Contaminated Land - introduction
What's new
Our long industrial history has resulted in a substantial legacy of land contamination.
On 1 April 2000 a statutory regime came into force in England, providing an improved system for the identification and remediation of contaminated land, often referred to as “Part IIA”, or “Part 2A”. From 4 August 2006 the regime was extended to include radioactivity. Defra is responsible for this regime and the policy which underpins it.
Part 2A is not the only way that land contamination is tackled. Planning and building control also deals with it, along with urban regeneration initiatives, voluntary action by landowners and industry, and the arrangements which protect the environment from the impacts of current human activity, such as waste management controls.
Page last modified: 11 December 2007
Page published 17 March 2003