Developing a site for housing that has been previously used is a great way of making the most of the space that is available and not building all over green belt land. However, in many cases, land that has been previously used for another purpose has been contaminated, especially if the previous use has been industrial.
Examples of some of the things that can contaminate the soil and make developing the land dangerous, include asbestos, heavy metals and certain chemicals. These materials cause health problems for people and therefore it is not safe to develop land when these contaminants are present in the soil.
Thankfully however, it is possible to remove them and make the land safe for use. In order to do this, a specialist like this soil remediation company https://soilfix.co.uk/ must assess the land, and then they will be able to evaluate the problem and how it can be dealt with.
A local authority can also refuse to grant planning permission if the land is contaminated, however once a remediation company has proposed a solution to the problem and the local authority is happy that the requirements have been met, they can then grant planning permission for it.
In some circumstances, it is not clear that the land is contaminated. If building work has already started and you have found that the area is contaminated, you need to immediately stop building and get the contamination dealt with before you continue any further with the building work.
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