Introduction to site contamination

A wide range of solid, liquid and gaseous man-made contaminants can arise on sites, especially those that have had a previous industrial or commercial use. Other sites, with a generally rural use such as agriculture or forestry may be contaminated by pesticides, fertiliser, fuels, oils and decaying matter of biological origin. Contamination of a site will normally be identified as part of the planning process. Where contamination of a site is identified, planning permission will only be granted subject to the condition that the contamination is remediated such that the site is restored to a state suitable for the proposed development.