Contaminated land is land that has substances (on, under or within its surface) that may pose a risk of significant harm to human health or to the wider environment, including water resources, the local ecosystem and built structures.
Contamination in land largely arises as a result of industrial activities or past waste disposal practices. The town of Oldham and the surrounding areas that make up today’s Oldham borough have a significant industrial heritage. This means that a large part of the land in the borough has previously been used for industrial purposes. Land that has been used in this way may have been contaminated as a result. Many of these former industrial sites have now been redeveloped for residential use. In some cases, the fact that the land may have been contaminated wasn’t considered at the time of redevelopment and the land may, therefore, still be contaminated.
The Council is following two regimes to deal with the legacy of contaminated land within the borough.
The first is the planning and development control process. Land contamination is an important planning consideration for any new development. The growth and regeneration of Oldham in the last few years means that many old industrial sites are being redeveloped into new housing and offices. The contaminated land team make sure that any sites that are being redeveloped in this way are investigated and, if necessary, cleaned up, so that people can live and work at these sites without any risk of harm from substances left in soil by the previous occupiers of the site.
The second regime commenced in April 2000. It requires councils to actively investigate their districts to try to identify sites where previous uses may have left contamination in the soils or groundwaters and which may now pose a significant risk to the health of people or to the natural built environment.
Further details about each of these can be found in the Contaminated Land Strategy and on our Contaminated Land - Planning Applications page.
Recent legislation also means that the previous use of a site has now become an issue when people buy and sell houses. The contaminated land team may be able to provide information about the history of a site which can help to clarify problems which crop up during the property transaction process. Further details can be found on our Contaminated Land - Environmental Searches page.
For further information, please contact the Contaminated Land Team in the Environmental Services Directorate using the Contact Information details listed below.
Telephone: 0161 770 4465/3445
Fax: 0161 770 3444
E-mail: environmentalhealth@oldham.gov.uk
Address: Contaminated Land Team, Chadderton Town Hall, Middleton Road, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 6PP