Renfrewshire Council

Contaminated land

Due to Renfrewshire's rich industrial past, some areas of land may have been affected by contamination.

While this may be true of many sites in Renfrewshire, the vast majority of these will not be 'contaminated land', which has a specific legal definition.

The definition is : 'Any land which appears to the local authority in whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, on or under the land, that -

'(a) significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm being caused; or
'(b) significant pollution of the water environment is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such pollution being caused'.

'Contaminated land' is land which poses unacceptable risks to human health or the wider environment in its current use.

Is there any contaminated land in Renfrewshire?

The Council is required (by Section 78R of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) to maintain a register of information relating to sites that have been determined as meeting the legal definition of 'Contaminated Land'

At present, no sites in Renfrewshire have been determined to be Contaminated Land, so there are no entries in the Council's register.

Information on this page relating to the register is reviewed on a quarterly basis, and the webpage will be updated as and when necessary.

How is potential land contamination dealt with in Renfrewshire?

The Council's Environmental Improvement Team aims to protect human health and the environment by working to make sure that land affected by contamination is cleaned up to a suitable standard. This is achieved using the legal provisions of Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and also through our role as consultees in the planning process.

Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires each local authority to draw up an inspection strategy for dealing with contaminated land within its area. 

The Council first developed a contaminated land strategy for Renfrewshire in September 2001, based on guidance from the then Scottish Executive. 

That document was revised in May 2010, and again in March 2022, and you can find it in the 'related documents' section of this page.

Guidance describing how potential land contamination should be investigated and assessed as part of the planning process can also be found in the 'related documents' section of this page.