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Contaminated Brownfield Sites

: I accept what the hon. Gentleman says, but it would not be appropriate for me to go into the background of the case. How we do these kinds of assessment is the issue that I am trying to address. I am also trying to answer the questions that have been asked and comment on the Rochdale case to which my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton spoke. As I was saying, the mere presence of contaminants does not mean that risk—let alone unacceptable risk—is present. That can only be determined through detailed investigations on site and the risk assessments that are made. That can be a complicated and painstaking process, but getting it right can save unnecessary remediation and disruption. That is relevant to a point made by the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire. That work has to be done for individual sites. That point also applies to the site in Rochdale. There has to be an environmental impact assessment, which I understand the local authority is doing; that is a sensible and responsible move. There are strict regulations about on-site remediation. Regardless of whether BAP or asbestos is involved, hazardous material has to be disposed of in a licensed site in a separate cell. In terms of lorry and other vehicle movements, there will be a role for both the Environment Agency in relation to waste licensing, and perhaps for the Health and Safety Executive in making sure that the vehicles are properly sheeted and there is proper dust control. A range of regulations exist to protect our constituents. Sadly, clearance of major sites involves a lot of lorry movements—not much can be done about that. The question is whether we want derelict sites to be left derelict as an eyesore for many years, or whether we want them to be developed and accept short-term disruption, which is inevitable in any site remediation or management. I believe that all of us as Members of Parliament experience that from time to time.