HSE’s land use planning advice around onshore non-nuclear major hazard installations

HSE carried out a public consultation from April to July 2007 on the Government proposal that societal risk should be taken into account when assessing safety measures at onshore major hazard installations and for planning applications on the use of land for development in areas around such sites.

The study that led to this consultation process was initiated by an HSE analysis of information provided by major hazard site operators under the Control of Major Accident Hazard (COMAH) Regulations 1999. Several factors contributed to this:

• the government's desire to see development on brownfield sites and to reduce planning delays caused by the need for consultation;
• a greater interest by the European Commission in the enforcement of the Seveso II land-use planning requirements since the explosion at Toulouse;
• HSE's work on the assessment of COMAH safety reports and the requirements of the Seveso II Directive; and
• the imbalance of costs and benefits, between the duty-holder, the developer and the local authority.

• View report on responses to consultation document [101KB]

Further work will be undertaken to develop the practicalities on societal risk calculations, mechanisms for how costs are shared and the format of HSE advice to Local Planning Authorities (LPAs).

The next stage of consultation will, therefore, involve workshops with LPAs that have hazardous sites located within their area of responsibility, to establish detailed mechanisms for change particularly on how HSE's land use planning advice should be provided. HSE anticipate running the workshops in February/March 2008 with an announcement of outcomes in spring 2008.