Residential Soil Testing: 71 Properties, 7 Designated High Risk: and What the Council Can Already Do

Residential Soil Testing: What Has Been Found

Wyre Council’s multi-agency investigation has now tested 71 residential properties in the area surrounding the Hillhouse industrial estate. The key findings from residential testing to date:

• PFOA was found in the majority of residential properties tested
• 7 properties have been designated “high risk” based on soil contamination levels
• No residential property has yet been formally designated as Contaminated Land under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990

Sources for these figures: Wyre Council’s letter to residents of 12 August 2026 states that 71 residential gardens were sampled in autumn 2025 and that “a small number of properties were placed in a higher risk category”; the figure of seven is from Leigh Day’s press release of 5 March 2026, Seven homes identified as high risk due to PFAS contaminated soil in Thornton-Cleveleys.

The first residential property for which full Phase 3 data became publicly available (WSP code SP510) had PFOA at every one of its 25 sample points exceeding the 1.4 µg/kg precautionary screening value WSP applies to allotment soil; all but the lowest reading (6.57 µg/kg) also exceeded the 7.6 µg/kg value WSP applies to residential gardens where vegetables are grown. The peak reading of 119 µg/kg was at the maximum sampling depth of 0.60m, where contamination was still increasing when sampling stopped.

Attribution note: Soil contamination in the area may reflect contributions from multiple sources over decades, including legacy ICI operations, current operations, atmospheric deposition, and shared estate infrastructure. Source attribution for residential soil contamination has not been published.

The Part 2A Status

When this was written, the only Part 2A conclusion in this investigation covered Occupation Road Allotments (5 March 2026); the Environment Agency reached the same conclusion for Sandringham Avenue Allotments in August 2026. Formal determination is the council’s decision, and we have not confirmed from public records whether it has been made for either site. (Updated 25 September 2026: this sentence previously called the March conclusion a designation.) The Environment Agency concluded this site meets the statutory criteria because PFOA was found in both soil samples and produce grown on the allotments, confirming that plant uptake of PFAS was occurring.

Wyre Council has stated explicitly that “no conclusions have been reached, nor any decisions made, regarding the Contaminated Land status of any other areas of land.” This means that the 7 high-risk residential properties, while designated high risk, do not currently carry formal Part 2A status.

Part 2A is a statutory threshold with legal consequences: it requires the local authority to identify those responsible and secure remediation. Below that threshold, no equivalent obligation arises.

The Planning Moratorium Question

In January 2025, Wyre Council Leader Cllr Michael Vincent wrote to the government requesting authority to defer all planning applications within 1km of the Hillhouse estate while the contamination investigation continued. Baroness Sharon Taylor, for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, replied that existing powers under the National Planning Policy Framework already allow contamination assessment to be required case by case. No blanket moratorium was granted. (Source: Central Radio North West, 28 March 2025; Wyre Council records.)

“Refused” overstates what happened, and it is worth being precise. The reply did not block the council from acting. It pointed to powers the council already holds, which is a different thing from a refusal to allow action — and the distinction matters, because the shorter version frames central government as the obstacle when the tools sit with the local authority.

Wyre Council is itself the local planning authority for Thornton-Cleveleys. Local planning authorities have existing statutory powers under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, including the ability to:

• Attach conditions to planning permissions relating to land contamination
• Refuse planning permission where material considerations, including site contamination, are not satisfactorily addressed
• Defer determination of applications where investigations are ongoing

These powers exist independently of any government-issued moratorium, and the absence of one would not mean the council lacks the ability to take contamination into account in its planning decisions.

What is not established: Whether Wyre Council has used or intends to use existing planning powers in relation to contamination near the Hillhouse estate, and whether the council has sought legal advice on this question.

Attribution note: This section does not attribute intent or knowledge to any named individual. It sets out the publicly available legal framework and the documented correspondence only.

What This Creates: Documented Gaps

The current position produces the following documented situation:

• 71 residential properties tested; majority contain PFOA; 7 designated high risk
• No residential Part 2A designation
• Part 2A applies to two allotment sites: Occupation Road (determined 5 March 2026) and Sandringham Avenue (concluded to meet the criteria, per Wyre Council’s letter to residents of 12 August 2026)
• Central government declined to grant a blanket moratorium, pointing to existing NPPF powers instead
• The implementing local authority has existing planning powers that do not require a moratorium
• Whether those powers are being applied to new planning applications in the affected area is not publicly documented

These are not editorial judgements. They are statements of the current regulatory position derived from publicly available documents and legal framework.

Outstanding Questions

1. On what basis were 7 properties designated “high risk”, what threshold was used?
2. Of the 71 tested properties, how many exceeded WSP’s 7.6 µg/kg residential garden screening value? How many exceeded the Occupation Road Allotments designation threshold?
3. What criteria would need to be met for a residential property to receive a Part 2A designation?
4. What consideration is Wyre Council giving to existing planning authority powers in relation to new applications near the Hillhouse estate?
5. Has the council sought legal advice on applying planning conditions relating to PFAS contamination?

Sources: Wyre Council Phase 3 residential testing (Wyre Council multi-agency investigation updates); Wyre Council, 5 March 2026 (further steps statement); Wyre Council letter ref 1908990571, 27 February 2026 (WSP Phase 3 results for SP510). Planning law framework: Town and Country Planning Act 1990; Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Part 2A).