The site in Langport, Somerset was occupied by the Langport Coal Gas Company from the 19th century until the site ceased operations in 1954. The site was redeveloped for residential housing in the 1980s.
An investigation of the site was launched in 2009 following a local resident discovering the presence of structures relating to the former gas works in their garden. A Phase 1 desk study recommended intrusive site investigations be carried out and in 2011, Defra awarded the local authority with £70,000 to undertake this investigation.
The investigations found foul lime waste under a thin layer of topsoil containing typical gas works pollutants including arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene, as well as smears of Prussian blue staining in the soils.
Earlier in 2014, the property 24 Whatley was designated as Contaminated Land under Part 2A of the Environmental Act 1990 due to highly elevated concentrations of contaminants 100 times that of the safe limit as set out by Public Health England. Areas of soil were also found to contain levels of cyanide which “exceed safe occupation levels” and concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene at more than 200 times the normal background levels for an urban environment.
Whilst the waste was buried, the presence of waste in shallow soils still results in exposure from normal residential use of the garden. The council are currently working towards remediation solutions and looking into who is the liable person(s).
This decision to designate the site as Contaminated Land comes as a surprise after Defra’s announcement on 9th December 2013 to cease supporting the Contaminated Land Capital Grants Scheme beyond April 2014. The closure of the Capital Grants Scheme will inevitably reduce government funding and place greater emphasis on the planning process (as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework) to tackle the impact of contaminated sites.
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