Contaminated land case study - Peeblesshire

Work to clean up contamination in a number of household gardens in the Scottish Borders has been completed at a total cost of £90,000.

Householders had been left reeling after plans to relocate a primary school were thrown into confusion, following the discovery of high levels of arsenic, nickel and carbon dioxide beneath the proposed site, the Rosetta Toom Tip, which closed in the early 1960s. During tests on the site, high-risk levels of lead and the chemical substance PAH were also found in the gardens of neighbouring houses, prompting the Scottish Borders Council into action.

Scottish Borders Council revealed the clean-up had been a success stating: "The remediation of this area of contaminated land has removed any possibility of the previous contamination impacting on the health of the occupiers of the properties at Violet Bank, Peebles."

<< Back to contaminated land case studies in Scotland