Westminster Hall adjournment debate on property development on contaminated brownfield sites, especially Littleport near Ely.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on property development on contaminated brownfield sites, especially Littleport near Ely.

I am most grateful for the opportunity to debate the crucial problem in my constituency of land contamination. It has a direct and personal effect on the lives of some of my constituents and wider implications for the Environment Agency and the Government in respect of pollution issues and the...

I am most grateful for the opportunity to debate the crucial problem in my constituency of land contamination. It has a direct and personal effect on the lives of some of my constituents and wider implications for the Environment Agency and the Government in respect of pollution issues and the...

: I will do my best. I understand what the hon. Gentleman says. As he fairly pointed out, there are some sites where the values are way above the scale and where there is no argument about the level of contamination. To be more precise, the argument comes when one...

: I will do my best. I understand what the hon. Gentleman says. As he fairly pointed out, there are some sites where the values are way above the scale and where there is no argument about the level of contamination. To be more precise, the argument comes when one...

: I accept that the individual characteristics of a site such as the geology and the soil should be taken on board. If there is a CLEA model that says that the acceptable level of benzo(a)pyrene, which the Minister acknowledges is widespread, is only 1 mg per kg of soil...

: I accept that the individual characteristics of a site such as the geology and the soil should be taken on board. If there is a CLEA model that says that the acceptable level of benzo(a)pyrene, which the Minister acknowledges is widespread, is only 1 mg per kg of soil...

: I would not condone any attempt to exploit loopholes in the law and regulations or to find shortcuts. However, I emphasise that there are clear regulations relating to site management and clearance. Our policy is to encourage remediation of brownfield sites on site and the reuse of rubble, which...

: I would not condone any attempt to exploit loopholes in the law and regulations or to find shortcuts. However, I emphasise that there are clear regulations relating to site management and clearance. Our policy is to encourage remediation of brownfield sites on site and the reuse of rubble, which...

: I understand where the hon. Gentleman is coming from, and I shall try to address what he says. The issue is complex and I am trying to go through the points methodically for him. The legal test in contaminated land legislation comes under part IIA of the Environmental Protection...

: I understand where the hon. Gentleman is coming from, and I shall try to address what he says. The issue is complex and I am trying to go through the points methodically for him. The legal test in contaminated land legislation comes under part IIA of the Environmental Protection...

: I am sorry, Mr. Cummings. I agree. I shall sit down.

: I am sorry, Mr. Cummings. I agree. I shall sit down.

: I am listening carefully to the Minister. Local authorities that are tasked under current legislation to look at site contamination accept that SGVs—if they are published; only half are—are to be used as guidelines and are not necessarily threshold levels. However, for gardens in which BAP is present, as...

: I am listening carefully to the Minister. Local authorities that are tasked under current legislation to look at site contamination accept that SGVs—if they are published; only half are—are to be used as guidelines and are not necessarily threshold levels. However, for gardens in which BAP is present, as...

: Because benzo(a)pyrene is so widespread and because the existing threshold figures are so low—I repeat the 1 mg per kg figure—if we did trial testing in half the gardens in this country, we would probably get readings above that level. If benzo(a)pyrene is a carcinogen people in those properties...

: Because benzo(a)pyrene is so widespread and because the existing threshold figures are so low—I repeat the 1 mg per kg figure—if we did trial testing in half the gardens in this country, we would probably get readings above that level. If benzo(a)pyrene is a carcinogen people in those properties...

: I think that I can answer the hon. Gentleman's question. The issue is being worked on as part of the new draft of SGVs also deals with BAP. The publication of the draft, which looks at all SGVs, has been held up because of the widespread nature of BAP,...

: I think that I can answer the hon. Gentleman's question. The issue is being worked on as part of the new draft of SGVs also deals with BAP. The publication of the draft, which looks at all SGVs, has been held up because of the widespread nature of BAP,...

: Can the Minister indicate when the SGV for asbestos will be published? That is certainly an issue for the Spodden valley site.

: Can the Minister indicate when the SGV for asbestos will be published? That is certainly an issue for the Spodden valley site.

I thank the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) for initiating this debate. It is timely, not least because if the Government's targets for house building are to be achieved, it will be necessary to use more brownfield sites. It is important that the guidance given by Government Departments...

I thank the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) for initiating this debate. It is timely, not least because if the Government's targets for house building are to be achieved, it will be necessary to use more brownfield sites. It is important that the guidance given by Government Departments...

I congratulate the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) on securing this important debate. I shall keep my contribution as brief as possible, as I am aware that the hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) might want to catch your eye later, Mr. Cummings. I asked a question at...

I congratulate the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) on securing this important debate. I shall keep my contribution as brief as possible, as I am aware that the hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) might want to catch your eye later, Mr. Cummings. I asked a question at...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) on securing the debate. He spoke with great feeling about his constituents in Littleport near Ely and the difficulties that they face because their houses are built on the site of an old gasworks. It is extremely difficult...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) on securing the debate. He spoke with great feeling about his constituents in Littleport near Ely and the difficulties that they face because their houses are built on the site of an old gasworks. It is extremely difficult...

I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) on securing this important debate. I know that the issue has affected a number of his constituents and he appears to have uncovered a flaw in the system for dealing with contaminated land. It is only right that we...

I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) on securing this important debate. I know that the issue has affected a number of his constituents and he appears to have uncovered a flaw in the system for dealing with contaminated land. It is only right that we...

: The Minister has just identified what he thinks the problem is, but I have been imagining what it must be like to live in Littleport. What the Minister says is not right. I agree that when it is determined that there are bad things in the soil in different...

: The Minister has just identified what he thinks the problem is, but I have been imagining what it must be like to live in Littleport. What the Minister says is not right. I agree that when it is determined that there are bad things in the soil in different...

: I congratulate the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) on his grasp of a complex subject. I understand the pressures on his constituents, which he ably articulated, and the problems identified by my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton (Jim Dobbin) and the hon. Members for...

: I congratulate the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Moss) on his grasp of a complex subject. I understand the pressures on his constituents, which he ably articulated, and the problems identified by my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton (Jim Dobbin) and the hon. Members for...

: To clear up that point, the then NRA advised looking at water movement, but there was no problem with water on the site, so that does not feed through to the present problem, which lies in the upper metre of soil. It is suspected—there is only anecdotal evidence—that material...

: To clear up that point, the then NRA advised looking at water movement, but there was no problem with water on the site, so that does not feed through to the present problem, which lies in the upper metre of soil. It is suspected—there is only anecdotal evidence—that material...

: It is certainly true that there can be an impact on the value of property, which is why I have a great deal of sympathy for the constituents of the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire. However, I understand that the former National Rivers Authority advised his local authority that...

: It is certainly true that there can be an impact on the value of property, which is why I have a great deal of sympathy for the constituents of the hon. Member for North-East Cambridgeshire. However, I understand that the former National Rivers Authority advised his local authority that...

: No one disagrees that a site must be cleared up, but sometimes developers are prepared to exploit loopholes and the lack of manpower in the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. We have talked about moving rubble. Why is the rubble being moved when the environmental impact...

: No one disagrees that a site must be cleared up, but sometimes developers are prepared to exploit loopholes and the lack of manpower in the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. We have talked about moving rubble. Why is the rubble being moved when the environmental impact...