A ‘Simplified Guide to Redeveloping Land Affected by Contamination in Northern Ireland’
Throughout all stages of development, from planning, to construction and compliance, developers must ensure that risks associated with potential land contamination are identified and addressed. This can be a costly and time-consuming process.
Therefore, the recent publication of practical guidance by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is seen as a welcome attempt to simplify issues for developers dealing with contaminated land.
Contamination, in most cases, arises from a previous use of the site, or an adjacent site, that had an industrial activity on it in the past e.g. gasworks, textile manufacturing, landfill, sewage works, railway lands. The Department's guidance makes it clear that contaminated sites being redeveloped should be supported by suitable risk assessments and remediation strategies. For further information you can access the guidance here.
If you are a developer who would like to discuss your duties and risks please contact Deirdre St John in the Environmental & Planning Belfast team.
Date published: 21 June 2019