Contaminated land in Linwood highlights importance of environmental reports

Homeowners in Scotland are being urged to find out whether their property is situated on contaminated land, following the news that around 300 homes in Linwood may be sitting on toxic land, resulting in over £550,000 worth of investigation work and potential clean-up costs of £35,000 per household if long-term remediation works are required.

Research undertaken by Landmark Information Group, the UK’s leading provider of land and property search information indicates that, in some parts of Scotland, as many as one in five residential properties have been built directly on, or near, potentially contaminated land*. For residents of the properties in Linwood, which have been built on the site of a former foundry where reports of a black, tar-like substance oozing from the ground have been made, it is obviously a worrying time.

If the area is designated as ‘contaminated land’ within the legal definition, then it will be necessary to determine who will be responsible for the costs of clean up. If the original polluter cannot be found, liability rests with the current owners or occupiers of the affected properties, unless councils or government step in.

John Turner, Regional Manager for Landmark Scotland comments: “The best way to check if your property is affected is to get an environmental search carried out prior to purchase. Although a Property Enquiry Certificate tells you if land is on the council’s registration of contaminated land, very few properties are on the register because the councils haven’t investigated them. So the council register simply can’t be relied on in most cases."

John continues: “In the Linwood case, as with several others, if the contamination is cleaned up voluntarily without a remediation notice being served under the relevant legislation, these 300 homes will never appear on the register.”

James Sherwood-Rogers, Managing Director of Landmark Legal and Financial, adds: “Only by using a desktop environmental search can a buyer and his legal representatives be certain of establishing what risks, if any, might be hidden beneath the ground. The reports are quick to compile and are presented in an easily digestible format so that any risks can easily be identified thereby warning property purchasers of any possible risk. It is unsatisfactory that consumers are being kept in the dark about environmental risk.”

The Envirosearch Scotland report includes information on historical land use data, land contamination risks, information on mining and ground stability. The report also provides information on flooding data matched to the property's exact location and considers Risk Management Solutions (RMS) flood extents to indicate whether a property is likely to be subject to flooding in the future, and costs just £38 plus VAT.

For further information and statistics for your local area visit homecheck.co.uk.

* Landmark Data Index – based on Potentially Contaminated Industrial Uses (Past Land Use – all classes).
** Figure from Mr Barry Love, Semple Fraser Solicitors