Contaminated land case study - Walsall

Walsall Borough Council is preparing to determine 43 houses built on the site of a former gas works as contaminated land, and is conducting tests to see if a further 50 properties will also need to be determined.

The homes affected were built during the 1970’s on the site of the former Willenhall gas works, which shut in the 1960’s. Soil investigations carried out by the council have found elevated levels of benzo(a)pyren, as well as other contaminants including metals and petroleum hydrocarbons.

Homeowners have been told not to eat vegetables grown in their gardens or to carry out any extensions on their homes during the investigation process, which amongst other things will seek to discover who is responsible for the remediation costs. The council has warned it could take up to five years to complete their work, prompting one worried resident to say, ‘It’s not good (news) for people who want to move or put up extensions’.

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