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Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2004

4 Contamination of derelict and urban vacant land

4.1 Table 7 shows the contamination status of all recorded derelict and urban vacant land; under the definitions used in the survey, all sites that are known or suspected to be contaminated are defined as being derelict rather than vacant (paragraph 2.2). 168 derelict sites, covering 2,352 hectares, were known to have contamination. The contamination status of 8,185 hectares of urban vacant and derelict land (77 per cent of the total) was unknown. The survey draws on existing sources of data regarding contamination and does not specifically require the testing of sites. The term 'contamination' used in the survey differs from the statutory definition in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and refers simply to the presence or absence of a number of potential contaminants.

Table 7: Contamination status of derelict and urban vacant land ¹, 2004 ²

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding
2. 2003 data have been used for the following council areas: Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Scottish Borders and South Ayrshire.
3. Unknown values are excluded from the calculation of percentage values

4.2 The 2,352 hectares of derelict land that is known to be contaminated (Table 7) is broken down by main contamination type in Table 8. Asbestos is the most common contaminant, affecting 780 hectares (45 per cent) of known contaminated derelict land. The other main known contaminant is coal, which affects 460 hectares (27 per cent). Together, these two contaminants affect 16 per cent of all derelict land, irrespective of contamination status.

Table 8: Contaminated land, by contamination type ¹, 2004 ^{2, 3}

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding
2. 2003 data have been used for the following council areas: Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Scottish Borders and South Ayrshire.
3. Unknown values are excluded from the calculation of percentage values

4.3 Table 9 shows land known to be contaminated by Local Enterprise Company. Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire contains 755 hectares of known contaminated land, representing 32 per cent of the total of land known to be contaminated. Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire area has 493 hectares of known contaminated land, representing 21 per cent of the national total. SE Ayrshire has the largest number of contaminated sites (77 sites) representing over a third of contaminated sites in Scotland.

Table 9: Known contaminated land ¹ by Local Enterprise Company, 2004 ²

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding
2. 2003 data have been used for the following council areas: Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Scottish Borders and South Ayrshire.

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