CIRD61500 - Land Remediation Relief: What is "land in a contaminated state"? Relevant Contaminated Land Remediation: Contents

CTA09/S1146

Relevant contaminated land remediation involves:

  • preventing or minimising, or remedying or mitigating the effects of, any relevant harm, by reason of which the land is in a contaminated state.

The legislation allows for expenditure on specific methods of land remediation to be excluded by Treasury Order. This may be done where alternative methods are seen as environmentally preferable. At present these powers have been used to exclude the removal of Japanese knotweed to Landfill (a process known as “dig and dump”).

Any method of dealing with the contamination that is not specifically excluded, may qualify for Land Remediation Relief, provided that the other tests are met.

The question of what is the appropriate method of dealing with the contamination is entirely a matter for the company, local planning authorities or appropriate regulatory body. It is not for HMRC to second guess the appropriateness of a particular method in a particular case.

Relevant contaminated land remediation is not restricted to those activities needed to restore the land to a state in which planning permission can be obtained. For commercial reasons, a company may choose to restore the land to a higher standard than is required by the appropriate planning regulations etc. In such event, the relevant contaminated land remediation includes restoring the land to that higher standard.

This section contains the following further guidance:

  1. CIRD61501
    Preventing, minimising, remedying or mitigating
  2. CIRD61505
    Methods of remediation - cover systems
  3. CIRD61510
    Methods of remediation - in-ground barriers and cut-off walls
  4. CIRD61515
    Methods of remediation - Dig and dump
  5. CIRD61520
    Methods of remediation - biological treatment
  6. CIRD61525
    Methods of remediation - cement based stabilisation
  7. CIRD61530
    Methods of remediation - different grades of cement
  8. CIRD61535
    Foundations
  9. CIRD61540
    Ground gases
  10. CIRD61590
    Excluded methods of remediation
  11. CIRD61595
    Abortive methods of remediation