Contaminated Land Expenditure Relief

In Northern Gas Networks Ltd v. Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2022] EWCA Civ 910, the Court of Appeal considered the application of the provisions of Schedule 22 of the Finance Act 2001 to compulsory replacement of iron gas pipes which had corroded and become a safety risk.  The Court held that the focus should be on the words of the Finance Act itself, not on the general principle of “the polluter pays”.  The key words were the condition that the land must not have been in a contaminated state wholly or partly as a result of anything done or omitted to be done by the person seeking relief or a person with a relevant connection to it.  In this case, the appellant after the pipes were laid had pumped gas through them, which had led to corrosion of the pipes and thus the land being in a contaminated state.  This situation was distinguished from one of complete passivity, where an owner acquired land which was contaminated and was simply passive, rather than actively perpetuating the contamination.

Contaminated Land para. reference: 22-22