When a development is proposed, and a planning application is submitted the Council will consider whether there are any contamination implications. A development will need to ensure that there would not be a risk of contamination.
As well as dealing with contamination requirements as part of planning applications we also deal with the discharge of contamination requirements through the discharge of planning conditions.
For most sites a contamination questionnaire or desktop study will be all that is required. This would hopefully identify that there are no previous uses of the site or building to be concerned about.
If the previous uses of a site or building identify a potential concern, then a more intensive assessment may be required. In the vast majority of cases there will be a way to deal with contamination or mitigate against it.
There are four different phases or types of contamination assessment, as follows:
