Contaminated land legislation: European anomalies as they affect facilities management and clean-up

Remediation and reclamation of contaminated land presents a growing opportunity for facilities managers seeking to increase opportunities and options for land use. Many potentially valuable land sites are despoiled by the blight of contamination: this despite their often attractive location for redevelopment. For many facilities managers, such contaminated land may form a major part of their portfolio. This is particularly true of organisations that have inherited an industrial or manufacturing legacy. Other obvious examples include defence estates and power generation. Given the pressures for land in urban locations, the option of reclaiming previously discarded land appears to be increasingly attractive. This paper considers the varying legislative obstacles and incentives that apply in different parts of the European Union, focusing on the UK and Germany.