Blackstone's Guide to Contaminated Land

Featuring a copy of the Environment Act 1995, this volume examines the legislation regarding contaminated land. Due to be implemented in April 2000, the act aims to clean up the polluting consequences of an Industrial Revolution and two World Wars.

The long-awaited contaminated land regime came into force on 1 April 2000. A decade in the making, it may take as long again for some of its complexities and difficulties to be understood, interpreted and eradicated. This book provides those working in the commercial, corporate or property fields with a guide to one of the most complex pieces of legislationin the English statutory canon. The book unravels the mysteries of the new system and analyzes the impact that it may have on property transactions andcorporate take-overs, especially given the Government policy of regeneration and the building of 60% of new housing stock on brownfield sites. It also looks at the implications ofthe new regime from the point of view of site-owners, operators, lenders, consultants and professional advisers. The book answers vital questions such as: in principle, the polluter pays, but are there traps for the unwary?; if you buy a site, can you be liable to pay the clean-up bill?; must a site purchaser always investigate the property portfolio? Can you do anything to avoid liability? If you think the answer to any of the above questions is ''no'', then you need to read this book.