Contaminated land in Northern Ireland: the regime that never started

Here’s something that surprises people from England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has a law setting up a full contaminated land regime, and it has never been switched on.

The gap

Part III of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 was designed to mirror the system elsewhere in the UK. District councils would inspect their areas, identify land posing a significant risk of significant harm, and make sure it was cleaned up. Almost three decades later, Part III still hasn’t been commenced.

DAERA’s own update says officials tried to commission a study of the costs and resources needed to introduce the regime, received no tenders, and are still working out next steps. The project may be completed in 2027.

What happens instead

In practice, most contamination is dealt with when land changes hands or gets developed. Planning conditions, lender due diligence and buyers’ solicitors do much of the work a statutory regime would do elsewhere. That works up to a point. But it means sites that aren’t being sold or redeveloped can sit unexamined for years, and responsibility can be unclear when problems surface.

Why it matters to businesses

If you own or occupy industrial land in Northern Ireland, or you’re buying it, this matters in a few ways:

Due diligence carries more weight. Without a public register or inspection programme, a buyer’s own investigation is often the only real check.
Liability is uncertain. If Part III is eventually commenced, rules about who pays for clean-up could reach back to past polluters and current owners.
Lenders and investors are asking. Environmental risk now shows up in finance and insurance conversations, not just planning ones.
Remediation can unlock value. Brownfield land that’s properly understood and treated can often be put back into productive use.

How I approach it

I don’t own testing equipment, and I don’t pretend to. Site investigation, sampling and remediation are specialist jobs, so I bring in established firms to do them. My role is to frame the questions, manage the process and make sense of the results for you: what the findings mean for your plans, your liabilities and your lenders.

My chemistry background helps here. Contaminants behave according to their chemistry and the ground they’re in, and understanding that makes it easier to judge which risks are real and which are theoretical.

The policy angle

There’s also a public policy question here, and with Assembly elections due in May 2027, it’s a good time to raise it. A clear, workable regime would give landowners certainty, protect communities and help bring brownfield sites back into use. I’m preparing a briefing for MLAs and councillors on the case for commencing Part III, and I’d welcome conversations with businesses who have a view.

If you’re dealing with a site now, whether you’re buying, selling, developing or simply unsure what’s under your yard, get in touch. An early conversation is far cheaper than a surprise later.