Contaminated land

Following advice and principals set in the Scottish Government's statutory guidance, sites are prioritised for detailed investigation and where contamination is found to be causing an unacceptable risk to human health or the wider environment, the council has powers to ensure that suitable remediation is carried out.

In 2001 we produced a contaminated land strategy which set out our procedures for dealing with contaminated land. This strategy was updated in October 2012 to reflect the current status of contaminated land issues within East Lothian.

View the contaminated land strategy

All land that is officially designated as being contaminated will be placed on a public register, at present this register is empty as we have not found land that meets the legal definition of contaminated land. 

Further information on contaminated land can be found on the Scottish Government’s website or through the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Development of potentially contaminated land

Any development on land that could potentially be contaminated is dealt with through the planning and building standards regulations with consultation being made with the Environment Protection Section to provide comment on the requirements for any investigative works and site assessments.  Conditions are recommended on the grant of any consent to ensure that the development is suitable for use.  

Download the Land Contamination and Development Management Guidance to check if this may be an issue for your development.