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News Release from: Landmark Information Group | Subject: Contaminated land ruling
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 June 2006
High Court ruling on contaminated land
High Court ruling has made it clear that property developers, house builders and site owners could be liable for cleaning up contaminated land.
puts owners and developers in the spotlight A High Court ruling has made it clear that property developers, house builders and site owners could be liable for cleaning up contaminated land The Judge in the Bawtry case, in which a former gas works was developed for residential housing in 1965 and was recently determined as contaminated land, ruled that the original house builders would have been liable for the clean-up costs if the business had not long gone out of existence
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 15 Apr 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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National Grid Gas, the current site owner, is now facing the costs of remediation after the Judge ruled that as the heir to the operations of the former polluter - the private or nationalised gas companies that operated the gas works - it was also an "appropriate person" under Part 2A of the Environment Protection Act.
The ruling is only the second major case to be considered under Part 2A and according to legal expert from Trowers and Hamlins, Andrew Wiseman, it has major implications for site owners and developers: "This ruling makes it clear that if a site is determined as contaminated land under Part 2A then the site owner or developer could be liable for cleaning up that land.
It's a significant ruling, with far reaching implications for the commercial property industry, utilities and local authorities".
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Richard Pawlyn, from the industry's leading provider of environmental screening reports, Landmark Information Group, believes the number of cases under Part 2A is likely to increase: "Developments on brownfield land, such as this, carry a far greater risk of contamination.
There are 418,000 past industrial sites in the UK and given the government's drive to build 70 per cent of new developments on brownfield land it would not be surprising to see a steady increase in cases such as Bawtry brought to court.
"This is yet another example to owners and developers to take notice and our advice to them is simple - make sure you conduct an environmental search from the outset.
Screening reports such as Enviroscreen can protect you by identifying potentially contaminative sites and advise whether further investigation by environmental specialists is required." It is not just owners and developers at risk.
Contaminated land has obvious impacts on potential property values and Eric Shearer, Partner at Knight Frank, agreed that screening for environmental risk is no longer an option: "It's absolutely clear that an assessment of environmental risk is no longer optional but has become an absolute necessity in all commercial land and property transactions".
A recent survey by Landmark revealed that up to one in four commercial properties in the UK's largest cities face exposure to potential environmental risks.
In recognition of the growing importance of contaminated land in commercial property transactions Landmark have developed an online, instant screening tool.
Enviroscreen reports use comprehensive data reported from 136 sources to identify potentially contaminative sites within 100m of the site or property boundary.
An Environmental Certificate is included that provides unequivocal advice from a Chartered Environmental Surveyor as to whether the site or property is affected by Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act and whether the site needs further investigation from a suitably experienced Environmental Consultant.
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