Swindon Borough Council
CONTAMINATED LAND STRATEGY
Version 2.0 October 2011
Swindon Borough Council CONTAMINATED LAND STRATEGY
Contents Amendment Record This report has been issued and amended as follows:
Issue Revision Description Date Signed
1 0 Document issued for 06 April consultation and comment 2011
1 1 Document issued in draft for August cabinet member decision 2011 incorporating comments received during consultation period
1 2 Document issued for 28 implementation October 2011
Contents
Summary 1
1 Introduction 3 1.1 Purpose 3 1.2 Background 3
2 National and Local Policy Context 5 2.1 UK Contaminated Land Policy 5 2.2 Other Regulatory Controls 6 2.3 Swindon Borough Council Policy Context 10 2.4 Regional policy 12
3 Contaminated Land - its definitions 13 3.1 Definition of contaminated land 13 3.2 Definition of Pollutant Linkages 13 3.3 Definition of Harm and Pollution 15
4 Characteristics of the Borough of Swindon 16 4.1 Introduction 16 4.2 Current Land Use and Strategy Influence 16
5 Strategy Aims and Objectives 18 5.1 Introduction 18 5.2 The Council‟s Duties 18 5.3 Priorities 19 5.4 The Objectives of the Strategy 19
6 Implementing the Strategy 20 6.1 Introduction 20 6.2 Overall approach 20 6.3 Work Programme 21 6.4 Powers of entry 23
7 Progress in dealing with Contaminated Land in Swindon 24 7.1 Progress with the Inspection Programme 24 7.2 Summary of Recent Activity 25
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7.3 Noteworthy Contaminated Land Issues since the last Strategy was published 26 7.4 BVPI 216 28 7.5 Timetable for Inspections 28
8 The Inspection Procedure 30 8.1 Data and Software used to Identify Potential Sites 30 8.2 Prioritisation Process and Identified Potential Sites 32 8.3 Site Categorisation 34 8.4 The Risk Assessment Process 40
9 DETERMINING WHETHER LAND IS CONTAMINATED LAND42 9.1 Detailed Inspection 42 9.2 Procedures for Determining Contaminated Land 42 9.3 Written Record of Determination and Formal Notification 43 9.4 Special Sites 43
10 Remediation and Liability 44 10.1 Identifying liability 44 10.2 Apportionment of costs 45 10.3 The Council‟s Hardship Provisions 45 10.4 Remediation Notices 46 10.5 Remediation by the Local Authority 48 10.6 Statutory Grounds for Appeal Against a Remediation Notice 48 10.7 Orphan Sites 48
11 Information Management 50 11.1 Introduction 50 11.2 Public Register 51 11.3 Provision of Information to the Environment Agency52
12 Reviewing the Strategy 53
Appendix A List of Consultees 59
Appendix B Glossary 61
Appendix C References 64
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Appendix D 65
Appendix E Characteristics of the Borough of Swindon 68 E1 Geographical Setting 68 E2 Settlement and Population Growth History 69 E3 Industrial Development 73 E4 Physical Environment 76 E5 Natural Environment 86 E6 Built Environment 89 E7 Other relevant legislation 91
Swindon Borough Council Contaminated Land Strategy Version 2
Summary
Swindon Borough Council (SBC), in common with all other local authorities in the UK, is responsible for enacting Part iia of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in its locality. This specifically concerns the identification and management of Contaminated Land.
Each local authority is required to inspect its area to identify Contaminated Land. Each is required to prepare and publish a strategy setting out how this will be done.
The strategy describes the procedure by which contaminated sites are identified and assessed, including procedures for their inspection and for securing remediation, where required.
Since its initial publication in 2001, this document has been updated to record progress in implementation of the strategy and to take into account changes in legislation and statutory guidance.
Contaminated Land is defined in Section 78A(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as:
Any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated, to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, on or under the land, that, either: Significant harm is being caused or there is significant possibility of such harm being caused; or Pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be, caused.
The assessment of sites considers whether they are suitable for use by the application of risk assessment principles. The presence alone of contamination at a site does not make it contaminated; there must be present a receptor, such as a person or environmental feature, that might be harmed or polluted by the contamination plus a pathway, a means by which the contaminant and receptor come together. Completed contamination-pathway- receptor relationships are known as Pollutant Linkages.
Inspection of land is being undertaken and comprises review of records to determine the likelihood of contamination followed by a prioritisation of sites for more detailed inspection. The prioritisation process is risk-based and follows a defined detailed methodology.
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On occasion, SBC may use powers to enforce this inspection procedure, in particular to obtain information on pollutant linkages such as by carrying out invasive investigation.
There will be circumstances where because of the specific nature of the site it becomes a “Special Site” and regulation is transferred to the Environment Agency.
Considerable progress has been made enacting this strategy, with prioritisation, inspection and decision making, however, to date, no sites in the Borough of Swindon have been determined to be contaminated land. By contrast, many sites have been remediated as a result of voluntary action by site owners and other responsible persons. Some of these sites may otherwise have been determined as contaminated land.
Enquiries: Please address any enquiries to: The Contaminated Land Officer Swindon Borough Council Environmental Enforcement Wat Tyler House Beckhampton Street Swindon SN1 2JH
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Part A Background
1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose It is Swindon Borough Council‟s intention that this document, the Contaminated Land Strategy, will form the basis for implementation of the Part iia legislation within the Borough of Swindon. This strategy will provide not only the arrangements and procedures for inspection of land within the Borough of Swindon but also a justification for, and a transparency in, the decisions on how the land will be inspected.
1.2 Background This document sets out how Swindon Borough Council (SBC) will comply with its obligations to identify, characterise and seek remediation of contaminated land under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA1990). It has been prepared by the Environmental Enforcement Department of Swindon Borough Council. Original drafts of this strategy were published in 2001 and this document is the latest revision of this first draft.
The regulatory regime for the identification and remediation of contaminated land was introduced into Part iiA of the EPA1990 by the Environment Act 1995 and was enacted in England on the 1st April 2000 by the Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2000. The legislation changed in September 2006 (DEFRA Circular 01/2006 Environmental Protection Act 1990: Part 2A – Contaminated Land), and now incorporates radioactive contamination. There have been significant changes in technical and procedural guidance that have also occurred since publication of the original regulations and this strategy.
The regime is designed to complement developing regulation, practice and procedure in dealing with brownfield sites, many of which are also contaminated. It is intended to deal with historic contamination, land that became contaminated and is not otherwise regulated under other existing regimes. It imposes a strict and retrospective liability for contaminated land
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and has the potential to impact on all owners and occupiers of land, whether commercial or domestic.
Part iiA of the EPA1990 is the primary regime for dealing proactively with contaminated land. Other regulatory regimes also exist for addressing contamination, notably contamination that arises during the development process, and these are described below.
Swindon Borough Council is dealing with contaminated land on an ongoing daily basis to assist the general principle of bring land back into beneficial use in the most sustainable manner, whilst reducing risks associated with land contamination to an acceptable level.
Subsequent chapters set out the legislative context in more detail, the characteristics of land within the Borough and the means by which it will be assessed.
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2 National and Local Policy Context
2.1 UK Contaminated Land Policy 2.1.1 Description In the UK, contaminated land policy has developed on the principle that the polluter pays for historic contamination. Policy objectives were set out in the mid-1990s with the White Paper titled „Paying for our Past‟, from which has developed the Contaminated Land Regulations that came into force in April 2000. Latest detailed (statutory) guidance is set out in the DEFRA Circular 01/2006. This Circular takes into account changes in the regulatory regime to allow radioactively contaminated land to be included. Part iia itself is the primary legislation, with further information and procedures set out in the statutory guidance
Under the regime, all Local Authorities are required to periodically inspect the land within their administrative area, in a rational, ordered and efficient manner, for evidence of contamination that is causing, or has the potential to cause, significant harm to environmental receptors. A decision is then made as to whether the land is causing unacceptable risk to human health or the wider environment. An England- wide regime, similar to that in Wales and Scotland, it is intended to promote consistency and similar approach to the identification and determination process.
The principle of assessment is thus one of “suitable for use”, based on an assessment of risk that the site may pose to humans, the environment, infrastructure and water.
2.1.2 Responsibilities The Local Authorities are the primary regulators for Part iia although the Environment Agency has a key role to play in assisting the Local Authorities to identify and assess land, in particular those sites that cause pollution of controlled water. The Environment Agency will also act as the enforcing authority for land designated as Special Sites and will assist Local Authorities in the detailed inspection of these sites. The Environment Agency published periodic reports on contaminated land specifically the
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“State of Contaminated Land Report”. Swindon Borough Council supplied data to the Environment Agency for this purpose in 2007.
The main responsibilities of the Local Authorities under Part iia are:
1. Prepare an inspection strategy setting out how the Authority intends to inspect its area for the purpose of identifying contaminated land. 2. Determine whether particular areas of land are contaminated land in accordance with the Secretary of State‟s guidance. 3. Decide whether any contaminated land is also required to be designated as a Special Site in consultation with the Environment Agency as appropriate. 4. Identify and notify owners and occupiers of the land, those who may be liable and the Environment Agency that the land is contaminated land and whether it is a Special Site. 5. Undertake urgent remediation action where there is imminent danger of serious harm. 6. Determine who may be liable to bear responsibility for remediation of contaminated land and what proportion of the costs they should bear. 7. Ensure that appropriate remediation takes place, either by encouraging voluntary action or, unless restrictions apply, by serving a remediation notice on those responsible. 8. Take further action if remediation is not carried out or is not effective. 9. Maintain a public register containing details of regulatory action taken under Part IIA. 10. Provide information on contaminated land under Part IIA to the Environment Agency to allow preparation of the State of Contaminated Land Report.
2.2 Other Regulatory Controls 2.2.1 Interaction with Part iia Part iia is intended to address the problems associated with contaminated land that would otherwise be difficult to address via other environmental and related legislation. It is not intended to function in isolation from other regimes, rather to complement and operate in parallel. The other
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regulatory regimes that also involve contaminated land issues are described below.
2.2.2 Planning and Development Control Under development control regime, contaminated land is a material consideration in the planning process (See Planning Policy Statement 23). Where contamination at a site is suspected, the planning process would normally require investigations to be undertaken to determine the nature and extent of the contamination, and appropriate means by which the contamination may be managed, such as by treatment or containment measures.
The planning and development control regimes and Part iia are normally mutually exclusive. Where land is within the normal cycle of redevelopment and regeneration, Part iia does not normally apply. In general terms, the planning regime addresses proposed land use, whereas Part IIA considers current land use.
Under the planning regime it is the developer who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the safe development of the site.
2.2.3 The Building Regulations The physical nature of development is controlled by the Building Regulations. The Approved Document C of the Building Regulations 2000 describes the preparation of the ground and ensuring resistance of the development to contamination. This is a requirement placed on the builders to ensure that the ground covered by a development is reasonably free of materials that might damage it or affect its stability and to take reasonable precautions to avoid health and safety risks resulting from contamination.
2.2.4 Statutory Nuisance (Part III of the EPA 1990) The application of statutory nuisance powers to the control of land contamination has largely been superseded by other powers, however it may still be applied where land is causing nuisance as a result of for example, odours. The legislation has been amended to provide that no land in a „contaminated state‟ can be a statutory nuisance (see Environment Act 1995, sch.22, para. 89). It is possible however for activities associated with contaminated land management, such as
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remediation activity (noise, dust etc.) to be considered as statutory nuisance.
2.2.5 Integrated Pollution Control and Pollution Prevention & Control
(a) Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) – Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (“the 1990 Act”) placed a requirement on operators of prescribed industrial processes to operate within the terms of permits to control harmful environmental discharges; (b) Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) – This regime (arising from the European Directive on pollution control IPPC) has been introduced to replace IPC, and includes the specific requirement that permits for industrial plants and installations must include conditions to prevent the pollution of soil; and there are also requirements in relation to the land filling of waste. This is regulated under The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
The Landfill Directive supplements the IPPC directive by setting a variety of technical standards of operation for landfill PPC (above) and covers waste via the Landfill Regulations 2002. These regulations are an enactment of the Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC. All landfill sites currently accepting waste are permitted under Pollution Prevention and Control legislation.
Part iia does not normally apply where the Environment Agency or the Local Authority (as applicable to the size and type of process being regulated) has powers to take action over contamination of land arising from the breach of a Process Authorisation under the above legislation.
2.2.6 Waste Licensing Part 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 places controls over the handling, treatment and disposal of wastes; in the past, much land contamination has been the result of unregulated, or badly-managed, waste disposal activities.
Part iia does not normally apply where contamination is arising from land subject to a current Environmental Permit; in this case the Environment Agency would enforce appropriate conditions of the Environmental Permit .
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It should be noted that some activities associated with contamination remediation may be subject to environmental permitting by the Environment Agency.
2.2.7 Water Resources Act 1991 This regime sets out the responsibilities of the Environment Agency in relation to water pollution (amoung other issues). Specifically it gives powers to the Environment Agency to prevent or remedy pollution of controlled waters by the issuing of works notices. The appropriate application of either regulatory regime to any given site will need to be determined after consultation between the Local Authority and the Environment Agency.
2.2.8 Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations These Regulations impose obligations on operators of economic activities requiring them to prevent, limit or remediate major environmental damage. They implement Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability and have the objective of making operators of activities which cause damage financially liable for that damage (the 'polluter pays' principle). The Regulations apply to serious environmental damage to land, water and to species and habitats, and came into force on 1st March 2009. Land damage focuses on risk to human health and covers a wider range of adverse effects. The local authority is the lead regulator in respect of the Environmental Damage Regulations.
2.2.9 Forthcoming legislation Drafts of a proposed European Union (EU) directive are being circulated and debated. Known as the Soil Framework Directive, it will promote an EU-wide approach to the proactive identification, assessment and remediation of contaminated land and is thus likely to have a significant impact on the regulation of contaminated land in the UK. This inspection strategy would be reviewed as necessary if this Directive is incorporated into UK law.
2.2.10 Further information Swindon Borough Council publishes a general information leaflet that describes the significance of contamination, regulation and how to obtain further information.
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2.3 Swindon Borough Council Policy Context The Borough of Swindon has been continuously growing and expanding and is a focus point for development in the South West region. To control the nature of this development and to ensure that it meets the needs of the locality the Swindon Borough Local Plan 2011 sets out SBC‟s current policy as to how new development will meet changing socio-economic circumstances.
Although national UK policy is to direct as much development as possible on to brownfield sites, Swindon‟s comparatively recent growth is the major factor behind a general deficit of large “brownfield” and urban redevelopment opportunities in the town. However, much of the planned new development will occur on brownfield sites (sites that have been previously developed) and many of these sites, by their nature, are likely to be contaminated to a greater or lesser extent. This is specifically acknowledged by the Local Plan in section 3.30, within Policy ENV27:
Policy ENV27 Development of land that is either contaminated, or is strongly suspected of being contaminated, shall only be permitted when: a) an evaluation has been submitted of the level and precise nature of any contamination and need for removal or treatment; and b) the potential of existing contaminants to pollute both surface water and ground water, both during and after construction has been established; and c) the decontamination measures required to achieve a level of land quality suitable for the proposed end use have been identified; and d) measures are taken to ensure that migrating gas is safely dealt with where development is proposed on land adjacent to an uncontrolled „gassing‟ landfill site. Where planning permission is granted, conditions may be imposed requiring the execution of any necessary remedial works. Justification 3.30.1 Under paragraph 4.4 of PPG23, the actual, or potential contamination of land is deemed to be a material planning consideration when determining development proposals. Government guidance emphasises that it is the responsibility of the prospective developer to
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investigate the existence and extent of any contamination and to assess the viability of development in economic terms. 3.30.2 When determining development proposals the Local Planning Authority must satisfy itself that any development proposals take, "proper account of contamination" (para. 4.10, PPG23). As a consequence, the Local Planning Authority may, when granting planning permission on a site which may potentially be contaminated impose: conditions requiring the developer to first investigate and assess the extent of contamination, and where necessary, require that remedial action be taken to neutralise the hazard prior to development commencing. Development proposals which are adjacent to an uncontrolled "gassing" landfill site will require the developer to demonstrate to the Local Planning Authority that adequate precaution has been taken to ensure that any gas leaking into the development site will be trapped and safely vented away. Remedial measures may also need to satisfy legal requirements enforced outside the planning system. It will be the responsibility of the developer to ensure that all requirements, where derived from planning legislation or otherwise, can be implemented.
Related policies cover protection of ground and surface water (ENV 22) and development of unstable land (ENV26). In addition to the Local Plan, the Wiltshire and Swindon Structure Plan 2016, prepared by Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire County Council covers the period 1996 to 2016 and was adopted in April 2006. This sets out objectives and provides a strategic policy framework for the county of Wiltshire and the Swindon urban area until 2016, notably:
h) Re-use of Developed Land and Buildings To secure the effective and appropriate re-use of developed land and buildings, including land which is derelict or has been previously contaminated, for economic and/or community purposes.
The adopted structure Plan provides for the development of 26,000 dwellings in the Swindon urban area within the plan period.
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A particular policy objective is Policy C13 that gives additional guidance on derelict or spoiled land in the open countryside: C13: the restoration and reclamation of derelict or spoiled land in the open countryside to appropriate rural uses will be sought wherever possible, especially where this enhances the landscape quality of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the New Forest heritage area, the World Heritage site, the Great Western Community Forest, the Western Wiltshire green belt and Special Landscape areas.
2.4 Regional policy The Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West (RPG10) provided the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West of England 2006-2026 and beyond. Swindon is identified as a major centre for growth and urban renaissance. Policy VIS1 refers to minimising the development of Greenfield land. Policy SS11 highlights a policy objective for Swindon which includes “more efficient use of land within urban areas through the development of brownfield land…”.
The RSS indicated the overall number of dwellings proposed at Swindon for the period 2006-2026. It stated that in total, about 36,000 additional dwellings should be provided at Swindon, comprising:
19,000 new homes in the existing urban area of Swindon (including the existing commitments at the remainder of the Northern Development area and Wichelstowe), 12,000 new homes to the east of Swindon (Eastern Development Area), 2,000 new homes as smaller scale urban extension(s) to Swindon within Swindon Borough, and 3,000 new homes as smaller scale urban extension(s) to the West of Swindon in North Wiltshire District.
Plus 1,200 dwellings in the rural remainder of Swindon Borough.
In July 2010, the Government announced that it intended to abolish Regional Spatial Strategies, however Regional Strategies remain part of the development plan until they are abolished by the Localism Bill currently going through Parliament.
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3 Contaminated Land - its definitions
3.1 Definition of contaminated land Contaminated land is defined 1 as “…any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, on or under the land, that;
significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm being caused (categories of significant harm are detailed in Table A of Annex 3 to the DEFRA Circular 1-2006); or pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be caused”.
A major expected change to the above definition may occur on enactment of section 86 of the Water Act and concerns the change from „Pollution of controlled waters‟ to „Significant pollution of controlled waters‟.
3.2 Definition of Pollutant Linkages Part IIA requires land designated as contaminated to have a significant pollutant linkage, this being the presence of a substance of concern, a receptor that may be harmed or polluted by the substance and a pathway that brings these together.
For a pollution linkage to exist a contaminant (or source of contamination), a receptor and a pathway must all be present. Conversely, if any one of these three elements is absent, then a pollutant linkage does not exist.
It is also possible that there will be more than one pollutant linkage on any given piece of land.
1 Environmental Protection Act (1990) Part iiA, Section 78A(2)
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A contaminant is defined under the guidance as a substance which is in, on or under the land and which has the potential to cause harm or to cause pollution to controlled waters.
A receptor is defined as:
a) A living organism, a group of living organisms, an ecological system or a piece of property which:
i.) is in a category listed in Table A of the DEFRA Circular 1-2006 as a type of receptor (reproduced in Appendix D), and
ii.) is being, or could be, harmed by a contaminant, or
b) controlled waters are being, or could be, polluted by a contaminant, or
c) A scheduled ancient monument (here the principle of „harm‟ is regarded as any damage that significantly impairs the historic, architectural, traditional, artistic or archaeological interest by reason of which the monument was scheduled.
A pathway is one or more routes or means by, or through, which a receptor:
a) is being exposed to, or affected by, a contaminant, or
b) could be so exposed or affected.
Absence of any pollutant linkages despite the presence of substances in the ground may mean that a site is not contaminated under these regulations. This recognises that harm to health and the environment arises not from the mere presence of contaminating substances in land, but from their movement along a pathway to where they can cause damage to a receptor.
It is possible for a pathway to be identified based on a reasonable assessment of the general scientific knowledge about the nature of a particular contaminant and of the circumstances of the land in question. Direct observation of the pathway is not necessary. However, and as
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indicated above, unless all three elements of a pollutant linkage are identified in respect to any piece of land, that land should not be identified as contaminated land.
3.3 Definition of Harm and Pollution In order to define a piece of land as being contaminated under the guidance SBC must satisfy itself that:
a) such a pollutant linkage exists in respect of a piece of land; and
b) that pollutant linkage:
i.) is resulting in significant harm being caused to the receptor in the pollutant linkage,
ii.) presents a significant possibility of significant harm being caused to that receptor,
iii.) is resulting in the pollution of the controlled waters which constitute the receptor, or
iv.) is likely to result in such pollution.
Descriptions of significant harm and conditions for there being a significant possibility of significant harm are listed in Tables A and B of the Statutory Guidance, and included in Appendix D.
Consideration must also be given to the timescale within which the harm might occur (e.g. if the current use of the land is due to change) and the vulnerability of the receptors. The regulations are aimed at dealing with the worst of England‟s sites, and only specify a „suitable for current use‟ approach.
The assessment of risk relies on a scientific and technical assessment in the context of the specific circumstances of the site, which will in turn inform a decision on the probability and consequences of that risk. There is plenty of published technical and procedural guidance available describing the assessment and decision making process (such as Model Procedures (2004) and CIRIA (2001)).
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4 Characteristics of the Borough of Swindon
4.1 Introduction Swindon is located in the north of Wiltshire, situated in the Thames Valley, between the Marlborough Downs and the Cotswolds.
Swindon Borough Council is a Unitary Authority in the South of England. As a Unitary Authority it is required to carry out the functions of both the district and county councils in a traditional two-tier area. There are around 85,000 households and 184,000 people within the Borough. The Borough comprises only around 6% of Wiltshire‟s land area, but is home to 30% of the County‟s residents.
Swindon itself is a large industrial town, with a railway heritage dating back to 1840. However industrial activity in Swindon and its environs dates back to the Roman era 2000 years ago when Portland limestone was quarried. For around 150 years the railway industry dominated Swindon‟s activities. In later years Swindon has continued to be a major engineering town, in particular the manufacturing of cars and components. Swindon is also a financial and administrative centre.
The characteristics of the Borough of Swindon are set out in Appendix E and include:
History and development of Swindon and its environs Population characteristics Geological, hydrogeological and hydrological setting Other environmental characteristics.
4.2 Current Land Use and Strategy Influence The environmental setting and industrial development of the Borough of Swindon are described in Appendix E. The overriding influence both historically and currently is the railway and the industries associated with it. Other industries, particularly engineering and financial sectors continue
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to be major employers in the town. The current employment sectors are summarised in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1 Employment by Sector in Swindon
Employment Sector Percentage Agriculture, fishing, energy and 2.4 water Banking, finance, insurance etc 25.4 Construction 3.0 Distribution, hotels and restaurants 25.4 Manufacturing 14.7 Other services 4.2 Public admin, education and health 18.7 Transport and communication 6.2 Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2006 and Government Office for the South West
Where reduction in size of an industry has occurred, as happened with the railway and associated manufacturing industries, some sites have been left derelict and could potentially be impacted by contaminants. The work that has accompanied this strategy on identification of potentially contaminated land incorporates information about the redevelopment and reuse of these sites. The legacy of the area‟s past heavy industries means that the potential for land contamination is likely to remain a recurring problem in new development.
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Part B The Strategy
5 Strategy Aims and Objectives
5.1 Introduction The objectives of this strategy are set out below. A detailed breakdown of how the Council will meet its objectives is given in this Chapter, whilst a priority for actions and establishing milestones is set out in subsequent chapters.
5.2 The Council’s Duties SBC is obliged by section 78B(2) of Part 2A to act in accordance with guidance issued by the Secretary of State for identifying and regulating contaminated land. It is this guidance that requires the council to take a strategic approach to identifying and assessing contaminated land and produce a formal strategy setting out how this will be done. The Council will:
Identify any land with potential (or actual) contamination Inspect any land which may be contaminated (including Council owned land) Notify any affected person, the Environment Agency, and other relevant stakeholders, if contaminated land is identified Decide whether any particular land is a Special Site in consultation with the Environment Agency Identify who is the legally Appropriate Person, responsible for the remediation of the land Issue a Remediation Notice to secure remediation of the land, if necessary Take enforcement action against any person who fails to comply with the terms of a Remediation Notice, if necessary Exercise its power to carry out remediation and recover the costs of doing so, if necessary Maintain a public register in relation to contaminated land
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5.3 Priorities Swindon Borough Council‟s objective is initially to identify the most serious ground contamination problems which may pose an actual or potential risk to human health, to drinking water and to other controlled waters. Overall the Council will prioritise:
a. The protection of human health b. The protection of controlled waters c. The protection of designated ecosystems and other sites of wildlife importance d. The protection of damage to property and designated historical sites, including ancient monuments.
SBC intends that its approach be: Be rational, ordered and efficient Be proportionate to the seriousness of any actual or potential risk Seek to ensure that the most pressing and serious sites are considered first
5.4 The Objectives of the Strategy The Strategy presents the procedure by which contaminated sites will be identified, prioritised and assessed, including procedures for their inspection and securing remediation, where required.
This document sets out the Council‟s strategic approach as primary enforcing authority for Part 2a. It explains how the SBC will respond to its statutory duties in respect of contaminated land as set out above.
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6 Implementing the Strategy
6.1 Introduction A detailed breakdown of how the Council will meet its objectives is given in this Chapter, prioritising actions and laying down milestones.
6.2 Overall approach Swindon Borough Council has prepared a list of potentially contaminated land sites by consulting the sources of information referred to in Chapter 4 and appendices. All of these sites have undergone preliminary prioritisation by assessing the proximity of the contamination feature to important environmental factors, such as neighbouring development, surface waters and groundwater, in accordance with guidance provided within publication CLR6 (see Chapter 4). Using the preliminary assessment above, subsequent categorisation has been carried out using the Preliminary Risk Ranking System (see Chapter 8). This ranking methodology is based on an application of the source- pathway-receptor linkage approach and takes into account the following factors:
Source severity (such as type of contamination and origins)
Pathway efficiency (such as permeable natural underlying geology)
Receptor sensitivity (such as proximity of housing and schools)
The categorisation assigns scores to all of the sites, using the detailed scoring system described in Chapter 8. Those sites with the highest scores will undergo inspection first followed by the next category and so on. In this way, the Council will be able to ensure that its resources are concentrated on investigating areas where it is most likely to identify contaminated ground. To aid the inspection process, the results of the categorisation exercise has been divided into 4 groups – High, Medium, Low and Very Low. Placement of sites in these categories is for the convenience of the prioritisation process and does not reflect their actual risk to the community.
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6.3 Work Programme The inspection process was broken down into a series of milestones, which are described below (dates proposed in original strategy in brackets). Progress in achieving these milestones is described in Chapter 7.
Stage 1 Consultation Strategy (June 2001 to Feb 2002)
The first edition of this strategy was drawn up in accordance with DEFRA technical guidance and was circulated internally and externally to solicit comments.
All relevant Consultation comments were taken into account to produce the final strategy document.
Stage 2 Publish Inspection Strategy (Feb 2002)
The strategy was finalised in Feb 2002 and submitted to the DETR, with a copy to the Environment Agency.
Stage 3 Site Identification (Feb 2002 - Dec 2003) - complete
Site identification was initiated alongside the compilation of the draft strategy document. This is, however, a continuous process as further information sources will continue to be discovered and/or reviewed that lead to additional sites being added to the portfolio. This may arise from information provided under other regimes such as planning and development control.
Stage 4 Dealing with Urgent Sites (Feb 2002 - June 2004) - complete
Where there were any verifiable reports of sites causing significant harm identified through consultation, the general approach to inspection was to be secondary to dealing with such sites (and if there was a critical need, investigation work would begin before the final strategy would be complete). In the event, no detailed site investigation was required.
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Stage 5 Design and construction of database (Feb 2003-Dec 2003)- complete
As a result of this strategy, SBC commenced the design and construction of a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based database linked to a mapping source, for identification and storage of information relating to implementation of its duties under Part iia.
The database is continually updated on a daily basis as information becomes available.
Stage 6 General Approach to Inspection (Feb 2003 - June 2006)
The Council‟s first priority is in dealing with potential contaminated sites which have been categorised as PPC1, followed by those categorised as PPC2 and so on.
Stage 7 Council Owned Land (Feb 2003 - ongoing)
The Council has some land holdings in its Borough. There are other areas of land within the Borough that the Council (or its predecessor) has owned at some stage in the past where potentially contaminative activities (e.g. waste disposal) may have occurred. The Council may also have deliberately pursued the acquisition of derelict or “Brownfield” land in order to develop them and improve the overall quality of the area.
Within the priority-based approach to investigation as referred to above, it is appropriate that these types of sites are subjected to inspection and investigation (and if necessary, remediation) as a first priority. This follows the Council‟s general approach to “putting its own house in order” before expecting others to follow suit.
A council funded scheme to restore landfill sites at Shaw belonging to the Borough is ongoing.
Stage 8 Local Plan Land (Feb 2003 - ongoing)
As the planning authority for the area, the Council is required to draw up a Local Plan, specifying which areas of land should be used for which type
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of development. If the Council is making recommendations about land use, it is logical to undertake an inspection and investigation of this “local plan land” first within the priority based approach to contaminated land inspection and investigation. This land is specifically considered as each priority category of sites is being investigated.
Stage 9 Threats to Controlled Waters, protected Areas of the Environment and Buildings (April 2006 to April 2007)
Where the inspection and investigation of sites based on the priority based approach has located information revealing imminent threats to controlled waters or protected areas of the environment posed by the contaminated land, and where the evidence demonstrates a need for urgent action, this is being taken as soon as practicable alongside the priority based programme of inspections.
Stage 10 Final Prioritisation (ongoing)
The Regulations require the remediation of contaminated land sites to be prioritised. Initial prioritisation has been carried out for the purposes of investigation and inspection. Final prioritisation for remedial works (if required) can only take place once all the sites have been identified and investigated and this will therefore occur at the end of the investigation stage.
6.4 Powers of entry The powers of entry under the Environment Act 1995, Section 108, allows Authorised Officers to obtain access to a piece of land that they believe to be contaminated to carry out a site investigation and to take samples.
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7 Progress in dealing with Contaminated Land in Swindon
7.1 Progress with the Inspection Programme The previous edition of this Contaminated Land Strategy was produced in 2002 and consultation took place with a number of statutory and non- statutory consultees at that time.
Implementation of the Strategy has proceeded keeping broadly to the programme set out in the approved first version of the Strategy.
The Contaminated Land Strategy of 2002 set out a self imposed timetable for the first four phases of the inspection process:
Stage Key task Complete Comment ? 1 Stage 1 Consultation Yes 2002 Strategy 2 Publish Final Yes Inspection Strategy 3 Identification of Yes Established and Potential Sites continuously updated as and when new information becomes available 4 Dealing with urgent Yes One critical site was sites identified and works were carried out 2008-11 (Shaw Landfill) 5 Provision of Specific Yes Established and being Database and GIS and continuously updated Purchase of Historic Land Use Data to Identify Sites 6 General approach to Yes All PPC1 (High) priority inspection sites have been inspected.
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7 Council owned land Partly - Some Council-owned ongoing land has been addressed, however priority has been given to PPC1 sites, which include some Council- owned sites. 8 Local Plan land Yes - Much of this land has ongoing come under scrutiny as planning permission has been sought for these development sites (for example the Southern Development Area – Wichelstowe). 9 Threats to Controlled Yes Commencing in 2006, Waters, protected two PPC1 sites have Areas of the been addressed as these Environment and were identified as being Buildings associated with pollution of controlled waters. Action in regard to these is ongoing. 10 Final Prioritisation No This refers to the prioritisation of sites for remediation, and to date not all the identified sites have been inspected. On those where inspection has indicated a need for further study, negotiations are underway with responsible parties.
7.2 Summary of Recent Activity In common with most other Local Authorities, Swindon Borough Council employs a Contaminated Land Officer, based in the Environmental Enforcement Team, who is the lead officer regarding contamination issues in the city. The Contaminated Land Officer‟s responsibilities include implementing the Inspection Strategy, advising the Local Planning Authority and Building Control regarding developments on contaminated
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land, responding to land quality enquiries and other requests for environmental information, responding to urgent and emergency incidents and advising Council landowning departments on asset and liability management.
7.3 Noteworthy Contaminated Land Issues since the last Strategy was published The Swindon Area has experienced significant growth in residential development since the early 1980s and the next few years until 2026 and beyond will see continuing demand for land to be earmarked and developed for housing, as part of central government and regional special requirements.
For this reason, it is likely that the majority of contaminated ground in the borough will be managed as part of the planning system, as has been happening to date.
The following key activities have been completed since 2002:
Initial review of historic mapping and other available sources of information identified 695 sites that have been subject to a current or previous potentially contaminative land use. It should be noted that these sites have not been determined to be Contaminated Land, only that they were previously subject to a previous land use that may have lead to contamination being present and thus a 'potential' risk to vulnerable receptors. Initial screening of these sites (excluding trivial sites such as small, modern transformer stations, small infilled ponds etc), including some preliminary inspection work and review of site investigation data where appropriate, during 2006 and 2007, reduced this number to 414. These 414 sites have been subjected to the risk ranking (as set out in section 8.3) involving assigning a score based on potential risk. The top scoring 25 sites of this list have been designated high priority, and initial inspection and assessment has been made of each of these. Detailed investigation involving sampling has been carried out on 6 of these sites. At the top of the list is the former Peatmoor Landfill site, which is owned by Swindon Borough Council. Major remedial works have continued at
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to manage contaminated emissions generated from wastes deposited there. Most recently a constructed wetlands has been installed that combines treatment of contaminated water (leachate) with habitat creation to enhance biodiversity at this Community Forest facility. Discussions are ongoing to secure the voluntary remediation of two sites in the Borough causing pollution of controlled water. In addition to Peatmoor Landfill, since 2002, more than 50 sites have been subjected to remedial works involving treatment and removal of contamination, via the planning system. These include in particular:
o Remediation of ground at the former Princess Margaret Hospital, Swindon, which involved remediation of hydrocarbons beneath the former Boiler House by on-site techniques during 2005. o Remedial works carried out to enable development of the former Okus Trading Estate, Okus Road, Swindon. o Removal of contaminated soil at the former works, Moormead Road, Wroughton. o Treatment of soil on-site, Kembrey Park, Swindon. o Removal of oil contaminated ground at the former Police Station, Princes Street, Swindon in readiness for the town centre regeneration.
It is important to remember that a large majority of the above identified 414 sites are likely to be benign. The provisional screening and ranking exercise has identified potential for contamination but this does not imply actual contamination is present - many will, of course, never have been contaminated to begin with. Others might be contaminated to some extent, but not to a degree where they might be determined to be Contaminated Land. It is the objective of the further inspection strategy to determine the actual presence of contamination of these sites.
It is also important to note that additional sites might continue to be identified following review of further information.
A major constraint has been available resources and implementation of the Strategy will continue alongside other statutory commitments. It must be
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remembered that the implementation programme must remain relatively fluid, in order to be responsive to resourcing and workload constraints.
7.4 BVPI 216 In 2005, Government introduced two Key Performance Indicators (BVPI 216a and BVPI216b) relating to progress with contaminated land inspections. These indicators were published nationally on an annual basis to allow comparison between local authorities, between 2006 and 2008. The best value performance indicators were intended to allow comparative progress with obtaining information that would allow Part 2a sites to be identified and assessed, to be tracked.
BVPI 216a : The number of sites of potential concern, with respect to land contamination BVPI 216b : The percentage of potential sites which have been assessed/inspected during the previous 12 month period
The BVPI returns for BVPI 216a and 216b, covering the period 2007/8 were.
. BVPI 216a=402 sites . BVPI 216b=7.0%
From 2008, reporting of this BVPI is no longer required by Government, however it has provided a measure of progress in gathering information for implementing the strategy in these years.
7.5 Timetable for Inspections Setting a timetable for enactment of the remaining tasks of the inspection strategy is very difficult. Many uncertainties exist, not least the number of sites that will require site investigation. Funding is uncertain - some funding may be available from central government in some cases to carry out site investigation, but the nature of site assessment is that it is unknown what amount of resources will have to be allocated to see the site through to remedial works and beyond. In turn it unclear how much officer time will be required to complete the whole process for each site.
Some site investigations can take weeks or months to complete, some only days.
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With such large variables it is estimated that to complete all the site assessments a period of up to 25 years will be required. This is a significant time period, but it within this time many of the currently identified sites will be dealt with under the planning system or even voluntarily as has happened to date. These sites will leave the list. Some additional sites may also be discovered as new information comes to light. Other sites will leave the list as development or change demonstrates that risks are actually insignificant.
The period of time should be considered against Swindon‟s long industrial heritage, over 170 years of potentially polluting activities occurring over a large geographic area.
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8 The Inspection Procedure
8.1 Data and Software used to Identify Potential Sites 8.1.1 Introduction As indicated in Section 6 above, since 2002, Swindon Borough Council has collected and collated available information and initiated identification of sites that could be the potential source of contamination, the pathways that could facilitate transmission of contaminants, and receptors that may be subject to harm as a result of the transmission.
Determination of pathways and receptors is an ongoing process and will continue throughout the risk assessment and site inspection/ investigation stages. This is in accordance with the presence or absence of a proven source-pathway-receptor pollutant linkage, giving rise to the judgement of land being contaminated or not.
Potentially contaminated sites have been primarily identified directly from the available historical mapping in paper format. It is probable that this has not identified all potentially contaminated sites, not least because some will be contaminated by unauthorised and undocumented activities.
Sites have also been identified from other source data information collected, such as prior attempts by Swindon Borough Council to collate known sites and information obtained from trade directories and consultees.
8.1.2 Data Consulted The detailed sources of data to be consulted were set out in the previous version of this strategy, and these have been studied.
These resources have also augmented the information volume on already identified sites, providing detailed site histories for some sites.
The sources studied include:
1. Historic mapping and aerial photographs
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2. A list of waste disposal sites (from Wiltshire County Council‟s Register in 1991) 3. The Environmental Health Officers Survey of 1986 4. Two separate lists of known potentially contaminated land sites identified and drafted by different Council departments 5. A list of Council owned land 6. A list of PPC Part A2 and B authorisations within Swindon Borough, including supporting information 7. Contaminated land enquiries raised on the Environmental Health database 8. Building control records, including letters and investigative reports relating to a number of sites within the Borough 9. Planning records, including supporting information to assist planning applications 10. Petroleum officers records 11. SBC Structural engineers‟ files 12. Geological and hydrological mapping, particularly that supplied by British Geological Survey 13. Voluntary remedial work to land 14. An annually renewed licensing agreement exists with the data provider Landmark in relation to some of the above historic mapping 15. Information supplied by Environment Agency 16. Other historical information, eg publications, postal directories.
As sites have been identified they have been recorded on an Excel spreadsheet. This assists maximum portability of data across departments. The information has also been recorded within the Borough- wide GIS-based mapping system. The information recorded against each site at the identification stage is as follows:
Site type Site name Site address
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Grid reference: Easting and Northing (where available) Site History e.g. map sheet edition date on which the site first appears, changes on subsequent editions, date site becomes disused or a new use appears etc. Information source Other remarks e.g. detailing facilities such as tanks, kilns or pits on-site Remedial works undertaken A unique reference number was applied to each site.
8.2 Prioritisation Process and Identified Potential Sites 8.2.1 Preliminary Prioritisation As part of the Council‟s duty to inspect its area for contaminated land the Council is charged with concentrating resources on “the most serious problems first”. Therefore, the Council has sought to prioritise the inspection programme by employing a methodology that distinguishes and rank sites.
The role of risk assessment in the Council‟s approach to contaminated land has been introduced in Chapter 2. In this phase of Hazard identification, potentially contaminative features have undergone preliminary prioritisation by assessing the proximity of the feature to neighbouring development, surface waters and groundwater, in accordance with CLR No. 6 Part 1 procedures. Proximity to development, surface water and groundwater features have been determined through view of the GIS mapping held by the Council.
Every site in turn has been matched to the criteria of a group for each of the three categories as outlined in Table 8.1 below, and assigned a score for each category. The nature of the features matching the criteria has been recorded together with distance from the site. This information was preparatory to the next phase of Site Categorisation (see Section 8.3), which is the primary site ranking exercise.
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Table 8.1 Preliminary Prioritisation
Development Group A a residential development, school, playground or allotment lies within the site or 50m of the nearest site boundary where the above cannot be determined from the available map data Group B a residential development, school, playground or allotment lies within 250m of the site boundary industrial or commercial development lies within 50m of the nearest site boundary agricultural or amenity use, including parks and playgrounds where the above cannot be determined from the available map data Group C any site falling out of Groups A and B
Surface Water Group A significant surface water feature within 50m of the nearest site boundary Group B significant surface water feature within 500m of the site boundary and evidence to suggest a potential identifiable runoff pathway between the site and water body Group C significant surface water feature within 500m of the site boundary but no evidence to suggest a potential identifiable runoff pathway no significant surface water within 500m of the nearest site boundary
Groundwater Identified contaminative features will be classified according to their proximity to designated Source Protection Zones and aquifer resources, as detailed in the Environment Agency‟s aquifer designation information (and previously the Groundwater Vulnerability Map sheet 38 (Upper Thames Valley & Berkshire). See full aquifer description and background, including the 2010 changes, in Appendix E Group A site located within either a Zone 1 or 2 SPZ Group B site located within a Zone 3 SPZ site located over a major aquifer Group C site located outside of Zone 1 to 3 SPZ site located over a minor (Secondary) or non-aquifer (Unproductive)
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To record its grouping and score in relation to development, surface waters and groundwaters and also the final classification (see below), the individual reference number, site name and site type will be copied across to a separate Excel spreadsheet and new data fields added for this information. Data storage issues are addressed in full in Chapter 11.
8.2.2 Final Group Prioritisation The preliminary prioritisation will be converted to final prioritisation, ready for the next stage of the site prioritisation process – which is to create a site inspection hierarchy from site categorisation and risk-based scoring.
The group prioritisation classification of a contaminative feature will be based upon its highest prevailing group classification under the headings of development, surface waters and groundwater. To enable inter-ranking of the grouped sites an overall score will be assigned to each feature given by the summation of the component scores for the three receptor classes, where “A” = 10, “B”= 5 and “C” = 3. The overall grouping and final score will be recorded for each feature as key field attributes.
Those sites placed in priority Group A will be assessed first in the subsequent categorisation stage.
8.3 Site Categorisation The purpose of the Babtie Preliminary Risk Ranking System is to apply the system to all identified sites to provide a hierarchy for more detailed assessment (where practicable). The site categorisation methodology is based upon an assessment of the Source-Pathway-Receptor linkage and takes account of the following factors:
Source Severity Pathway Efficiency Receptor Sensitivity
The initial step is to assign a site to a contaminative use under the DOE classification such as “gas manufacture and distribution” for a gas works site. If a site has been under multiple uses, it will be assigned to the highest risk class for which it qualifies. A generic score according to the risk class of the contaminative use (i.e. High, Medium or Low) is appointed.
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A further step in Source Severity assessment is allocating a landfill gas potential dependent on whether any filling has occurred on-site.
The next step is assessment of Pathway Efficiency. Here the site‟s artificial, drift and solid geology is considered and scored. The final element of the pathway assessment is against mine shaft entries, boreholes and wells acting as pathways through the geological strata.
The following step considers receptor sensitivity. As with Source Severity assessment, a site will be assigned against the criteria that it tallies to with the highest score. For example where a site is within 50m of allotment gardens and agricultural or amenity uses, the site is assigned to the allotment gardens group with a score of 12 points.
The Table 8.2 below sets out the complete criteria and scores against which Source, Pathway and Receptor Severity will be assessed.
Table 8.2 Site Categorisation - Criteria and Scoring
SOURCE SEVERITY (SS) Risk Ranking SS1 DOE contaminative use classification of feature Score High Risk Classes 10 C2A Mining of coal/lignite, coal storage, petroleum and gas refining C2B General quarrying, heaps, mineral railways C3A Gas manufacture and distribution C3E Electricity production and distribution C4B Metal casting/foundries C7B Chemical manufacturing (general) C8A Transport manufacturing and repair C8B Military land C11A Saw milling C15A Sewage treatment, outfalls C15C Unknown filled ground
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Medium risk classes 5 C5C Clay bricks and tiles manufacture, cement C8 Factory/works (unspecified use) C12B Natural/man-made textile manufacture and products C14A Railways C14B Transport support and cargo handling C14C Road haulage C16A Laundries, dry cleaning
Low risk classes 2 C9 Food processing, meat processing, animal slaughtering C16 Air shafts, cemeteries, hospitals C16B Environmental testing and analysis, laboratories
SS2 Landfill gas potential (of contaminative feature)
Filled ground – landfill (i.e. C15C) 4 No filled ground 0 PATHWAY EFFICIENCY (PE) PE1 Artificial geology composition Made Ground (known fill) 8 Made Ground (unknown fill) 4
PE2 Drift geology composition No drift 10 Granular 8 Mixed granular/ cohesive 4 Cohesive 2
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PE3 Solid geology composition Coarse grained rock e.g. Granite or permeable fine grained rocks 8 e.g. Chalk Mixed sequences or unknown lithology 4 Fine grained rock excl. Chalk e.g. Basalt 2
PE4 Mine entries, Boreholes and Wells Within feature or 50m of boundary 8 50-250m of boundary 4 250m-1km 2
RECEPTOR SENSITIVITY (RS)
RS1 Human receptors (on or within 50m of contaminative feature) Allotment gardens 12 Residential (with and without gardens) 10 Schools/nurseries 8 Agricultural/amenity 4 Commercial/industrial 2 Other 1
RS2 Groundwater vulnerability* SPZ1/SPZ2 10 SPZ3/Major aquifer (High) 8 Minor aquifer (High) 6 Minor aquifer (Intermediate) 4 Minor aquifer (Low) 2 Non-aquifer 1
*NB The Environment Agency has recently issued new aquifer designations maps to make them consistent with the Water Framework Directive, however there have been no fundamental alterations in the status of aquifers within Swindon. More detail is given in Appendix E.
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RS3 Highest chemical surface water quality (of any controlled waters on or within 50m of feature) A 10 B 8 C 7 D 6 E 5 F 4 Unclassified 3
RS4 Ecological receptors (spatially coincident with contaminative feature) Ramsar/SAC/SPA/NNR/MNR 8 SSSI (NB – geological SSSI‟s may be less vulnerable) 6 SNCI/LNR 4 SLCI 2 SLCI (proposed) 1
RS5 Heritage receptors (spatially coincident with contaminative feature) Ancient Monument 4 None 0
Calculation of Risk Ranking Score On completion of the assessment against the Source, Pathway and Receptor criteria, a Risk Ranking Score for the site is totalled. There is a maximum score for each section and overall as a site can only be attributed to one criteria within each segment such as „Human Receptors‟. e.g.:
SSmax = 14
PEmax = 34
RSmax = 44 92 Total max =
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Normalised Scores
The score of each section must be normalised using the maximum score of that section to provide even weighting of each of the three sections. The methodology for this calculation is set out below:
SSn = (SS1 + SS2) x (92/3)/14 i.e. multiplying factor of 2.19
PEn = (PE1 + PE2 + PE3 + PE4) x (92/3)/34 i.e. multiplying factor of 0.90
RSn = (RS1 + RS2 + RS3 + RS4 + RS5) x (92/3)/44 i.e. multiplying factor of 0.70
Preliminary Risk Ranking Score ranges will be calculated to correlate to High, Medium, Low or Very Low Risk Ranking. Hence, the overall normalised score for each site will lie within one of these ranges and provide a preliminary risk ranking. The risk rankings will correlate directly to a Priority Category of PPC1 to PPC4. The score ranges relating to Risk Ranking category will be determined prior to the commencement of the risk assessment.
Risk Score Range Preliminary Priority Category
High PPC1
(to be determined)
Medium PPC2
Low PPC3
Very Low PPC4
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All information utilised in this risk assessment system has been recorded in an Excel spreadsheet.
Each site has been assigned to a Priority Category, and within the categories, sites have been ranked by their score within the range. This has determined the order in which inspections of sites will take place, commencing with the highest scoring sites with Priority Category PPC1.
8.4 The Risk Assessment Process The above prioritisation has resulted in a provisional list of sites that is constantly reviewed as new information arises. Having prioritised sites for inspection, the subsequent detailed inspection is required to confirm the presence of a pollutant linkage and thus confirm the existence of statutory contaminated land.
The prioritisation procedure considers the possibility that pollutant linkages, that is likely source-pathway-receptor relationships, do exist. The risk assessment process considers these linkages in more detail, and involves further inspection.
The purpose of further inspection is to gather sufficient information to allow a decision to be made whether the site is likely to constitute legally contaminated land, and necessitate remediation.
The scope of further inspection is very site specific and thus variable in scope. It might simply comprise obtaining records of previous investigations, which are then studied to glean further information about the site‟s condition, coupled perhaps with a visit to site or similar to establish the presence of pertinent features, such as the presence of disused chemical tanks.
There will be occasions where the information to inform decision-making cannot be obtained without undertaking intrusive site investigations and sampling. Site investigations will then occur and will comprise the minimum necessary work to confirm or deny the existence of the potential significant pollution linkage(s) being considered. These investigations may aim to confirm whether:
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The presence of a particular contaminant, or range of contaminants is actually present on site, its nature and extent The migration pathway assumed actually exists Receptor usage and thus exposure that was assumed is representative of the likely situation at site.
Further phases of investigation might aim to gather more data to allow the risks that contamination might pose.
Data obtained in this way is then assessed to decide whether:
a) The site poses significant harm (or the significant possibility of such harm) to the receptor(s), or b) The pollution of controlled waters is being (or likely to be) caused.
If either of these are confirmed then the land becomes contaminated land by definition and the pollutant linkage becomes significant.
The findings of site inspections will be assessed against technical good practice guidance, and the statutory guidance issued by DEFRA and the Environment Agency. Detailed consideration of the technical basis on which findings will be assessed is outside the scope of this Strategy.
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PART C - PROCEDURES
9 DETERMINING WHETHER LAND IS CONTAMINATED LAND
9.1 Detailed Inspection Land will be prioritised, inspected and assessed according to the approach described in Chapter 8.
It is expected that most detailed site investigations will be carried out on a voluntary basis by the site owner or occupier, and to this end the Council will seek to open dialog and cooperation to achieve a mutually agreeable way forward. However, where necessary, the Council is prepared both to carry out investigations itself and to use enforcement powers to ensure that the objectives of the regime are satisfied.
9.2 Procedures for Determining Contaminated Land Once the Council becomes aware of the existence or the possible existence of a pollutant linkage, it will, according to the prioritisation process described above, assess the likelihood of risk or pollution occurring. In assessing if land is contaminated, the Council will need to determine whether a pollution linkage is likely to occur.
The Council will carry out inspections and assessments as detailed in Chapter 8. It will then decide whether the land is statutory contaminated land.
There are four possible grounds for determining land as contaminated; where:
Significant harm is being caused There is a significant possibility of significant harm being caused Pollution of controlled waters is being caused Pollution of controlled waters is likely to be caused
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Sites will be assessed on the basis of the location of significant pollutants in, on or under the land and the nature of the remediation, which may be required. All decisions will be regularly reviewed in light of further information becoming available.
9.3 Written Record of Determination and Formal Notification The Council will seek voluntary action to address land contamination where possible.
When the Council makes the decision to declare land statutorily contaminated, it will prepare a written record of the determination. The record will include:
a) A description of the pollutant linkage(s) confirmed, including conceptual model b) A summary of the evidence which confirms the existence of the pollutant linkage(s) c) A summary of the risk assessment(s) upon which the pollutant linkage(s) were considered to be significant (or evidence for water pollution) d) A summary of the way in which the requirements of the statutory guidance were satisfied.
The Council will place a copy of the record on the public register. The Council will also notify formally in writing all relevant parties that the land has been declared contaminated. Specifically, the Council will make enquiries and notify those persons who are believed to have caused or knowingly permitted the pollution, any person who appears to be in occupation of the whole or any part of the land, the landowner(s) and other statutory bodies (normally the Environment Agency) if appropriate.
9.4 Special Sites In the event that the Council considers the land to be a Special Site, the Environment Agency will be informed of the decision. The EA will consider whether it agrees to the designation of the site as a Special Site and if it does not agree it will notify the Council and the Secretary of State within 21 days with a statement explaining its reasons. The Council will then refer the matter to the Secretary of State.
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10 Remediation and Liability
10.1 Identifying liability Swindon Borough Council will attempt to apportion liability according to the procedures laid down in the Statutory Guidance DEFRA Circular 01/2006. Although contaminated land can be declared following identification of a single pollutant linkage, liability will be apportioned once all pollutant linkages have been identified.
Once all significant pollutant linkages are identified, the procedure to determine liability will be as follows:
a. Identify potential appropriate persons and liability groups b. Identify remedial actions c. Attribute responsibility to liability groups d. Applying tests, exclude members of liability groups e. Apportion liability between members of each liability group.
The description of liability groups is set out in the Statutory Guidance (Chapter 9 of Annex 2). All appropriate persons for any one linkage are a liability group. These may be “Class A” or “Class B” persons.
Appropriate persons - Class A - These are, broadly, the polluters, but will also be those that “knowingly permit” a contaminant to be present or migrate. This includes developers who leave contamination on a site, which subsequently results in the land being declared contaminated because a new receptor has been introduced (residents).
Appropriate persons - Class B - Where no Class A persons can be found, liability reverts to the owner or the occupier. These are known as Class B persons.
The council will make all reasonable enquiries to identify Class A persons before liability reverts to owner occupiers. Only where no Class A person can be found who is responsible for any particular remediation action will
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the owner or occupier be liable for remediation by virtue solely of that ownership or occupation.
The appropriate persons must be identified for each significant pollutant linkage. So, where a site has had a series of contaminative uses over the years, each significant pollutant linkage will be identified separately and liability considered for each.
After application of tests to apportion liability, remedial action will be apportioned between the appropriate persons who remain.
10.2 Apportionment of costs Where appropriate persons have been identified as liable, the individual or group as a whole will be responsible for the costs of remediation. A group will have costs apportioned between the members of that group and costs may be apportioned between various groups.
In making cost recovery decisions the Council will have regard to the two general principles set-out in the statutory guidance (Annex E11): that the overall result should be fair and equitable (including local and national taxpayers) and that the principle of „polluter pays‟ should in general apply.
In general the Council will seek to recover its costs in full, unless circumstances of hardship or mitigation exist.
10.3 The Council’s Hardship Provisions The Council will seek to establish any grounds that might result in hardship where it seeks to recover its reasonable costs of remedial works, before serving remediation notices.
The following circumstances may be relevant when the Council assesses potential hardship: For Commercial Enterprises The threat of business closure or insolvency. For Trusts The extent to which costs may be recovered from the trustees.
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For Charities The extent to which cost recovery would jeopardise that charity‟s ability to continue to provide benefit or amenity in the public interest. For Social Housing Landlords The extent to which cost recovery would lead to difficulties in provision or upkeep of social housing. For all Class A Persons (polluters or knowing permitters) The extent to which another Class A person who cannot now be found was also responsible for the contamination. For all Class B Persons (current owners or occupiers) The extent to which remediation costs might exceed land value and the extent to which reasonable steps were undertaken to establish the condition of the land prior to obtaining the freehold For all Class B Owner-Occupiers of Dwellings The extent to which the owner-occupier might reasonably have been expected to be aware of the potential for contamination to exist
10.4 Remediation Notices 10.4.1 Serving Remediation Notices Remediation is the action required to ensure that the land is no longer a risk to human health or the environment. Remediation Notices identify what the person responsible for the land must do and by when.
Remediation notices will only be issued when no other solution is available. The Council encourages voluntary solution to contaminated land and will seek this route first. Before remediation notices are served, unless the circumstances are urgent, an extensive consultation process will be completed and ample encouragement given to agree voluntary remediation.
The council will carry out consultation with the appropriate person(s), owners, occupiers and others about their views on the state of the land.
Where no voluntary solution can be achieved, such as where it appears to the Council that a remediation scheme will not be agreed voluntarily, or if there is an emergency, the council will serve a remediation notice on each appropriate person. The notice will set out the actions to be taken and the period time in which these must be completed. A notice will not be served
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less than three months after formal notification that the land is contaminated land unless the action necessary is deemed to be urgent (that is where there is imminent risk of serious harm, pollution or harm due to radioactivity).
The remediation notice will specify the measures to be taken, employing “best practicable techniques”. The aim of the remediation will be to break down any pollutant linkages and ensure that the land is no longer Contaminated Land, by means of the lowest cost and shortest timescale.
The measures taken will be considered for their reasonableness as this approach is considered at some length in the statutory guidance. The relationship will be considered between the cost of the remediation and the benefits (financial, social and environmental) against the cost of failing to carry out this work (that is, the costs, or potential costs, resulting from the continuing pollution).
10.4.2 Enforcement It is an offence for a person, without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with the terms of a Remediation Notice served upon them. In such circumstances a decision on whether to prosecute will be taken by the Council‟s Head of Legal Services.
Copies of any Remediation Notices served will be placed on the Council‟s Public Register of Contaminated Land.
If voluntary remediation takes place without the serving of a Remediation Notice then a Remediation Statement will be required from the person undertaking the remediation. Copies of any Remediation Statements will also be placed on the Public Register of Contaminated Land.
Swindon Borough Council has an enforcement policy applicable to a range of its regulatory duties:
SWINDON BOROUGH COUNCIL, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH and PLANNING SERVICES, GENERIC ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTION POLICY, Approved by Cabinet January 2007.
This will be relevant to the enforcement of Contaminated Land matters. A copy of this document is available on request from the Council.
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10.5 Remediation by the Local Authority If the council considers that serving a remediation notice would not result in the remediation happening soon enough, it may decide to carry out the remediation itself. This may happen where:
urgent action is required no appropriate person can be found where persons are excluded on the grounds of hardship where persons responsible are in default of a remediation notice where an arrangement has been made whereby the council carries out the remediation on behalf of appropriate persons.
Urgent remediation will occur where the council is satisfied that there is imminent danger of serious harm or serious pollution of controlled waters or serious harm attributable to radioactivity being caused as a result a significant pollutant linkage that has been identified. In all appropriate cases the council will seek to recover costs of remediation works it has completed.
10.6 Statutory Grounds for Appeal Against a Remediation Notice An appeal can be made against a remediation notice. There is no right of appeal under legislation against determination of a site as Contaminated Land.
The appeal must be made to the Secretary of State. Any person who receives a remediation notice has twenty-one days within which he can appeal against the notice. The various grounds for any such appeal are detailed and are prescribed in the relevant legislation (the Contaminated Land Regulations 2006). A remediation notice will be suspended after an appeal has been initiated until it is upheld or abandoned.
If SBC considers the situation urgent, it may still carry out particular remediation actions as set out in 10.4 above and seek to recover its reasonable costs.
10.7 Orphan Sites When neither a Class A or B liability group can be found after reasonable enquiries, or where persons can be found but they are exempted from
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liability for specified reasons, as set out in the Guidance (Annex D), then the Council will classify the site as an „orphan site‟.
Exemption from liability applies where:
The land is contaminated by reason of pollution of controlled waters only, and no class A persons can be found (this means class B persons cannot be held liable for pollution of water from land) The land is contaminated by reason of the escape of a pollutant from one piece of land to another and no Class A persons can be found The person responsible was acting in a relevant capacity (for example, insolvency practitioner or official receiver)
Where this occurs, the Council will bear the cost of the remediation in accordance with the Secretary of State‟s guidance.
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11 Information Management
11.1 Introduction 11.1.1 Maintaining a Public Register of Contaminated Land The Council will prepare and maintain a Public Register of Contaminated Land. This is a written record of any determination that particular land is contaminated. The public register will include information set out in Chapter 8 after determination of the land as Contaminated Land.
11.1.2 Data Storage and Requests for Access to Information As indicated in Chapter 8, information obtained and collated under this strategy is stored in both spreadsheet and GIS-based software.
An important development is that the information has been linked to the Council‟s information database (Caps-Uniform) so that the location of potentially contaminated sites can be accessed in relation to Development Control and Building Control, Environmental Health and forward planning activities.
SBC regularly receives requests for information on contaminated land. Most of these requests are in relation to land/property purchase and transfer and SBC‟s records may be inspected by other agencies, commercial concerns and private individuals in this respect.
The Council is subject to the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and several other pieces of legislation governing the storing and provision of information, such as the requirements of Town and Country Planning. The Council will make the majority of information held by it relating to potentially contaminated land available in the public domain unless there is a good and legally valid reason not to.
Note that while records will be made freely available for inspection, it may not always be possible to provide or allow copies of this information as a result of copyright restrictions, or further copyright restrictions might apply to documents made available. There are occasional circumstances where
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information pertaining to land condition may be deemed commercially confidential (such as under the regulations governing Environmental Permitting (Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) Regulations 2010) and thus not made generally available. Information that if available would be prejudicial to national security or where disclosure might prejudice future legal proceedings, will also be restricted.
SBC is aware that information on land contamination is a sensitive issue, as it can often contain terms and descriptions that are emotive, which if incorrectly handled would give rise to concern and blight. The Contaminated Land Officer can be contacted to provide advice and assistance with information of contamination.
SBC may make a reasonable charge for the supply of information, and for significant efforts to retrieve data.
11.2 Public Register 11.2.1 Access to the Public Register The public register will be made available free of charge at the Regulatory Service offices of Swindon Borough Council during office hours. Whilst it is not a requirement that an appointment is made, the availability of staff competent to answer any matters that may arise from inspection of the register cannot be guaranteed without prior notification.
11.2.2 Information to be withheld from the Public Register Under certain circumstances the Council may not or cannot place information on the public register (or release in response to other requests). Circumstances where information is withheld include:
a) where it is in the interests of national security; and b) where this is commercially confidential, or c) where data is subject to the Data Protection Act.
Where information has been excluded from the public register for reasons of commercial confidentiality, a statement will be included on the register to indicate this.
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11.3 Provision of Information to the Environment Agency As part of the contaminated land regime, the Environment Agency is required to prepare and publish a report on the state of contaminated land. The aim of the State of Contaminated Land report is to compile information on the:
nature, extent and distribution of contaminated land; level of remediation undertaken; and Regulatory action taken under this regime.
The report is intended to assess the scale and significance of the problem of contaminated land and the effectiveness of measures put in place to address it. The information that the Council is required to supply to the Environment Agency is as follows:
A copy of the Council‟s Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy; Information on sites designated as contaminated land by the Council; and Information on the regulatory action undertaken by the Council.
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12 Reviewing the Strategy
The Strategy will be reviewed every four years, unless there is reason to undertake a review earlier. The next review will therefore take place in 2014.
An earlier review will be conducted if:
There are significant changes to the regulatory regime that require modification or revised approach This would include revised legislation or significant changes in the statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State There are significant changes in technical approaches to investigation or assessment of risk There are significant changes to land use planning that impact or suspected contaminated sites There are practical difficulties in implemented significant parts of the Strategy.
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Figure 1 Plan showing coverage of Swindon Borough
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Figure 2 Geological Map of Swindon
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Figure 3 Groundwater Vulnerability Map (pre-2010 designations)
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Figure 4 Groundwater Typography Mapping – Bedrock
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Figure 5 Groundwater Typography Mapping - Superficial
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Appendix A List of Consultees and Contact Points
A.1 Neighbouring Authorities
Wiltshire Council County Hall Trowbridge Wiltshire BA14 8JN
Cotswold District Council Trinity Road Cirencester Gloucestershire GL7 1PX
Vale of White Horse District Council Abbey House Abbey Close, Abingdon OX14 3JE
Environment Agency Red Kite House West Area Office Howbery Park Crowmarsh Gifford Wallingford Oxfordshire, OX10 8BD
A.2 Other Public Bodies
Forward Swindon Wiltshire Court Farnsby Street Swindon SN1 5AH
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NHS Swindon Thamesdown Drive Swindon SN25 4AN
Health Protection Agency CRCE Gloucester 1210 Lansdowne Court Gloucester Business Park Brockworth Gloucester GL3 4AB
Network Rail Property Contacts Director, Network Rail 40 Melton Street London NW1 2EE
Forward Swindon Ltd Wiltshire Court Farnsby Street Swindon SN1 5AH
A.3 Swindon Borough Council
Departments consulted: Planning, Parks, Residential Services, Property
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Appendix B Glossary
aquifer A geological stratum or formation able to hold or transmit exploitable quantities of groundwater brownfield sites Any land which has been previously developed or requires unclean land work done to it to bring it into use. borehole A hole drilled in or outside the wastes in order to obtain samples. Also used as a means of venting or withdrawing gas. chronic risk The probability that an adverse effect will occur as a result of long term exposure to, or contact with, a hazardous substance or as a result of a long term hazardous condition contaminated land Any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is (for the purposes of situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, Part A of the on, or under the land, that:- Environmental (a) significant harm is being caused or there is a significant Protection Act possibility of such harm being caused; or 1990) (b) pollution of controlled waters is being, or is likely to be caused contaminated land Land which represents an actual or potential hazard to health or in assessment of the environment as a result of a current or previous use land contamination effects contaminated site Any site which, as a result of activities either previously or currently carried out on it, contains concentrations of substances or pathogens that are high enough to be a hazard to health or the environment either in the current use of the site or if it is used for a different purpose (Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution 1996 Sustainable use of Soil 19th report) controlled water Defined by the Water Resources Act 1991, Part III, Section 104 and comprising all rivers, canals, lakes, ground waters, estuaries and coastal waters to three nautical miles from the shore. development Works of construction, which may be buildings or civil engineering structures above or below ground and including ancillary works, installations and open spaces associated with the structures
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desk study Interpretation of historical, archival and current information to establish where previous activities of the land were located, and where areas or zones containing distinct and different types of soil contamination can be expected to occur, and to understand the environmental setting of the site in terms of pathways and receptors detailed Main stage of on-site investigation involving sampling and investigation analysis to characterise ground conditions for a specified purpose- may be undertaken in a single or a number (e.g. Stage 1 and 2) of successive stages Geographic A computer system that can record information using digital Information System maps. (GIS) greenfield site An area previously undeveloped and therefore undisturbed with a predominantly consistent subsurface harm Harm to the health of living organisms or other interference with the ecological systems of which they form part and in the case of man, includes harm to their property (Section 78A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 hazard A property (of a substance) or situation with the potential to cause harm hazard assessment Consideration of the plausibility of pollutant linkages and determination of the potential for risks to human health and the environment hazard Identification of contaminant contaminants, pathways and identification receptors taking into account the actual or intended use of the site and its environmental setting leachate Liquid that has percolated through solid waste and has extracted, dissolved or suspended materials from it made ground Material artificially in place comprising a wide range of materials such as, concrete, tarmacadam, brick materials minor aquifer A permeable geological stratum or formation that is capable of both storing and transmitting water in significant amounts. Minor-aquifers are described as being variably permeable rocks or deposits. Though not producing large quantities of water for abstraction, they are important for local supplies and in supplying base flow to rivers. non aquifer Negligibly permeable formations which are generally regarded as containing insignificant quantities of groundwater. However,
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groundwater flow through such rocks, although imperceptible, does take place and needs to be considered in assessing the risk associated with persistent pollutants. pathway The means by which a hazardous substance or agent comes into contact with, or otherwise affects a receptor pollutant linkage The contaminant pathway receptor relationship potentially Sites identified (whilst undertaking desk studies/site contaminated land investigations) as having been or are currently subject to a land sites use which may give rise to contamination). RAMSAR site Wetland of international importance, especially as waterfowl habitat. Designated under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of Importance 1971 (Ramsar Convention) which places general and special obligations on contracting parties relating to the conservation of wetlands throughout their territory receptor According to Part IIA: “A living organism, a group of living organisms, an ecological system or a piece of property which is being, or could be harmed, by a contaminant, or controlled waters which are being, or could be, polluted by a contaminant.” risk The probability that due to a hazard an adverse effect due to a hazard will occur under defined conditions risk assessment Identification, estimation and evaluation of risks site investigation The process of carrying out investigations on land to determine whether there is contamination present. This may be carried out in stages, starting with a desk study, subsequent examination of the site typically using trial pits and boreholes, sampling of materials, laboratory testing and interpretation. Source Protection Protection zones around certain sources of groundwater used Zone for public water supply. Within these zones, certain activities and processes are prohibited or restricted.
Special Site Defined by Section 78A(3) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as: “Any contaminated land a) which has been designated as such by virtue of Section 78C(7) or b) whose designation as such has been terminated by the appropriate Agency under Section 78Q(4) The effect of the designation of contaminated land as a special site is that the Environment Agency, rather than the local Authority, becomes the enforcing Authority for the land.”
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Appendix C References
Planning Policy Statement 23, Planning and Pollution Control, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2004.
Approved Document C of the Building Regulations 2000, ODPM, 2004 Edition.
CLR11 Model Procedures for the Management of Land Contamination Environment Agency, 2004
CIRIA Publication C552 Contaminated Land Risk Assessment – A Guide to Good Practice 2001.
Department of the Environment Prioritisation and Categorisation Procedure for sites which may be contaminated research report CLR6, 1995.
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Appendix D
TABLE A: Significant Harm*
Type of Receptor Description of harm to that type of receptor that is to be regarded as significant harm 1 Human beings Death, disease, serious injury, genetic mutation, birth defects or the impairment of reproductive functions. For these purposes, disease is to be taken to mean an unhealthy condition of the body or a part of it and can include, for example, cancer, liver dysfunction or extensive skin ailments. Mental dysfunction is included only insofar as it is attributable to the effects of a pollutant on the body of the person concerned. 2 Any ecological system, or living organism For any protected location: forming part of such a system, within a location which is: harm which results in an irreversible adverse change, or in some other substantial adverse change, in the an area notified as an area of special functioning of the ecological system within any substantial scientific interest under section 28 of the part of that location; or Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; harm which affects any species of special interest within any land declared a national nature that location and which endangers the long-term reserve under section 35 of that Act; maintenance of the population of that species at that any area designated as a marine nature location. reserve under section 36 of that Act; In addition, in the case of a protected location which is a an area of special protection for birds, European Site (or a candidate Special Area of established under section 3 of that Act; Conservation or a potential Special Protection Area), harm which is incompatible with the favourable any European Site within the meaning of conservation status of natural habitats at that location or regulation 10 of the Conservation (Natural species typically found there. Habitats etc) Regulations 1994 (i.e. Special Areas of Conservation and In determining what constitutes such harm, the local Special Protection Areas); authority should have regard to the advice of English Nature and to the requirements of the Conservation any candidate Special Areas of (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994. Conservation or potential Special Protection Areas given equivalent protection; any habitat or site afforded policy protection under paragraph 13 of Planning Policy Guidance Note 9 (PPG9) on nature conservation (i.e. candidate Special Areas of Conservation, potential Special Protection Areas and listed Ramsar sites); any nature reserve established under section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.
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Table A (cont)
3 Property in the form of: For crops, a substantial diminution in yield or other substantial loss in their value resulting from death, disease or other crops, including timber; physical damage. For domestic pets, death, serious disease or serious physical damage. For other property in this category, a produce grown domestically, or on substantial loss in its value resulting from death, disease or allotments, for consumption; other serious physical damage. livestock; The local authority should regard a substantial loss in value as other owned or domesticated animals; occurring only when a substantial proportion of the animals or crops are dead or otherwise no longer fit for their intended wild animals which are the subject of purpose. Food should be regarded as being no longer fit for shooting or fishing rights. purpose when it fails to comply with the provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990. Where a diminution in yield or loss in value is caused by a pollutant linkage, a 20% diminution or loss should be regarded as a benchmark for what constitutes a substantial diminution or loss. 4 Property in the form of buildings. Structural failure, substantial damage or substantial interference with any right of occupation. For this purpose, "building" means any For this purpose, the local authority should regard substantial structure or erection, and any part of a building damage or substantial interference as occurring when any part including any part below ground level, but does of the building ceases to be capable of being used for the not include plant or machinery comprised in a purpose for which it is or was intended. building. Additionally, in the case of a scheduled Ancient Monument, substantial damage should be regarded as occurring when the damage significantly impairs the historic, architectural, traditional, artistic or archaeological interest by reason of which the monument was scheduled.
TABLE B: Significant Possibility of Significant Harm*
Descriptions Of Significant Harm (As Defined In Conditions For There Being A Significant Possibility Table A) Of Significant Harm 1. Human health effects arising from If the amount of the pollutant in the pollutant linkage in question: • the intake of a contaminant, or • which a human receptor in that linkage might take in, or • other direct bodily contact with a contaminant • to which such a human might otherwise be exposed, as a result of the pathway in that linkage, would represent an unacceptable intake or direct bodily contact, assessed on the basis of relevant information on the toxicological properties of that pollutant. Such an assessment should take into account: • the likely total intake of, or exposure to, the substance or substances which form the pollutant, from all sources including that from the pollutant linkage in question; • the relative contribution of the pollutant linkage in question to the likely aggregate intake of, or exposure to, the relevant substance or substances; and • the duration of intake or exposure resulting from the
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pollutant linkage in question. The question of whether an intake or exposure is unacceptable is independent of the number of people who might experience or be affected by that intake or exposure. Toxicological properties should be taken to include carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, pathogenic, endocrine-disrupting and other similar properties. 2. All other human health effects (particularly by way of If the probability, or frequency, of occurrence of significant explosion or fire). harm of that description is unacceptable, assessed on the basis of relevant information concerning: • that type of pollutant linkage, or • that type of significant harm arising from other causes. In making such an assessment, the local authority should take into account the levels of risk which have been judged unacceptable in other similar contexts and should give particular weight to cases where the pollutant linkage might cause significant harm which: • would be irreversible or incapable of being treated; • would affect a substantial number of people; • would result from a single incident such as a fire or an explosion; or • would be likely to result from a short-term (that is, less than 24-hour) exposure to the pollutant. 3. All ecological system effects. If either: • significant harm of that description is more likely than not to result from the pollutant linkage in question; or • there is a reasonable possibility of significant harm of that description being caused, and if that harm were to occur, it would result in such a degree of damage to features of special interest at the location in question that they would be beyond any practicable possibility of restoration. Any assessment made for these purposes should take into account relevant information for that type of pollutant linkage, particularly in relation to the ecotoxicological effects of the pollutant. 4. All animal and crop effects. If significant harm of that description is more likely than not to result from the pollutant linkage in question, taking into account relevant information for that type of pollutant linkage, particularly in relation to the ecotoxicological effects of the pollutant. 5. All building effects If significant harm of that description is more likely than not to result from the pollutant linkage in question during the expected economic life of the building (or, in the case of a scheduled Ancient Monument, the foreseeable future), taking into account relevant information for that type of pollutant linkage. Source: Defra Circular 01/2006 Environmental Protection Act 1990: Part 2A, Contaminated Land Sept 2006.
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Appendix E Characteristics of the Borough of Swindon
E1 Geographical Setting The northern half of the Borough is characterised by the broad clay vale of the upper Thames, extending to the River Thames at the northern boundary of the Borough. The area is still largely in active farming. Highworth is the major settlement in this part of the Borough. Other smaller settlements include Castle Eaton, Hannington, Broad Blunsdon, and Stanton Fitzwarren.
The southern fringe of the Borough is an area of chalk uplands, the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Settlements here include Wroughton, Chisledon, Wanborough and Bishopstone.
Both of these two areas are highly sensitive to new buildings and changes to use. Although concentrated in Swindon, new development has also affected nearly all the nearby villages and small towns to the point where some have reached their natural limits. Much of the Borough, and all its neighbouring districts and counties, is now covered by policies of restraint and landscape protection in their restrictive development plans. There are 28 conservation areas within Swindon Borough, including whole towns and villages (see the following link http://www.swindon.gov.uk/environment/planning/environment-planning- conservation/environment-planning-conservation-areas.htm for further details).
A Rural Buffer exists to the north, west, south and south east of Swindon to prevent coalescence with Broad Blunsdon, Chiseldon, Liddington, Wanborough, Wroughton, Wootton Bassett, Lydiard Millicent, Purton and Cricklade. This is detailed in the Local Plan. The Rural Buffer is primarily concerned with:
Preventing large scale development beyond the agreed urban fringes of Swindon, other than in the specific Development Areas below,
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To protect the rural areas from major development, and
To maintain the separate identity of towns and villages in the area defined.
The Northern Development Area is an area of former agricultural land currently under development bounded by Haydon Wick and Penhill to the south, the Swindon to Cricklade Railway to the west and the A419 trunk road to the east. This area is planned as one of 3 principal sites for future residential, amenity and employment expansion of Swindon. The Eastern Development Area is located to the east of the A419, and south of the village of South Marston and is at an early stage of planning. The Southern Development Area is located north of the M4 motorway and south of the existing areas of Okus and Old Town, and development is currently underway here.
E2 Settlement and Population Growth History Swindon is first mentioned as a settlement in the Domesday Book. However, Swindon remained as a small market town until quarrying began in the 17th century. In 1697, the population of Swindon was recorded as 791. The first official census of 1801 describes Swindon as a small market town, with its population of 1,198 being lower than both Wootton Bassett and Cricklade. The first real stimulus for growth however was the opening of the Wilts and Berks Canal in 1810, which linked the Kennet and Avon Canal and the River Thames. The completion of the North Wilts Canal in 1819 meant that it was then possible to go to London, the Midlands and the West of England by canal from Swindon.
By contrast, the next largest town in the borough, Highworth, was a market town with agriculture being the main source of economic wealth and employment. By the middle of the 17th century Highworth's cattle market was the largest in Wiltshire and at the time of the first census in 1801, Highworth was the most important township in north-east Wiltshire with a population of over 2,000 - larger than either Swindon, Wootton Bassett or Cricklade. In common with the rest of England, the town‟s population continued to grow in the 19th century reaching a peak of 4,000 in 1841; thereafter it fell to about 2,000 in the early 1920s.
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The arrest of Highworth‟s growth can be attributed in part to the late 19th century expansion of Swindon. From the 1840s onwards, when the Great Western Railway works were established below the (then) small hill-top town of Swindon, Highworth‟s economy stood still, or actually declined and little new, or replacement, building took place in the town during the period 1840 –1920.
The population of Swindon continued to grow at each census to 1,742 in 1831. This growth is attributed to the construction of the canals, leading to an increase in the general trading of the town. The canal was one of the key factors in the arrival of the Great Western Railway (GWR) works in Swindon, as the canal meant ready transport of coal and coke to the town, and served as a source of water.
The Great Western Railway line opened to Swindon in 1840. Swindon became a junction, where the mainline branched to Cheltenham and Gloucester. In 1841, the GWR Board of Directors authorised building of a works to act as a central repair depot for the maintenance of rolling stock. Brunel, GWR's chief engineer, and Gooch, Superintendent of Locomotives, chose a site at the junction. The mainline was completed to Bristol in June 1841 and the station at Swindon was built in 1842.
The new locomotives works started operations in late 1842, opening fully in January 1843. In that year, the works employed 423 men. By 1846, the works had begun to manufacture locomotives in-house rather than rely on contractors. By 1849, the original workshop space had doubled.
To accommodate these workers, it was necessary to construct new housing south of the railway, now known as the “Railway Village” and this was the beginning of the “New Swindon” settlement. At that time the works and railway settlement were separated by around one mile of rural land and the Old and New Swindons were administered as separate towns.
New Swindon took in the former hamlet of Eastcott and in 1851 the population was 2,468, whereas Old Town‟s was 2,411. Old Town was lit by gas in 1851, and the New Town by 1864. Electricity came to Swindon in 1903.
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The railway works expanded considerably during the decade of 1851-61 and correspondingly the population of New Swindon grew by 1,478 people (a 67% increase). This population growth of Swindon continued through the next decade increasing by a further 83% between 1861 and 1871. New Swindon's population reached 7,628 in 1871.
From 1870, building of housing for workers began in Even Swindon. This decade also saw the development in Gorse Hill and Stratton St Margaret, where land south of the railway was not available.
In Highworth, in the early 1870s the Oriental Fibre Mat and Matting Company in Brewery Street and, in 1883, with the arrival of a branch line railway from Swindon.
By 1881, New Swindon was almost four times the size of Old Swindon in population terms, and its population of 17,678 made it the largest town in Wiltshire. In 1875, the total number employed at the works was 4,000. By the end of the century, this figure had risen to 11,500 and by 1905, it was over 14,000.
In Old Town, the railway line from Cheltenham to Andover was opened, with a station situated off Newport Street from 1881. The line was joined to the GWR line at Rushey Platt in 1882. This line was eventually closed to passengers in 1961.
When land between Old and New Swindon, owned by the Villet family, became available in 1885, development commenced to fill much of the open ground between New and Old Swindons, which become one borough in 1901. The population of the new joint Swindon borough was 45,006 in 1901.
Up to the First World War, the principal growth was along Westlecott Road and in the northern part of The Mall and Okus Road. Around that time much of Kingshill Road was developed.
Electric trams ran from 1904, built by the Swindon Corporation. In 1926, the electric trams were replaced by motorbuses. By 1900 traffic on the canal had all but ceased and the Wilts and Berks canal was formally
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abandoned in 1914, with much of the remaining waterway filled in, during subsequent years.
Between the two World Wars, Swindon expansion continued particularly to the north. New housing schemes began in Pinehurst from 1919 and Rodbourne Cheney in 1920. The population of 54,920 in 1921 grew to about 61,000 in 1939. In Highworth, significant expansion, in the form of council housing outside the boundaries of the old town, did not begin again until the 1920s. As a result of a planned housing expansion from the 1960s onwards, the extent of the town has grown tenfold and its population has doubled since 1960.
Employment at the railway works peaked in the 1920s then declined in the 1930s, falling to 10,500 by 1939, reflecting economic depression at the time as well as improved technical efficiency. In 1952, 10,119 people worked there. The last steam locomotive was built in 1960, but from 1957 diesel locomotives were built at the works.
The works contracted post war with the closure of the iron foundry, the Carriage and Wagon Works in 1966 and other reductions such that the works area shrunk from 283 acres to 100 acres. By 1965 it employed only 5,620 people. Part of the site occupied by the Carriage and Wagon Works and the adjoining railway gasworks after closure became the Hawksworth industrial estate and the Oasis Leisure Centre.
After World War II it was decided that people and industry should be moved out of London to 'overspill' towns. In 1952 (under the Town Development Act, 1952) Swindon was designated an overspill town and about 14,000 people moved to the town from London between then and the mid 1960's. There were also many migrants from other areas. In 1951, the Swindon Corporation embarked on the first of many housing estate schemes with the acquisition of 250 acres at Penhill Farm. To meet the housing needs of this overspill population the Corporation acquired 1,000 acres, almost entirely from the farmlands of the Goddard Estate. Between c.1954 and c.1960, it built nearly 1,500 dwellings there, forming Walcot East estate.
Other council estates were built at Park North and Park South in the 1950's, laid out with 3,670 dwellings. Private houses were built at Walcot
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West and in the area known as Lawn around Sandringham Road. In 1961, the corporation began to develop farmland to the east of (the then) borough boundary within the parishes of Stratton St Margaret, Wanborough, Liddington and Chiseldon. The corporation constructed the housing at Covingham in 1965. Private enterprise once again became involved in significantly shaping the growth of Swindon, building the Nythe estate in the same year.
The Corporation then acquired land at Cheney Manor and from 1955 developed an industrial estate there. In 1954, the Corporation acquired Parsonage Farm in Stratton St Margaret for the development of an industrial estate, followed by another at Greenbridge (also in Stratton St Margaret) in 1962.
Swindon expanded westwards during the 1980s, enveloping the former farmland thus involving development mainly on greenfield sites. West Swindon includes the areas of Freshbrook, Grange Park, Westlea, Toothill, Eastleaze, Middleleaze, Sparcells, Peatmoor, Nine Elms, Ramleaze and Shaw. In the 1990‟s, development expanded northward beyond Haydon Wick to create the mainly residential areas of Abbeymeads, Taw Hill, Priory Vale (made up of the villages Redhouse, Oakhurst and Haydon End).
E3 Industrial Development E3.1 Past Industrial Development Swindon was a small market town until the arrival first of the Wilts and Berks Canal and the North Wilts Canal between 1810 and 1820 then the mainline railway from London Paddington in 1840. Both of these events improved the accessibility of the town to industry.
Engineering The GWR works dominated the trade and industry of 19th century and much of 20th century Swindon. The few other 19th century industries were small in comparison. The works was completely closed by 1987.
In the First World War, the GWR railway works contributed to the war effort through the Royal Ordnance department, which whilst under the general heading of „munitions‟ ranged from complete locomotives and provision of ambulance trains to leather straps for soldier‟s personal
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equipment. Nitrate for explosives was manufactured in plants on what is now Elgin and Kembrey Park industrial estates. In the Second World War the works carried out munitions work between 1941 and 1943.
Garrard Engineering and Manufacturing Co Ltd in 1919 opened a factory in nearby Newcastle Street, producing motors for gramophones and tools and later complete record players. This closed in 1982 and is now occupied by the Halfords/Range stores. A second factory was located near Blunsdon, closing in 1978.
The Plessey Company made radio components at a factory in Kembrey Street, from the Second World War. Later Plessey purchased the Garrard company. Plessey also set up on the Cheney Manor Industrial Estate after this estate was established in 1955. Also at Cheney Manor were Metal Box Co and later branch factories of clothing firms, a GPO engineering depot, small engineering and proto-type casting firms, and distribution stores and warehouses.
Vickers-Armstrong set up a works at South Marston during the Second World War to manufacture aircraft. In 1960, Vickers-Armstrong employed about 3,000 people from the Swindon area. An advertisement for the company from 1970 records that airframe components and a variety of other hydraulic, electrical and mechanical engineering items were made at the South Marston site from 1960.
RA Lister Ltd also came to Swindon at the end of the Second World War, taking over the Marine Mountings site at Wroughton, formerly the Admiralty wartime engineering workshops. After the war the Swindon Corporation adopted a determined policy of encouraging these firms to remain at Swindon, thereby avoiding dependence on the railway works.
In 1954, the Pressed Steel Company Ltd established a car bodies factory at Stratton St Margaret, becoming for a while the largest concern of its type in Europe. In 1965, the company employed 6,595.
Quarrying and extraction After the GWR, the quarry owners employed 400 men at their peak early in the 19th century then next single largest employer of men in 1851 was a builder with 30 men working for him. The quarries were worked out by the
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1950s. The Town Gardens park opened in 1894, created from a former quarry.
Numerous small brickworks flourished, due to the suitability of the Kimmeridge Clay underlying the valley for brick making, including Turner's of Drove Road. Cabinet making remained another source of employment.
Clothing Various clothing factories were set up in Swindon in the late 19th century. An early factory, J. Compton and Co., occupied premises in Sheppard Street supplying uniforms to GWR under contract. This became the largest clothing factory with its number of employees rising from 300 to 1,000 by the end of the century. Charles Lea set up in Fleet Street in 1860. Charles Wills and Sons opened a clothing factory in 1886, employing 400 people by the early 1900s. Cellular Clothing Company opened a factory specialising in undergarments and ladies clothing in 1902 with 75 employees.
Tobacco In 1915, WD & HO Wills opened a tobacco factory in Colbourne Street. This is now occupied by the Tesco store.
E3.2 Current Employment Sectors Swindon has a vibrant business community. A wide range of companies have chosen Swindon as the location for their headquarter operations, while many more have set up distribution centres, manufacturing facilities and sales offices.
The population of Swindon Borough has doubled in the last fifty years, whereas the population of England has increased by 20%. In 1951 the population in 1951 of the then Thamesdown Borough was slightly in excess of 90,000 of which around half of the working population were employing in manufacturing. By 1991, the Borough‟s population had grown to over 170,000 and manufacturing jobs represented only 25% of total employment. In 2008, working age people constituted 63.8%1 of the population, a higher proportion than the national average of 62.2%, with a high concentration of firms in four sectors; public administration/education/health, manufacturing, distribution/hotels/restaurants, and banking/finance/insurance. At over
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60% of employment, service jobs were the majority employment sector. Since the 1960‟s the primary growth in employment has been in wholesale distribution, financial and professional services, and more recently, in „high-technology‟ production, research and development. The numbers employed in each sector are shown in Table 4.1.
The manufacturing industry represents around 15% of jobs and is expected to be an important element of Swindon‟s economy for the foreseeable future. There are established operations in motor vehicles, electrical and electronic engineering, components, plastics and pharmaceuticals. The motor industry has become particularly important to Swindon since the opening of the Honda manufacturing plant in the 1980s.
In the field of motor manufacturing, both Honda and BMW (formerly Rover) Groups are key players. As described above, Honda is based at the former South Marston Airfield. The airfield together with the industrial estate to the north east of it, South Marston Park, was formerly occupied by the Vickers Aircraft Works. Following the sale by Vickers, Honda Motor Company bought the site from Vickers Properties for use as their European manufacturing base. This use of the area, including the airfield, was initially approved in January 1985. Initially, this was to be an operational centre for Honda within Europe. A newly constructed car manufacturing facility was subsequentlywhich became operational in October 1992. Total employment on-site reached approximately 2,000 in 1995. Development controls relating to the site stipulate that the building area at the former airfield must be confined to a limited part of the site with the majority remaining open and being used for vehicles testing or similar purposes. This is to protect the amenity of South Marston village and other nearby residents.
There remains some scope for further development within 45 hectares of the South Marston Park Industrial Estate, either on sites not previously built on or where former buildings of the Vickers Works have long since been cleared.
E4 Physical Environment E4.1 Geology The Borough of Swindon is underlain by Cretaceous and Jurassic deposits. With reference to the geological mapping from Sheet 252
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Swindon Solid and Drift 1:50,000 Series map sheet it can be seen that the Jurassic rocks are exposed across the north western part of the Borough. The strata consist of limestones and clays with occasional sands or sandstones. The strata were laid down in shallow water close to land, which together with subsequently developed minor faults, have resulted in marked local variations and breaks in the succession of deposits.
The Jurassic strata thin out towards the southeast of the Borough and are here covered by newer rocks of the Cretaceous Period. The Lower Cretaceous strata are sands, primarily Lower Greensand. These marine beds represent a transgression of the sea. The Upper Cretaceous strata of chalks are present only at the extreme south of the Borough.
River alluvium deposits are present along the line of the River Ray on the western boundary, the Thames on the northern boundary and the River Cole.
A simplified order of the layers of strata that are likely to be present is set out in Table E1 below. Figure 2 illustrates the geology across the Borough.
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Table E1 Probable Geological Strata Middle Chalk(a) U Lower Chalk p
p Upper Greensande Silt and fine sand Gault r Mainly clay Lower Greensand(i) LSand
o Cretaceous w e r Wealden/ Purbeck Mainly limestone Beds Portland Beds Mainly sand Kimmeridge Clay Clay with localised sand and (b) U limestone deposits Upper Corallian p Red Down Sand, Red Down p Clay and “Coral Rag” Lower Corallian e Successions of Chert, r Highworth Limestone, sand,
clay, and silt and sand
Oxford Clay Mainly clay Kellaway Beds Kellaways Sand, and
Kellaways Clay Jurassic Cornbrash Forest Marble Clay, limestone, and oolitic (c) M limestone i Great Oolite d Fullers Earth d Oolite, Hampden Marly l Beds, Taynton Stone, e Stonefield Slate, limestones, and Fullers Earth Clay Inferior Oolite Series Grits and lower limestone Lower Upper Lias Cotteswold Sands
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A chalk escarpment at the extreme south of the Borough is one of the main physical features of the Borough‟s landscape. The chalk formation has no name in this area, though to the east and north of the Goring Gap and the River Thames, the ridge becomes the Chiltern Hills. Locally the chalk ridge is known as the Marlborough and Lambourn Downs.
The Upper Chalk horizon is softer than the Middle and Lower Chalk below it, and flint is generally abundant within it. At the base of the Upper Chalk, the division to the Middle Chalk is marked by a hard band termed the Chalk Rock. In North Wiltshire, the Upper Chalk layer is approximately 90m thick.
The Middle Chalk layer is composed of Melbourn Rock over softer Belemnite Marl of the Lower Chalk creating a shelf in the main chalk escarpment. To the west of Swindon the middle chalk layer is about 42 – 45m thick, thickening slightly eastwards across the Borough, being consistently around 42m thick in Berkshire. The Belemnite Marl is a shaly marl only about 600mm thick with a bed of hard chalk within it. In North Wiltshire, a substantial layer of whitish siliceous chalk is found below the Belemnite Marl. The former is composed largely of sponge fragments forming incipient flints. At the base of the Lower Chalk is the Chalk Marl, a highly calcareous clay resembling the Gault Clay. The Lower Chalk is usually covered by superficial deposits and thus is not present at the surface.
Soft glauconitic marl represents the actual transition from the chalk layers to the Upper Greensand. The Upper Greensand is the sandy equivalent to the Gault Clay below it, formed later as the seawaters shallowed. Within the Greensand and the Gault in Wiltshire, there are actually four facies. At Devizes, to the west of Swindon Borough, these have been shown to be a 11m Upper Greensand layer separated from the grey clays of the Gault by 93m of mixed sands and sandstone and then a 4.9m layer of Malmstone.
The Gault overlays strata, such as Lower Greensand, Portland Beds and Kimmeridge Clay, of the Jurassic Period. At the base of the chalk escarpment, below the line of superficial deposits the Gault is exposed.
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A mile long ridge extends southeast from Old Swindon towards the Gault and the base of the chalk escarpment, and it is at this ridge that the successive upper parts of the Jurassic strata are exposed. With the exception of some small outlier Wealden Beds, the hill summit (Swindon Hill), at the north western end of the ridge close to Old Swindon consists of Purbeck and Portland Beds of the Upper Jurassic. At Swindon, there is an unconformity within the succession of these beds. The Purbeck Beds are the highest division of the Jurassic Period, but are only seen at the surface in a few places. Along the ridge at Swindon, the bed is only a metre or two thick. This fossiliferous limestone and marl layer was formed in the estuarine and freshwater conditions that were present in the area at the close of the Jurassic Period. The Portland Beds are generally found in patches only. They are rubbly, creamy limestones overlaid locally by fine buff sands, and the beds do not exceed 12m in thickness. The spine of the ridge itself is overlain by a considerable thickness of Lower Greensand. Round the slopes of the hill, there are small exposures of Swindon Clay and Pectinatus Sand.
Below these strata on Swindon Hill is the Kimmeridge Clay, which is exposed at the lower reaches of the Hill and extends across much of Swindon to the north and east, to Stratton St Margaret and Rodbourne. Kimmeridge Clay is a dark, often shaly, clay with selenite in many places. The Kimmeridge Clay has been historically favoured for brick making, as illustrated by the brick working industry present in Swindon in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In the north of the Borough, there are Corallian outcrops. The estates of Pinehurst and Penhill, and Kingsdown, Blunsdon St Andrew, Broad Blunsdon and much of Highworth are built on this formation. The Corallian is composed of a variable series of sands, sandy oolitic and pisolitic limestones, and with layers of rubbly coral rock.
Beyond the Corallian to the far north of the Borough, the Oxford Clays are exposed. This is a bluish or grey clay that turns brown on weathering. Selenite and iron pyrites are often abundant within the clay. Below the Oxford Clays, but not exposed within Swindon Borough are the Kellaway Beds, a sandy and loamy formation, forming the base of the Upper Jurassic Period.
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In the Middle Jurassic strata beneath, Cornbrash and Forest Marble are present. The Cornbrash is a rubbly and invariable highly fossiliferous limestone never more than 25ft thick. The Forest Marble beds, contrary to its name, are in fact a group of very variable strata including clay beds.
Ground investigations undertaken at the former GWR railway works have characterised the geology under central Swindon, which is summarised as follows:
Depth Thickness Soil Description (m) (m) 0-6 6 Made Ground 6-20 14 Kimmeridge Clay 20-27 7 Red Down Sand (Upper Corallian) 27-35 8 Coral Rag (Upper Corallian) 35-43 8 Silt and Sand (Lower Corallian) 43-100+ 50+ Oxford Clay
E4.2 Hydrogeology An aquifer is a geological stratum or formation able to hold or transmit exploitable quantities of groundwater, whilst strata that are largely impermeable and/ or do not readily transmit water are termed Non- Aquifers (aquiclude or aquitard).
A groundwater vulnerability assessment is based on the general and hydraulic properties of the various types of aquifers, and in particular on its classification as fractured, fracture-intergranular or intergranular. Overall, aquifers may be of two generic types: highly permeable (Major Aquifers) with known or probable presence of significant fracturing; and variably permeable (Minor Aquifers), which can be fractured or potentially fractured strata that do not have a high primary permeability.
Groundwater from aquifers can be abstracted to provide water for potable uses, miscellaneous industrial uses and/ or agricultural uses. Such abstractions are generally of high quality, but groundwater is susceptible to contamination from both diffuse and point source pollutants via either direct discharge to groundwater or indirect discharge into or onto land. In
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broad terms, the higher the permeability of the aquifer, the lower the aquifer attenuates contaminants and thus these high permeability layers are usually primary paths for pollutants. Should contamination of an aquifer occur, remediation is often difficult, prolonged and expensive.
The Environment Agency has recently issued new aquifer designations maps to make them consistent with the Water Framework Directive. These designations reflect the importance of aquifers in terms of groundwater as a resource (drinking water supply) but also their role in supporting surface water flows and wetland ecosystems.
The maps are now split into two different aquifer designations:
Bedrock -solid permeable formations e.g. sandstone, chalk and limestone.
Superficial (Drift) - permeable unconsolidated (loose) deposits laid over the bedrock. For example, sands and gravels around rivers.
The maps display the following aquifer designations:
Principal Aquifers - These are layers of rock or drift deposits that have high intergranular and/or fracture permeability - meaning they usually provide a high level of water storage. They may support water supply and/or river base flow on a strategic scale. In Swindon, all aquifers previously designated as major aquifer are now designated as principal aquifers.
Secondary Aquifers – In Swindon, all aquifers previously designated as minor aquifer are now designated as secondary aquifers. Secondary aquifers are subdivided into two types:
Secondary A - permeable layers capable of supporting water supplies at a local rather than strategic scale, and in some cases forming an important source of base flow to rivers
Secondary B - predominantly lower permeability layers which may store and yield limited amounts of groundwater due to localised features such as fissures, thin permeable horizons and weathering.
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These are generally the water-bearing parts of the former non- aquifers
Secondary Undifferentiated - has been assigned in cases where it has not been possible to attribute either category A or B to a rock type. In most cases, this means that the layer in question has previously been designated as both minor and non-aquifer in different locations due to the variable characteristics of the rock type
Unproductive Strata These are rock layers or drift deposits with low permeability that have negligible significance for water supply or river base flow. In Swindon, all areas previously designated as non Aquifer are now designated as unproductive strata.
The new designations do not provide information on surface soils, as such they do not split the aquifers up into High, Intermediate and Low risk.
Because, within the Swindon Borough area there has been no fundamental alterations in the status of aquifers (i.e. all Major Aquifers were recategorised as Principal Aquifers), the original site prioritisation has not been reassessed.
The old groundwater vulnerability classification system used in the site prioritisation for the Swindon Borough is shown in Figure 3 (derived from National Rivers Authority (1995), Groundwater Vulnerability Map 1:100 000 Series, Sheet 38, HMSO). On this diagram, the Major Aquifers are characterised by the red, yellow and orange shaded areas. The only Major Aquifers in the Swindon Borough area include the Chalk Formation and Upper Greensand Formation of the Chalk escarpment in the extreme south of the Borough. The red distinguishes areas of soils of high leaching potential, whereas the orange and yellow represent intermediate and low leaching potential soils.
Soils of high leaching potential are those that have little ability to attenuate diffuse source pollutants, which together with liquid discharges have the potential to be transmitted rapidly to underlying strata or groundwater. Soils of intermediate leaching potential are those with a moderate ability to attenuate diffuse source pollutants, some of which together with liquid
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discharges could penetrate the soil layer. Soils of low leaching potential are those where pollutants are unlikely to pass through the soil layer. This could be because of water movement being primarily horizontal or an ability by the soil to attenuate diffuse pollutants.
The blue and green shades represent the Minor (now Secondary) Aquifers, with the relative leaching potential of the soil. Minor Aquifers within the Swindon Borough comprise the formations of Lower Greensand, Purbeck Beds, Portland Beds, sands within the Kimmeridge Clay Formation and the Corallian Group (except clays). Lower strata of the Kellaway Beds, Cornbrash Formation, Forest Marble Formation and „Middle Lias‟ are also Minor (Secondary) Aquifers (although the Environment Agency has doubts as to whether these two latter aquifers are relevant). Consequently, Minor Aquifers are present under Kingshill, the Old Town, Coate, Eldene and Dorcan in southern Swindon. Minor Aquifers in north Swindon mirror the presence of the Corallian Formation, previously described in the geological section.
Non-Aquifers (Unproductive Strata) are shown in white. These comprise the Gault Formation at the base of the chalk escarpment, Kimmeridge Clay underlying much of Swindon‟s urban area including the former GWR railway works, clays within the Corallian Group and the Oxford Clay Formation in the north of the Borough. It is important to note that groundwater flow, although imperceptible, can occur through Non-Aquifers (Unproductive Strata), and that Major (Principal) or Minor Aquifers (Secondary) may occur beneath Non-aquifers (Unproductive Strata).
There is widespread presence of Made Ground in urban areas, which can contain preferential pathways as a result of high permeability former service trench and redundant service pipes, or the coarse granular nature of some made ground.
Current mapping is shown in Figures 4 and 5.
E4.3 Key Water Resources The water environment encompasses overland flows such as rivers, lakes and springs and groundwater together with the whole process of land drainage and floodwaters.
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Groundwater is an important resource locally, in terms of both quality and quantity. It provides well over 30% of public water supply within and outside the Wiltshire area, supports local private abstractions, provides base flow to surface water and springs and can help support important wildlife habitats. The protection and conservation of this resource is, therefore, a significant issue.
E4.4 Known Local Conditions E4.4.1 Availability of information SBC holds around 400 submitted ground investigation reports, each of which describes aspects of the ground conditions in various parts of the Borough.
E4.4.2 Arsenic From an assessment of these reports it has been noted that arsenic levels in the Kimmeridge Formation, which predominates in much of the Borough, reach up to 40-50 mg/kg. This is elevated marginally above the Government‟s published minimal risk Soil Guideline Value for houses with gardens (32mg/kg). This is not unusual in the sense that several other parts of the UK (including Cornwall, Devon, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire) have naturally occurring arsenic in some geologic strata, at levels above this published Soil Guideline Value. While arsenic is known to be toxic, it is not currently thought that the occasional presence of naturally occurring arsenic in undisturbed natural clays at levels marginally above the Soil Guideline Values constitutes any degree of significant risk. Naturally occurring arsenic is likely to have very limited bioavailability (availability to be absorbed into the body), and so typical exposures are unlikely to give rise to any significant health concerns.
E4.4.3 Radioactivitiy and Radon The Part 2a regime was extended in 2006 to include radioactivity and again in 2007 to include “land contaminated by a nuclear occurrence”. This amended earlier regulations so that Part 2A was able to address “off- site” radioactive contamination from nuclear occurrences. The local authority would be the lead regulator, whereas for land contaminated by a nuclear occurrence the Secretary of State is the sole appropriate person. The regime is concerns potential effects on human health and does not address other receptors. It does not apply to radon gas occurrence.
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There is no Radioactively Contaminated Land known in the Borough of Swindon.
Radon is a colourless, odourless radioactive gas. It is formed by the radioactive decay of the small amounts of uranium that occur naturally in all rocks and soils.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has published reports containing Radon Affected Area maps for the whole of the United Kingdom. Whilst this indicates that most of the Borough experiences low levels of Radon, there are some areas where higher levels of radon are anticipated.
Swindon Borough Council does not hold detailed information on radon levels within its area. The HPA holds information on radon levels in the UK, and conducts radon surveys for government departments, local councils, other organisations, and private householders. The HPA has published maps showing where high levels are more likely.
More detailed information is to be found on the HPA website on www.hpa.org.uk/HPA/
E5 Natural Environment E5.1 Areas of Special Interest and Ecology The Borough contains important wildlife habitats, sites of special scientific interest, areas of special archaeological significance and locally designated sites. These are described below.
E5.2 Areas of National Importance
a). The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Wiltshire and Swindon are rich in important wildlife habitats, all of which have suffered significant losses nationally, particularly due to post war agricultural intensification. Wiltshire supports some 55% of Britain‟s chalk downland. Salisbury Plain alone represents 44% of Britain‟s chalk downland. Hence, the Wiltshire region is internationally important for this resource. The North Wessex Downs on the southern fringe of Swindon Borough is a component of this local chalkland resource. This area has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.
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Located within the AONB are the Ministry of Defence establishments of Princess Alexandra Hospital, and the former Royal Naval Aircraft Yard; the latter being the residue of the former Wroughton Airfield complex that was constructed and developed in 1939-40. The airfield itself and six hangars are now operated as the Science Museum.
b). Lydiard Park Lydiard Park and its associated grounds have been listed as Grade II Special Historic Interest by English Heritage. The boundary of this designation is the extent of the historic layout of the site that retains sufficient historical integrity. A vital part of the context of the site is the view from both out of and into the site together with its setting. These views are not included within the boundary of the Borough. E5.3 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI‟s) Under the amended Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), English Nature may designate land as being of special nature conservation interest. The best examples of wildlife habitats, biological and geological features and natural landforms are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI‟s). As of 1999, there were 133 SSSI‟s in Wiltshire, protecting 28,783 hectares. There are nine SSSI‟s within the Swindon Borough: Burderop Wood Coate Water Old Town Railway Okus Railway Great Quarry Haydon Meadow Clouts Wood Bincknoll Dip Woods The Coombs, Hinton Parva
E5.4 Locally designated sites SSSI‟s by themselves are not sufficient to conserve nature conservation resources. It is also important to conserve areas containing semi-natural habitats of recognised local nature conservation significance. Policies in place to provide such protection include:
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Local Nature Reserves – these sites are also designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act (1949). There are four of these reserves in Wiltshire, with two within Swindon Borough. These are the Coate Water and between Haydon Wick and Penhill.
Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI’s) – local planning authorities has identified these sites, in conjunction with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and English Nature. There are 1,442 sites in Wiltshire. There is currently no available information as to the number or location of sites within the Swindon Borough.
Regionally Important Geological or Geomorphological Sites – English Nature have supported the identification of these sites. There are 40 sites within Wiltshire.
Areas of High Ecological Value/ Areas of Nature Conservation Importance – originally designated by the Wiltshire Landscape Local Plan, there are none of this type of site within the Swindon Borough.
E5.5 Areas of Local Landscape Importance Whilst not of national importance in their own right, sections of the River Thames and the Marlborough Downs are part of regionally important features for tourism and leisure, and other areas have landscape of local importance. „Local importance‟ denotes a particularly important contribution to the quality and character of the Borough‟s landscape and/or a particular value or potential for countryside recreation. Included within this designation are areas especially vulnerable to the effects of development due to their inherent openness or elevation. Areas determined as having local landscape importance within Swindon Borough are:
The foreground to the AONB, North Wessex Downs – this has been defined with regard to its visual relationship to and visibility from publicly accessible parts of the AONB.
The Blunsdon-Hannington-Highworth Hills – these hills form part of the Corallian ridge, a larger landscape feature extending beyond
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the borough boundary. They also, however, form an important component of Swindon‟s rural landscape, providing a setting for Swindon and the rural settlements to the north including, in particular, Highworth.
The banks of the River Thames and the River Cole – The River Thames forms the northern boundary of the borough and between Inglesham and Castle Eaton, the banks of the River Thames within Swindon Borough are relatively unspoilt and undeveloped. In respect of the River Cole, this designation only applies to its tributaries north of the A420 with the purpose of preserving and enhancing its landscape setting.
E5.6 Landscape Setting to Historic Towns This policy of the Landscape Local Plan of Wiltshire and the Swindon Borough Local Plan is designed to protect the landscape settings of a number of historic towns in Wiltshire, where new development may have an intrusive effect on views both into and out of the towns. In the Swindon Borough, this policy is particularly applied to the town of Highworth. Here the major landform characteristics of the Corallian limestone slopes to the south and west of the town, and the escarpment to the north are intended to be protected to preserve the setting of the town.
E6 Built Environment E6.1 Areas of Special Archaeological Significance and scheduled monuments Areas of Special Archaeological Significance (ASRS) are considered to have a high priority for archaeological conservation based on evidence in the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). The ASRS‟s have been established due to the high incidence of archaeological finds discovered during past development in the area.
There is, thus, a high probability that future ground disturbance will uncover further finds. The areas cover Castle Eaton and Little Crouch Hill in the north of the Borough, and the areas south of Bishopstone, Hinton Parva, Liddington and Chiseldon, extending as far south west as Barbury Castle.
No desk based investigative work associated with Scheduled monuments or other archaeological sites will be undertaken without consulting with
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English heritage and the County Archaeologist in order to agree an appropriate mitigation strategy. Scheduled monument consent is dealt with by English Heritage. It is recognised that some former industrial activities are scheduled ancient monuments and at these locations any contaminants present may contribute a significant element of the archaeological interest whereby the monument was scheduled.
E6.2 Other features The Borough of Swindon contains about 1,000 listed buildings. In addition, there are 28 conservation areas within the Borough that relate to areas of special architectural or historic interest. These include complete villages and towns, and are found at the following locations:
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Badbury Hinton Parva Swindon, Prospect Place Bishopstone Hodson Swindon Railway Village Broad Blunsdon Upper Inglesham Swindon Railway Works Lower Village, Liddington Swindon Rodbourne Blunsdon Cheney Blunsdon St Sevenhampton Swindon Town Andrew Gardens Castle Eaton Stanton Fitzwarren Upper Wanborough Chiseldon Stratton St Margaret Lower Wanborough (Kingsdown) Hampton Stratton St Margaret Wroughton (Lower Stratton) Hannington Swindon, Devizes Rd Highworth Swindon, Old Town
It is recognised that listed buildings (which may include industrial buildings), historic parks and gardens and conservation areas will on occasions also be sensitive receptors. In addition there may be other sites of environmental interest, which DEFRA pays farmers to manage, such as those under the Countryside Stewardship arrangements. Agricultural land classification tables (ALC) include provision for grading land according to long term limitations, which can result from soil contamination.
E7 Other relevant legislation SBC duties in respect of Part IIA will be carried out with appropriate regard to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, regarding the furthering of the conservation of sites of specific interest, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Planning Policy Guidance 9 on nature conservation. The Wiltshire biodiversity action plan may be relevant.
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