Contaminated land: property transactions, planning and domestic oil spills

Property transactions and conveyancing

If you are looking to buy a property, you’re advised to undertake a Local Authority Land Charges search. Contaminated land is commonly dealt with as part of the standard land charges search. If you have a more detailed enquiry or would like more information, please contact us using our online form.

Contaminated land is specifically dealt with by Question 13.12(a), (b) & (c) of the CON29R Form. In response to this question, our Land Charges team will provide details from the Council’s Contaminated Land Register together with any other details regarding the condition of the land (if known). Subsequent to this, any requests for further information will be directed to the Environmental Protection Team.

Requests for further information are charged at £25 per request. More complex or detailed enquiries and larger search area requests will be assessed against an hourly rate of £35 per hour, or part thereof, with a minimum of one hour being charged.

Planning and property development

It is the developer's responsibility to ensure that a development is safe and suitable for use and is expected to take action to determine whether land is suitable for a particular development or whether further remedial action is required.

View our contaminated land leaflet for further guidance regarding building development on contaminated land. 

Land contamination is a material consideration in the determination of a planning application.

Domestic oil spills

View our advice for domestic oil spills note if you experience a domestic oil spillage.