Wrexham Council to consider motion for improved handling of contaminated land issues

Wrexham Council will be asked to support a motion to transform the way the authority deals with contaminated land reports in the wake of the BBC’s Buried documentary.
When full council meets on Wednesday the Independent Group – led by the Leader of the Council Cllr Mark Pritchard – will present a notice of motion to members outlining significant changes to Wrexham’s monitoring of historically contaminated industrial land.
The motion has been signed by all 23 elected members of the Independent Group.
“The BBC documentary on contaminated land and the subsequent issues it brought into the public domain has highlighted concerns relating to the legacy of contaminated and historically used sites and the experiences of communities living alongside them,” says the motion.
“There is a need for greater transparency, investigation and accountability.”
The motion accepts that identifying who is responsible can be a complex challenge. Some sites used for historic dumping of toxic waste or ‘forever chemicals’ which can still harm human health today belong to private landowners or other public bodies.
Several sites used for industrial waste dumping across Wrexham are actually owned or managed by the local authority. These include Llwyneinion Acid Tar Lagoon, used by Monsanto and others to dispose of chemical waste.  Records show was purchased by the then Clwyd County Council for just £1 from the Llwyneinion Shale Brick Company in May 1980.
Conveyancing documents from the sale show the council ‘indemnifies the vendor (LSBC) from and against any past, present or future cost claims, demands or liabilities arising directly or indirectly in respect of the escape or nuisance of noxious wastes’.
Just three months after the purchase the lagoon was engulfed by an 18-hour inferno that took more than 60 firefighters from across the region to bring under control.
Following the outcry over the documentary – and Wrexham Council’s assertion that according to current regulations it has not deemed the land to be contaminated – Wrexham’s Independent Group is now seeking to change how the authority manages historic waste sites.
It is proposing the council opens dialogue with relevant public bodies and landowners to establish a clearer framework for cooperation, information sharing and prioritisation of sites where there are identified or credible concerns.
It also calls for the council to lobby Welsh Government and other agencies for funding to enable appropriate environmental investigations and risk assessments to be carried out across all identified sites.
If passed the motion will also seek to build a cooperative agreement between the council, Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales to identify, investigate, monitor and remediate contaminated land across Wrexham.
“No community should feel that concerns about potentially contaminated sites are being ignored or passed from one organisation to another without clear responsibility or action,” says the motion.
“A co-ordinated approach between Wrexham Council, Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales, landowners, and other agencies is required. The costs associated with investigating and remediating historical contamination can be significant and may be beyond the resources available to individual councils.
“There is therefore a strong case for seeking appropriate Welsh Government funding to support investigation, monitoring and, where necessary, remediation of contaminated sites.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​