Following recent discussions with three separate
local authorities it appears that there are some 'new' contaminated land
regulations either in force or about to come into force. These
regulations would appear to make a fundamental change in the way that the
problem is approached. The local authorities are now expected to
actively seek out and identify sources of contamination and address
any impacts that this might be haiving, rather than waiting for
development proposals or complaints to be received and then checking
sites.
This
could potentially have a large impact on archaeological sites - particularly
historical industrial sites -which may be identified as contaminated and
'cleaned up' without necessarily requiring planning permission. This may
result in the destruction of important sites without record.
I
understand that the regulations do make reference to Scheduled Ancient
Monuments, but only as sites that may be affected by contamination
('receptors' I think is the term) rather than as sites which may be a
source of contamination. I believe other archaeological sites are not
mentioned.
The
main points of my discussions have been about what digital data I have in my
SMR and what can I let them have to aid their work, with the
implication that they want a full digital SMR for incorporation into
their contaminated land GIS. With the current state of the SMR this is
not really a practical proposition but I am aware that we need some system of
liaison to deal with the inevitable conflicts of interest.
Does
anyone know any more about this subject?
Peter Iles, Lancashire SMR
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