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Contaminated Brownfield Sites

: I would tell the hon. Gentleman's constituents that the Government have given financial assistance to their local authority to do some of the technical work relating to the site. He mentioned the original developer and we would expect it to be liable because the polluter-pays principle applies. It is the developer's responsibility to ensure that the site is suitable for building; if there is a problem, it is the developer's responsibility to rectify it. In many cases, the developers are no longer around, which appears to be the case in the hon. Gentleman's constituency. The hon. Gentleman will know that there are funds available through the ODPM for dealing with remediation of contaminated land. It depends on the circumstances, but his local authority can make a bid for the remediation work once it knows the extent of the problem and the steps that need to be taken. To offer encouragement to the hon. Gentleman's constituents, I would say that support is available once the nature of the problem has been identified. It is necessary to identify and understand the nature of the problem and that work is currently under way. The work has to be done properly because we do not want a long-term legacy for people who live in houses on brownfield land. If there is to be remediation—it sounds as if there may well have to be—it should be carried out properly so that there is a permanent solution. The hon. Gentleman's case is not unique; there are similar sites throughout the country and we are keen to ensure that they are dealt with and that we identify and remove unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. We seek to bring damaged land back into beneficial use and to ensure that cost burdens faced by individuals, companies and society as a whole are proportionate, manageable and economically sustainable. I doubt that many constituencies do not have sites with similar problems. On the edge of my constituency in the former borough of Glanford, there was an enormous contaminated site on the site of an old fertiliser factory. The site was not only contaminated with a range of chemicals but had the added piquancy of anthrax. The former council thought that it had struck a very good deal with ICI, the former owner, by buying the site for £1. It was very pleased with the deal because it wanted to develop the land for housing. In return for that £1, however, the local authority took on all the liabilities for the site. As I pointed out, it was perhaps not such a bargain after all. Indeed, that turned out to be the case, because a lot of the site was so heavily contaminated that it could never be used for housing. However, it has been turned into a fantastic nature reserve, so I am pleased with that. I thought that it was quite a good outcome, although there was one problem. Glanford was merged into North Lincolnshire unitary authority, which then took over the liabilities. The site was leaching pollutants into the River Humber, and as North Lincolnshire council now had responsibility, it faced prosecution from the Environment Agency because of the contamination coming off the site. There are all sorts of problems with these sites, as I know, and I have a great deal of sympathy with the points that hon. Members have made.