Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to (a) air pollution, (b) resident objections, (c) physical health impacts and (d) mental health impacts linked to gasworks redevelopment sites.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local Planning Authorities are responsible for issuing planning consents for the redevelopment of brownfield land. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that development sites should be suitable for its proposed use taking account of ground conditions and any risks arising from land contamination. This includes risks arising from former activities such as gasworks. The Framework is also clear that new development should be appropriate for its location taking into account the likely effects of pollution on health, living conditions and the natural environment.
Certain remediation activities on former gasworks sites (such as treatment of contaminated soils and groundwater) require a mobile treatment permit under the Environmental Permitting Regime. These permits are issued by the Environment Agency (EA), which regulates emissions from the treatment activities (e.g. air pollution, odour, noise).
Before treatment commences, the operator must submit an application to the EA to deploy the mobile plant to site. This application must include site specific information to show how the operator will: