. ‘National Planning Policy Framework’. September 2023 (replaces 2018 version).

Appendix A Receptors

No necessary changes have been identified.

Appendix B Receptor Classification and Scoring Scheme

No necessary changes have been identified.

Appendix C Site Classification and Scoring Scheme

No necessary changes have been identified.

Appendix D Prioritisation Scoring

No necessary changes have been identified.

Appendix E

Procedures for carrying out detailed inspection will be based on documented techniques, including those detailed in the following publications. NB: this list is not exhaustive, but is indicative of key reference sources which are available at the time of publication of this document.

ATRISK Soil SSVs Notes for Use. Atkins. March 2017.
British Standards Institute. BS 8485:2015:A1:2019. ‘Code of practice for the design of protective measures for methane and carbon dioxide ground gases for new buildings. 2019.
British Standards Institution. BS 10175:2011+A1:2013+A2:2017. Investigation of Potentially Contaminated Sites - Code of Practice. 2017.
British Standards Institution. BS 5930:2015+A1:2020. ‘Code of Practice for Site Investigation. 2020.
Building Research Establishment. Special Digest 1. ‘Concrete in aggressive ground. 3rd edition. 2005.
Construction Industry Research and Information Association. C665. ‘Assessing risks posed by hazardous ground gases to buildings’. 2007
Construction Industry Research and Information Association. C733. ‘Asbestos in soil and made ground: a guide to understanding and managing risks. 2014.
Department of the Environment (DOE). Industry Profiles. 1995/1996/2006.
Environment Agency. ‘Remedial Targets Methodology - Hydrogeological Risk Assessment for Land Contamination’. 2006.
Good practice for risk assessment for mine gas emissions. CL:AIRE. October 2021.
Ground Gas Handbook. ISBN 978-1904445-68-5. 2009. Wilson, S., Card, G., Haines, S
Land Contamination Risk Assessment. Environment Agency. July 2023.
Normal Background Concentrations (NBCs) of contaminants in English soils: Final project report. British Geological Survey (BGS) Commissioned Report, CR/12/035. Johnson, C.C., Ander, E.L., Cave, M.J., and Palumbo-Roe, B. 2012
Professional Guidance: Comparing Soil Contamination Data with a Critical Concentration. Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments (CL:AIRE). 2020.
Reference Publications for Detailed Inspection Procedures
Retrofitting hazardous ground gas protection measures in existing or refurbished buildings. Publication C795. CIRIA. 2020
Soil Quality - Sampling. BS ISO 18400-104:2018. British Standards Institute. 2018.
Soil quality. Conceptual site models for potentially contaminated sites. BS EN ISO 21365:2020. BS1. June 2020.
SP1010: Development of Category 4 Screening Levels for Assessment of Land Affected by Contamination - Final Project Report (Revision 2). Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments (CL:AIRE). 24 September 2014
SP1010: Development of Category 4 Screening Levels for Assessment of Land Affected by Contamination - Policy Companion Document. Defra. March 2014.
Technical Guidance Sheet (TGS) on normal levels of contaminants in English soils. Copper. TGS03. July 2012. Defra and BGS.
The LQM/ Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) S4ULs for Human Health Risk Assessment. Land Quality Management Limited (LQM)/CIEH. 2015.
UK Soil and Herbage Pollutant Survey. UKSHS Report No.1. Defra. June 2007.

If a site is found to be contaminated land we will decide who needs to deal with the contamination. If necessary we may issue a ‘remediation notice’ saying when the contamination needs to be taken care of by.