Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2002 - Statistical Bulletin ENV/2003/1
4 Contamination of vacant and derelict land
4.1 Table 7 shows the contamination status of all recorded vacant and derelict 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). 647 derelict sites, covering 4,331 hectares, were either suspected or known to have contamination. The contamination status of 3,641 hectares of vacant and derelict land (33 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 vacant and derelict land 1, 2002 2
Contamination Status | Derelict Land | Vacant Land | Total Vacant and Derelict Land |
Area (ha) | % of Derelict Land (by Area) | No. of Sites | Area (ha) | % of Vacant Land (by Area) | No. of Sites | Area (ha) | % of Total Land (by Area) | No. of Sites |
Known contamination | 2,542 | 44 | 183 | - | - | - | 2,542 | 34 | 183 |
Suspected contamination | 1,789 | 31 | 464 | - | - | - | 1,789 | 24 | 464 |
Contamination not suspected | 1,448 | 25 | 547 | 1,486 | 91 | 1,113 | 2,934 | 40 | 1,660 |
Tested and found not to be contaminated | - | - | - | 148 | 9 | 25 | 148 | 2 | 25 |
Unknown 4 | 2,017 | - | 701 | 1,624 | - | 1,341 | 3,641 | - | 2,042 |
Total | 7,796 | 100 | 1,895 | 3,258 | 100 | 2,479 | 11,053 | 100 | 4,374 |
1 Figures may not sum due to rounding
2 2001 data have been used for Aberdeen City, City of Edinburgh, North Ayrshire and the Scottish Borders
3 2000 data has been used for Moray
4 Unknown values are excluded from the calculation of percentage values
4.2 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 793 hectares (44 per cent) of known contaminated derelict land. The other main known contaminant is coal, which affects 513 hectares (29 per cent). Together, these two contaminants affect 17 per cent of all derelict land, irrespective of contamination status.
Table 8: Contaminated land, by contamination type 1, 2002 2,3
Contamination Type | Derelict Land Where Contamination is Known |
Area (ha) | % of Derelict Land (by Area) | No. of Sites |
Arsenic | - | - | - |
Asbestos | 793 | 44 | 11 |
Chromium | 12 | 1 | 4 |
Coal | 513 | 29 | 30 |
Coal Tars | 1 | * | 2 |
Copper, Nickel, Zinc | 10 | 1 | 4 |
Cyanides | 1 | * | 1 |
Gases | 90 | 5 | 9 |
Phenols | 1 | * | 1 |
Sulphates | 4 | * | 1 |
Other combustible materials | 99 | 6 | 10 |
Other contaminants | 262 | 15 | 16 |
Unknown 4 | 757 | - | 94 |
Total | 2,542 | 100 | 183 |
1 Figures may not sum due to rounding
2 2001 data have been used for Aberdeen City, City of Edinburgh, North Ayrshire and the Scottish Borders
3 2000 data has been used for Moray
4 Unknown values are excluded from the calculation of percentage values
4.3 Table 9 shows land known to be contaminated, categorised by Local Enterprise Company. Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire area has 753 hectares of known contaminated land, representing 30 per cent of the national total. Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire area has 633 hectares of known contaminated land, representing 25 per cent of the national total. Together, these two Local Enterprise Company areas contain over half of the known contaminated derelict land in Scotland.
Table 9: Known contaminated land 1 by Local Enterprise Company, 2002 2,3
Local Enterprise Company | Derelict Land Where Contamination is Known |
Area (ha) | % of Derelict Land (by Area) | No. of Sites |
Scottish Enterprise |
SE Ayrshire | 204 | 8 | 79 |
SE Borders | * | * | 1 |
SE Dumfries & Galloway | 129 | 5 | 2 |
SE Dunbartonshire | 35 | 1 | 7 |
SE Edinburgh & Lothian | 89 | 3 | 10 |
SE Fife | 361 | 14 | 9 |
SE Forth Valley | 78 | 3 | 4 |
SE Glasgow | 152 | 6 | 23 |
SE Grampian | 6 | * | 2 |
SE Lanarkshire | 633 | 25 | 32 |
SE Renfrewshire 4 | 753 | 30 | 5 |
SE Tayside | - | - | - |
Highlands & Islands Enterprise |
Argyll & The Islands Enterprise | 5 | * | 2 |
Caithness & Sutherland Enterprise | * | * | 1 |
Inverness & Nairn Enterprise | 58 | 2 | 3 |
Lochaber Limited | - | - | - |
Moray, Badenoch & Strathspey Enterprise | - | - | - |
Orkney Enterprise | - | - | - |
Ross & Cromarty Enterprise | 37 | 1 | 2 |
Shetland Enterprise | - | - | - |
Skye & Lochalsh Enterprise | * | * | 1 |
Western Isles Enterprise | - | - | - |
Scotland | 2,542 | 100 | 183 |
1 Figures may not sum due to rounding
2 2001 data have been used for Aberdeen City, City of Edinburgh, North Ayrshire and the Scottish Borders
3 2000 data has been used for Moray
4 Figures for Renfrewshire have been heavily influenced by the inclusion of one particularly large site that has increased in size since the 2001 survey.