Corby Town Council backs law to give greater transparency over contaminated land

During the 1980s, Corby had the largest contaminated land clean-up in Europe, a project that was botched and left many children with limb deformities.

Now Corby Town Council will write to the prime minister to call for stronger legislation around contaminated land.

A motion on Zane’s Law was presented at the council’s full meeting on Tuesday (July 14).

The proposed Zane’s Law; The Clean Land (Human Rights) Bill, is named after seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, who died from ‘suspected hydrogen cyanide exposure’ when his home was flooded with water that had passed through a historic landfill site in 2014.

The proposed legislation calls for every local authority to keep a full and regularly updated register of land in their area that may be contaminated, that in turn would supply information to a national register that the public could access.

It also calls for local authorities to inspect closed landfill sites and if needed remediate them with support from central government, following a ‘polluter pays’ principle.

Corby is still thought to have many contaminated sites, many of which are not documented in any format that is accessible to the public.

An amendment to the motion called for the Town Clerk to write to the Prime Minister’s office, setting out Corby Town Council’s support for the proposal.

When put to a vote, both the amendment and the wider motion were carried.

Cllr William Colquhoun, who presented the motion to full council, said: “We have joined other town councils locally in putting our weight behind this proposed legislation, which we know is something that is highly sought after by many in our community. Our mission in supporting this is putting Corby first and working towards safeguarding for future generations.”

Leader of Corby Town Council, Cllr Simon Rielly, said: “Corby has a unique history and understands the importance of ensuring contaminated land is properly identified, managed and remediated. By supporting the principles of Zane’s Law, we are adding our voice to calls for stronger legislation that protects communities and helps prevent future generations from suffering the consequences of contaminated land.”

Back in March, Reform-led North Northamptonshire Council – the authority that oversees contaminated land and looks after the environment and public health in our area – refused to back Zane’s law, saying it showed a ‘lack of realism’ and represented a ‘moving target’.

Later that month, Kettering Town Council did agree to back the change in law.