Will Part 3 bring the regulatory (and resources) boost needed to fuel brownfield development?
Yvonne Buchanan of White Young Green Environmental (NI) Ltd heralds the impending arrival of contaminated land legislation in Northern Ireland. The general view of environmental regulation in Northern Ireland is that it lags behind the rest of the UK. This may very well be a true statement when considering the provisions currently in place in Northern Ireland with respect to contaminated land. The aim of this article is to give you a brief overview of contaminated land regulation and legislation in Northern Ireland and outline where, in my opinion, we sit against the rest of the UK. Part 3 First, let us deal with the regime. Part 3 of the Waste and Contaminated Land Order (NI) 1997 (Part 2A equivalent) has been published but is yet to be implemented in Northern Ireland. Once implemented, Part 3 will give district councils the primary regulatory role to inspect their areas to identify potentially contaminated sites, determine whether sites contain statutorily “contaminated land” and if
