Welsh Government
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Minister assures householders that they will not carry cost of contaminated land
Carl Sargeant, the Minister for Natural Resources, has recently assured the group of residents affected by contaminated land in Coedpoeth and Brymbo that “under no circumstances” would the cost of remediation fall to them.
Following a visit to the home of Miss Julie Hinchcliff, whose home is one of the 18 in the area included in the remediation programme, the Minister said that Welsh Government has agreed in principle to contribute to the council’s costs so that the issue is resolved without leaving residents out of pocket.
The Minister said recently:
“These costs would ordinarily fall at the door of the polluter or, failing that, the current land owner but given the circumstances we are keen for this to be resolved for the good of all parties concerned and have approached Wrexham County Borough Council offering to contribute to the costs in the interests of the residents.
“The Welsh Government had explored whether this case was comparable to Blanefield in Scotland, where the UK Government made a contribution to the remediation costs. We now agree that this case is sufficiently different to Blanefield and we have, in this instance, taken the exceptional decision to contribute to these costs.
“I am aware of the strength of feeling in the community on this matter, not least having spoken to Julie today, and feel it’s important to put on record today that under no circumstances will the bill for the contamination at Coedpoeth and Brymbo fall to these homeowners.
