Contaminated land case study - Watling Street, Motherwell

A second round of investigations conducted in May 2011, by North Lanarkshire Council on a Motherwell estate believed to be contaminated, has revealed no evidence of the radioactive contamination which they feared.

This will provide little consolation to residents who have complained about the ‘poor conditions’ of their homes, ‘ill health’ and ‘strange smells coming from the ground.’ They believe the estate, built on the site of a former industrial plant that closed in the 1980s, had insufficient remedial work carried out prior to the homes being built in 1998.

Collins Solicitors, who is representing some of the homeowners, conducted their own environmental report, and claim to have found contamination not only in the soil around the homes, but also in the air inside the homes.

Collins also cited a 2001 remediation report, which they claim it showed that following completion of the homes, the developer became aware of contamination in rear gardens and employed specialist contractors to remove 1m of topsoil. The solicitors maintain there is no evidence the material was removed.

Charles Penman, the Council’s Pollution Control Manager said, "At the moment, we have absolutely nothing concrete to support the view that there are dangerous contaminants present here."

Nevertheless, North Lanarkshire Council has ordered a third round of tests on the estate to try and put an end to the uncertainty amongst residents. The results of these are expected later in the year.

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