Supporting documents - Renfrewshire Council

Goodson Associates
2.0 THE CONTAMINATED LAND REGIME (continued)
Proposed Store Development, Wallneuk Road, Paisley - 9692
These areas of land through the contaminated land regime are identified,
prioritised and notified on a statutory register requiring a programme of
satisfactory remediation to mitigate any potential risks to future site users and
the wider environment. Such sites are regulated by the relevant local authority
and in the case of Special Sites 3 (whereby the risk of significant harm to the
environment is potentially high) the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency
(SEPA).
In a planning context, the definition and regulation of contaminated land is
primarily dependent on the current and proposed use of a site. A site may
contain existing contamination, but if the site use does not present a risk to
site users, it may not have the potential to cause significant harm. In essence
the site can be determined as “suitable for use” until a change in use is
proposed and the potential for contaminants to present deleterious
conditions/obstacles to development may arise. Thus contaminated sites may
be regarded as “as any site where the presence or suspected presence of
contaminants is an obstacle to development, regardless as to whether
development is proposed”.
In assessing the risk posed by potential contamination at a site, a procedural
methodology (CLR11 4 ) is used to investigate and evaluate the extent, nature
and potential risks of on site contaminants. The concept of a viable Source-
Pathway-Receptor (SPR) linkage model assists in evaluating the potential risk
of elevated contaminants at a site and a Conceptual Site Model (CSM 5 ’ 6 ’ 7 )
provides a mechanism for assessing potential risks. This is the first stage in
the risk evaluation process. The CSM is further discussed in Section 8.
3.0 PAN 33 REQUIREMENTS
The Planning system has a key role to play in addressing the issues of
historical contamination. As part of the planning process, it is necessary to
consider the potential impacts or constraints to development that
contaminated land may pose. Planning Advice Note (PAN 33 8 ) is a companion
document to the Contaminated Land Regime, published by the Scottish
Executive. It sets out the procedures that planning departments should
consider when developing potentially contaminated land. In relation to the
planning application, Annex 2 of the PAN33 document delineates the key
requirements that require to be implemented prior to submission.
This is presented as (Appendix 1).
3
Special Sites as defined in The Contaminated Land (Scotland) Regulations 2005
4
Model Procedures for the Management of Land Contamination CLR 11 (Environment Agency 2004)
5
The Contaminated Land Regulations (Scotland) 2005
6
DEFRA 2002: Assessment of Risks Human Health from Land Contamination: An Overview of Soil Guideline Values and Related
Research, Report CLR 7.
7
Potential Contaminants for the Assessment of Land (Industry Profiles) CLR 8 DEFRA March 2002
8
Planning Advice Note PAN33 (DEVELOPMENT of CONTAMINATED LAND) Scottish Executive October 2000.
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