Kettering Town Council backs Zane’s Law after North Northamptonshire Council rejection

Proposed by Cllr Andy Byatt, the KTC motion saw every councillor present vote in favour of formally supporting the campaign's safety measures.

The push for Zane’s Law in Kettering follows public concern regarding land use and the area’s historical industrial legacy.

Cllr Andy Byatt (Green/Central) said: “By passing this motion unanimously, Kettering has sent a clear message – the safety of our residents is non-negotiable.

“While NNC may have failed to support these common-sense protections, Kettering Town Council has stepped up to show what real community leadership looks like.”

KTC councillors unanimously backed Zane’s Law during a meeting at the Toller Meeting Rooms on Wednesday (March 25).

Supporters argue that a mandatory register of contaminated land is essential to prevent future tragedies – as highlighted by Netflix drama Toxic Town.

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) voted down a similar motion to adopt Zane's Law tabled by Cllr Ben Williams (Green Party, NNC, Ise Ward).

Cllr Williams said: “It is great to see Kettering Town Council leading the war on contaminated land after NNC turned their back on this issue. We want to work in solidarity with other towns and parishes in our area to send a strong message that we believe in the human right to a healthy environment.”

Zane’s Law is named after seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, who tragically died during the 2014 floods in Surrey.

While the official inquest cited carbon monoxide from a pump, his family maintains he was killed by breathing in hydrogen cyanide gas released from a nearby contaminated landfill site.

His family has since campaigned to ensure local authorities are transparent about what lies beneath residential soil.

Cllr Lee Watkiss, leader of Kettering Town Council, said: “Your local councillors will reach out to town and parish councils in North Northamptonshire to ask them to support the principles of Zane’s Law, and join us in asking NNC to reconsider their stance.”

As part of the motion, Kettering Town Council formally registered its support for the six principles of the proposed Clean Land (Human Rights) Bill, known as Zane’s Law, which demands:

Every local authority must keep a full, regularly updated Register of Land that may be contaminated within their boundary.

The Environment Agency must keep a full, public National Register of Contaminated Land to be regularly updated by information from local authorities.

The Registers of Land must be accessible and available for inspection by the general public.

Relevant local authorities must fully inspect any land registered that may be contaminated and must fully remediate or enforce remediation of any land which poses harm to public safety, or which pollutes controlled waters.

Relevant local authorities must be responsible for inspecting previously closed landfill sites and fully remediating them, or enforcing their remediation, when they pose a risk of significant harm to people or controlled waters.

The Government must take full responsibility for providing the necessary funds for local authorities to meet these new requirements, following the ‘polluter pays’ principle: to recover costs as appropriate where those responsible for the pollution can be identified.