Here you will find information about contaminated land, the associated legislation and how Chesterfield Borough Council intends to deal with contamination within the borough.

An historical legacy of the Industrial Revolution has left many parts of the United Kingdom (including Chesterfield) with a substantial amount of chemicals left in the ground. The lack of proper controls, particularly during the early part of the twentieth century, mean that these substances weren’t properly handled or contained, and many of them have found their way into the ground at industrial sites and surrounding areas. These chemicals have the potential to cause harm to human health, watercourses, the built environment and ecosystems.

What do we do?

The Environmental Protection Team works closely with developers, landowners, local businesses and other regulatory bodies to ensure that land is safe, suitable for use and does not pose a risk to the surrounding environment. Our work is split into the following areas.

Cleaning up sites as part of the planning process

The growth and regeneration of Chesterfield in recent years means that many former industrial sites are being redeveloped into new housing and offices. The Environmental Protection Team make sure that all sites being redeveloped in this way are investigated, and if necessary, cleaned up (remediated) so that people can live and work at these sites without any risk of harm from substances left in the soil by previous occupier(s) of the site.

Cleaning up sites as part of the inspection process

Recent government legislation requires all local authorities to actively investigate their districts to identify sites where previous uses may have left contamination in soils or groundwaters and which may now pose a significant risk to the health of people or to the natural or built environment. Further information can be found in the Chesterfield Borough Council's Inspection Strategy.

Environmental searches

Recent legislation now means that the previous use of a site has now become an issue when people buy or sell houses and/or land. The Environmental Protection Team may be able to provide information about the history of a site, which can help clarify problems that may arise during the transaction process.

Further details about our work can be found by following the links in the menu on the left of this page.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the information available on these web pages, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Chesterfield Borough Council
Environmental Services
Town Hall
Rose Hill
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S40 1LP
Phone: 01246 345767
Fax: 01246 345760

Email: pollution@chesterfield.gov.uk