Contaminated land

What is contaminated land?

Contaminated land refers to circumstances where ground has become polluted in some way. Most often, this is as a result of substances being spilt or otherwise deposited from historic industrial activity, but elevated amounts of hazardous substances may be present from natural sources too (such as radon, which is a gas formed by the radioactive decay of small amounts of uranium that occur naturally in all rocks and soils). If contamination of the land is not properly dealt with, it may pose a risk to public health and the environment.

The council tackles contaminated land in a number of ways; through the planning process, through the inspection strategy and through prevention.

Contaminated land searches

We can carry out a contaminated land search on a specific property or site in Cheltenham. Requests should be emailed to envhealth@cheltenham.gov.uk with the details of the property/land requiring the search. You will need to make payment of the non-refundable fee before the search can begin:

Response within 20 working days - £184
Response within 10 working days - £274

If you are seeking a search covering multiple properties, the price is variable. Please contact us for a quote.

To pay the response fee, please pay online.

*Fees apply for the 2025/26 financial year and are subject to change each year.

Treatment of contaminated land

When land has been confirmed as contaminated the enforcing authority must:

confirm who should be responsible for treatment or remediation
decide after consultation what treatment work should be done and check that this is carried out
decide who is to pay for the treatment and
maintain a public register of all regulatory action in relation to contaminated land.

Land is only considered contaminated if it affects:

human beings
certain ecosystems
certain property
controlled water

Contaminated land in the planning process

For planning applications situated on land known or suspected to have had a potentially contaminative former use, the developer may be required to carry out an investigation of the site and where necessary to undertake remediation (clean-up) if contamination is found.

It is the responsibility of the developer to ensure that the site is suitable for its proposed use.

Find out when a contaminated land assessment is required and what must it include

The council has a statutory duty under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to identify contaminated land and to ensure it is in a suitable condition for its current use.

We are in the process of updating our contaminated land inspection strategy and it will be published in due course.

Public register of contaminated land

Site name: Marle Hill landfill

Reference number: CBC039
Location: The Approach Golf Course, Tommy Taylors Lane
Extent (Ha): 12.00
Eastings: 394712
Northings: 223786

Following extensive investigation and monitoring works over several years at Marle Hill landfill site and at properties next to the site, the Environment Agency and Cheltenham Borough Council have issued a remediation declaration notice which gives the site the 'all clear'.