Decision Maker:

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: March 5, 2026

Purpose:

Content: That the following motion be rejected:   “North Northamptonshire continues to live with the legacy of the Corby toxic waste scandal. Recent reporting has raised concerns that contaminated material associated with historic waste movements in the 1980s and 1990s may also have been deposited in parts of Kettering. The failures that led to the Corby case must never be repeated.   This Council notes that: The current UK regulatory framework for contaminated land and landfill sites does not provide sufficient protection to public health or the environment, particularly in relation to historic landfill sites.   The Corby toxic waste litigation established liability in negligence, public nuisance and breach of statutory duty, demonstrating the serious consequences of regulatory failure.   In 2014, seven-year-old, Zane Gbangbola, died, and his father paralysed following suspected hydrogen cyanide exposure linked to floodwater passing through a historic landfill site in Surrey, highlighting the risks posed by inadequately monitored contaminated land.   The legislative framework known as Zane’s Law – the Clean Land (Human Rights) Bill would likely include the following measures:   1.           Every local authority must keep a full, regularly updated Register of Land that may be contaminated within their boundary.   2.           The Environment Agency must keep a full, public National Register of Contaminated Land to be regularly updated by information from local authorities.   3.           The Registers of Land must be accessible and available for inspection by the general public.   4.           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.   5.           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.   6.           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.   This Council resolves to: Formally support the principles of Zane’s Law – the Clean Land (Human Rights) Bill by writing to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to:   1.           Urge them to bring forward Zane’s Law – the Clean Land (Human Rights) Bill.   2.           Call upon the Government to ensure that any new statutory duties arising from such legislation are fully funded for Local Authorities and to reaffirm the polluter pays principle; and   3.           Affirm this Council’s commitment to protecting residents across North Northamptonshire from the risks associated with contaminated land and historic landfill sites.”     A recorded vote was requested in line with constitutional provisions, and the results were as follows:   Voted For (24) Voted Against (29) Abstained (4) Cllr W Colquhoun Cllr L Duffy Cllr M Davies Cllr S Geary Cllr P Brooke Cllr D Brackenbury Cllr P Shackleton Cllr M Eglin Cllr D McLean Cllr D Baker Cllr C McGiffen Cllr S Clark Cllr B Williams Cllr C Munday   Cllr B Jameson Cllr A Hall   Cllr M Pengelly Cllr C Kellett   Cllr W Brackenbury Cllr B Benneyworth   Cllr H Harrison Cllr J O’Hara   Cllr H Howell Cllr K Harrington   Cllr D Howes Cllr K Harrison   Cllr T Partridge-Underwood Cllr L Gibbs   Cllr J Paul?Carr Cllr J Di Cosimo?Carvetta   Cllr S Brown Cllr V Whitrow   Cllr B Jenney Cllr J Lumsden   Cllr J Hakewill Cllr G Wilcox   Cllr D Dell Cllr F Kilgallon   Cllr S Fairhall Cllr E Wright   Cllr L Robinson Cllr E McDonald   Cllr K Duddridge Cllr D Donnelly   Cllr J Humberstone Cllr G Beales   Cllr H Howes Cllr T Conway   Cllr J Towns Cllr K Clarke   Cllr V Jessop Cllr A Sims     Cllr G Dunsmuir     Cllr M Haddon     Cllr J Bone     Cllr G Cheatley     Cllr M Griffiths (Leader)