Lewes District Council has become the first local authority to support Zane’s Law — prospective legislation calling for greater transparency over contaminated land.
The prospective law is named for Zane Gbangola, a seven-year-old boy from Surrey who died following the flooding of the River Thames in 2014.
An inquest concluded Zane’s death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from a petrol pump used to remove flood water from his family home. His parents dispute this verdict, having long argued he was instead killed by gas washed out of a former landfill site.
On Monday (February 19), Lewes District Council unanimously backed a motion in support of Zane’s Law, which would be expected to include a requirement for local authorities to keep a register of land which may be contaminated.
The motion had been tabled by Green Party councillor Imogen Makepeace, who said:
“This tragic and alarming story illustrates the urgent need for a robust tightening of regulations on contaminated land in the UK.
“Zane’s Law seeks to reinstate legislative provisions removed by successive Conservative governments, including David Cameron’s, from the 1990 Environmental Protection Act and recognising the human right to a healthy environment.
“According to the British Medical Journal, 80 per cent of people in the UK live within two kilometres of landfill. There are over 21,000 of these sites scattered across the country, with many categorised as containing hazardous waste.
"They lie beneath homes, schools, shops, farmland [and] green spaces. Some are registered with the Environment Agency, but many others are still to be identified.”
The prospective law would also require councils to “fully remediate or enforce remediation of any land which poses harm to public safety”. Supporters say the government should provide local authorities with funding to carry out this work.
In passing the motion, the council committed to write to the government to express its support for new legislation on contaminated land based on the proposed principles of ‘Zane’s Law’.
The council will also request ministers to support Green Party peer Baroness Natalie Bennett in her efforts to advance ‘Zane’s Law’ through the House of Lords.
Zane’s father, Kye Gbangola, had been present for the meeting.
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