6 December 2005

 MALCOLM MOSS URGES PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE CONTAMINATED LAND ISSUE

Malcolm Moss has urged the Government to hold an urgent full debate on contaminated land development following his disappointing response from the Environment Minister last month.

He raised the subject again in the House of Commons last Thursday when he expressed concern about conflicting information regarding the need to include soil sampling in the house seller’s pack. He also referred to other MPs who have raised this issue on behalf of householders faced in a similar position to those at Old School Close, Littleport.

Mr Moss told the House: “Given that an increasing number of housing developments built on contaminated land are coming to light, such as that in Littleport, which is in my constituency; given the contradictory views of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the inclusion of soil sampling in the house seller’s pack; given the comments of the Leader of the House in response to a recent question from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Steve McCabe); and given the now obvious problems in implementing part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, will the Deputy Leader of the House arrange an urgent debate on contaminated land development, so that we can clear up this mess?”

The response from Nigel Griffiths, the deputy leader of the House of Commons, was not entirely unhelpful.

“I can ensure that the concerns that my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House reflected in his response to that question are drawn to Ministers' attention, so that the hon. Gentleman can assist his constituents and we can hopefully ensure that the policy is appropriate to the contaminated site issue.”

Mr Moss said: “I intend to keep up the pressure on the Government on this crucial issue. I am being contacted by experts in this field who confirm that the problem at Littleport is just the tip of an iceberg, and one which could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of properties nationwide.”

Last month Mr Moss urged the Environment Minister Elliot Morley to urgently review the present guidelines and threshold levels of chemicals in soil in order to remove the blight hanging over the Littleport families. Mr Morley declined to accept the real urgency in this, but Mr Moss has vowed to continue fighting this cause for all homeowners in the UK who find themselves in a similar position.