Contaminated Land Guidance: Update Proposed For England & Wales

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the statutory guidance on the Contaminated Land Regime under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (the Guidance).  The proposed changes are not sweeping but they will tidy up. Among the reasons for the consultation is cited the need to simplify the guidance, to make it more accessible and understandable, and therefore easier to apply effectively.

The consultation applies to the Guidance applying in England and Wales. The environment is a devolved matter and Scotland has its own Guidance. Although no current consultation is under way in Scotland, the Scottish Guidance is broadly the same as that in England and Wales and it is highly likely that a similar exercise will take place in Scotland in due course.