Northamptonshire town councils support proposed law on contaminated land

Kettering, Corby and Wellingborough councils have all passed motions in support of Zane's Law – with some having written to the Government and North Northamptonshire Council urging consideration of the policy.

Kettering and Corby councils passed their motions earlier this year, while Wellingborough late last month became the third council in the region to back the reform and pledge to write to the Government.

The law aims to introduce protections against contaminated land and includes provisions that would require councils to keep a publicly accessible register of land that may be contaminated, and remediate or enforce remediation of any land that is found to pose a risk to public safety, or which pollutes controlled waters.

It is named after Zane Gbangbola, whose parents say he was killed at the age of seven from toxic gas exposure when the Thames flooded his home in 2014.

It comes after members at North Northamptonshire Council voted against supporting Zane's Law in March.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Kettering Borough Council’s Town Clerk Emma Dezelu said: “Current rules do not provide sufficient protection for public health or the environment. The Corby toxic waste litigation showed the devastating consequences of failures in contaminated land management, and reports that toxic waste was moved to Kettering in the 1990s make this a pressing local concern.

“The tragic death of seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, and the life‑changing injuries suffered by his father, further demonstrate the real dangers posed by inadequately monitored landfill sites.”

In July this year, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Emma Reynolds, announced an independent, non-statutory inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Zane Gbangbola.

Reynolds said the inquiry will consider how public services and relevant authorities worked together during and after the incident, and how Zane’s family were treated by those organisations.

Several other local authorities have previously backed the law, including Newham Council, the London Assembly, Stroud District Council, Brighton & Hove City Council, and Lewes District Council.

The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has also voiced support for the proposals.

Adam Carey