Our contaminated land strategy explains how we implement our duties outlined in the Government's contaminated land legislation. The strategy was last reviewed and updated in 2024.
Contaminated land legislation provides a system for the identification and remediation of land that causes unacceptable risk to human health or the environment, when assessed in the context of the current use and circumstances of the land.
Our responsibilities
- Assessing planning applications for contaminated land issues and commenting on remediation strategies where appropriate;
- Assessing all our records on contaminated land and identifying sites that are at risk of being classified as contaminated;
- Maintaining a register of contaminated sites;
- Offering a service of contaminated land searches;
- Providing advice and information on general contaminated land issues.
Current strategy
This strategy is in the process of being implemented and therefore individual sites could still be identified in the future.
At present there are no sites registered as contaminated land under part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Radon
The Health Protection Agency's most up to date dataset reveals that some parts of Ipswich are in a radon affected area. The percentage of homes at or above the action level in these affected areas is 1 - 3%.
You can obtain information on whether a specific property is in a radon affected area for a small fee from UK Radon, operated by the Health Protection Agency. The website provides details on radon risks, measurement and reduction methods.
Alternatively, you can purchase a radon potential search for a fee by contacting the Radon Studies Group of the Health Protection Agency on 01235 822622.
Advice notes
The Suffolk contaminated land group has produced the following downloadable advice notes for developers, consultants and the public:
- Contaminated Land & Planning Guidance (PDF) for general guidance on managing contaminated land issues.
- Guidance on Imported Soil (May 2007) (PDF), a guidance for developers and consultants on importing soils.
- Land Contamination Questionnaire (Word Document), a form to assess land contamination issues.