§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make new finance available for clearing contaminated land with view to future development within urban areas which would help to relieve the pressures on building homes on greenfield sites. [HL1537]
§ Lord WhittyUnder the polluter pays principle, the statutory remediation of contaminated land is the responsibility of the polluter or owner.
The Government support remediation and regeneration of brownfield land sites through a range of programmes, including the Single Regeneration Budget, the New Deal for Communities and the Land Reclamation Programme of English Partnerships, and through the revenue support grant to local authorities. We plan to spend £4.6 billion on regeneration programmes over the next three years.