In House Training

In-house training programmes for local authorities are temporarily suspended due to time constraints resulting from the increased demand for consultancy and expert witness services. It is hoped a new programme will be produced in due course.
 

Training days organised in house are a particularly cost effective way of delivering targeted environmental training particularly relevant to your team. Costs are usually based on a flat fee of £400, plus an additional £10 per delegate plus expenses. This can work out at only £19* per head for a group of 50, £28* for a group of 25.

Certificates are provided for CPD purposes.

Examples of several courses offered in support of Environmental Protection Act 1990 Part IIA are shown below:

Lots of additional material is available on a wide range of subjects and day courses can also be tailored to your requirements (time permitting). Suggestions can be viewed at the end of this page.

* Costs vary slightly according to expenses incurred (travelling, sometimes overnight accommodation).
 

Statutory Contaminated Land Strategies
In-house training for local authority officers
 

Zero environmental can offer a service to develop strategies for local authorities, but also appreciate that many will have the resources to undertake this in house. A full day training package has therefore been developed which looks in some depth at what is actually required to produce a strategy, and also considers some of the practical problems that will arise with its implementation.

This is available at a cost of £400 (for the day) plus £10 per delegate plus expenses

There is no limit to the number of delegates that may attend

The objective of the day is to provide officers with enough information to enable them to develop a workable strategy themselves, or to specify the task for tender. It is essential to appreciate the need to have a comprehensive strategy in place before the inspection of the District takes place.

The recommended timetable is as follows:
 

9.00		Coffee
9.30 - 11.00		PowerPoint presentation on the structure of a generic strategy with suggestions on additional information designed to smooth the way for some of the more inevitably awkward decisions to come. Then specific information required to produce an in house strategy. Also included is a basic preliminary risk assessment process that seeks to overcome the shortcomings of CLR6. There is always a lot of valuable discussion during this presentation therefore it is not possible to be sure precisely when it will end.
About 11.00 - 11.15		Coffee
11.15 - 11.45		Contaminated land training requirements for local authority officers with responsibility for Part IIA
11.45 - 13.00		80 slides and case studies to highlight the sort of problems every local authority will have to confront.
13.00 - 14.00		Lunch
14.00 - 15.00		Panorama video on contaminated land followed by discussion
15.00 - 15.15		Tea
15.15 - 16.15		PowerPoint presentation on Contaminated land consultancy services and best value followed by a selection of slides showing some everyday failures caused by 'professional' advisors.
16.15		Open forum

Certificates are provided for 6 hours CPD
 

Statutory Contaminated Land Strategies
In-house training for local authority officers
 

This day has been devised for those Authorities using the zero environment contaminated land strategy framework Document*. The document itself comprises over 60 pages of essential information which should be included in any comprehensive contaminated land strategy. There is also additional information which has been designed to help pave the way for the many difficult decisions anticipated by the new regime and to ensure a broad understanding of the process by the target audience.

The day is structured in a similar way to Day 1 but with an emphasis on the wording of the document. This is similarly offered at a cost of £400 (for the day) plus £10 per delegate plus expenses.

There is no limit to the number that may attend

The objective of the day is to provide the officers who are charged with the responsibility of delivering the strategy clear advice on their duties and liabilities. It is very important that they appreciate that the task outlined by Part IIA is extremely onerous and could have 'mind boggling' implications for the Council as well as householders of the District.

The recommended timetable is as follows:
 

9.00		Coffee
9.30 - 15.00		(with breaks for coffee and lunch) Presentations: What is your approach going to be? (everyone has a view on this) A demonstration of just one reason why the job is so difficult Your essential local contacts A look at the bones of the document Some suggested wording for your inputs in i.4 and part 1 A more detailed look at preliminary risk assessment methods and why CLR6 must not be used in its present form and how to use the method proposed in the framework document
15.00 - 15.15		Tea
15.15 - on		Some practical examples. A selection of slides which look at the types of sites that exist in most every authority, how you would assess them at the preliminary stage, use of the assessment form and thoughts on the next step.

Unfortunately there is never the time to look at the whole document in detail therefore I leave the finishing time open and will stay on for anyone with detailed questions and no bus to catch.

Certificates are provided for 6 hours CPD

* The zero environment contaminated land strategy framework is available in hard copy and on disk from:

Zero environment Ltd PO Box 1659
Warwick CV35 8ZD at £500 plus VAT
t: 01926 624966 f: 011926 624926

Statutory Contaminated Land Strategies
Awareness Raising for Supporting
Departments and / or
Members of the Council

Implementing your contaminated land strategy is going to be difficult enough without having to fight to get the support of other departments. Contaminated land is the truly corporate issue encompassing inter alia Sustainability, Agenda 21, Housing, Leisure, Development Plans etc. Involving departments of:

Environmental Health
Policy / Chief Executive
Property / Estates
Building Control
Engineers
Planning
Housing
Leisure
Legal
IT

This half day / evening session has been devised at the request of several local authorities who seek to impress on their colleagues and policy makers, that their Council's contaminated land strategy WILL have ramifications well beyond environmental health.

How many times have you heard, " ..... but we haven't got any contaminated land have we?" High levels of natural 'substances', problems with the enforcement of planning conditions, polluted ground water, inappropriate enforcement policies, Council owned land, parks, playgrounds on old tips, the list is extensive. How are these going to be dealt with? Who will be liable? Who will pay? The most scenic parts of the UK are already identifying in the order of 2000+ potentially contaminated sites. Most of these will not be a problem but how do you prove it to a potential purchaser? Large areas could become blighted whilst, 'under investigation'. The Environmental Information Regulations and Data Protection Act are clearly in conflict. You must be prepared.

It is obviously not possible to consider these issues in detail but it is possible to make sure that everyone in attendance is under no misapprehension as to the significance of this potentially damaging piece of legislation.

The session is in two parts:

 

		* PowerPoint presentation which explains WHY the legislation has been introduced in the first place, and WHAT has to be done to comply with the requirements of the Act
		* A selection of 80 slides with over dozen stark examples of what can happen when things go worryingly wrong

There is no limit to the number that may attend and the session can be arranged at anytime of day to suit the audience

Available at flat fee of £400 plus expenses from:

Roger Braithwaite Director Zero environment Ltd PO Box 1659 Warwick CV35 8ZD
t: 01926 624966 f: 011926 624926
 

Environmental Protection Act 1990 Part IIa
In-House Workshop on Contaminated Land
 

When local authorities have completed their statutory contaminated land strategies, thought has to be given to the next step in the procedure and some of the pitfalls to beware over the next few years. This day has been devised for officers of all departments to highlight the issues and exercise the grey matter of those who will actually be directly involved. Planning, Building Control, Estates Officers and Solicitors significantly enhance the day.

The day is structured in a similar way to Days 1 and 2 but and is similarly offered at a cost of £400 (for the day) plus £10 per delegate plus expenses.

A minimum of 12 delegates are necessary for the exercises
but there is no upper limit to the number that may attend

The objective of the day is to provoke thought and discussion and provide practical guidance on the issues identified below.

The recommended timetable is as follows:
 

9.00		Coffee
09.30 - 10.30		PowerPoint presentation on where you should be now, and a look at some of the guidance available to you. The good, the bad and the indifferent
10.30 - 11.00		Introduction to the exercises, the questions, together with plans and slides of each to set the scene.
11.00 - 11.15		Coffee and split into groups
11.15 - 13.00		Commence exercise followed by presentation by group leaders: 1. The relationship between planning and part IIA. This looks at an application for housing on a badly contaminated site. Officers must consider their planning response and implications for Part IIA issues. 2. Inspection of the District. This group are given a set of five plans from 1889 to the present day.  They have to examine the plans, consider the information they have and what they will do with it, how they will handle and store it etc. 3. Interdepartmental relationships. This exercise considers every department of the Council and the group have to decide what input, if any, each have to the implementation of the strategy. The slides show vividly some of the issues which will have to be tackled. Attendance of officers from various departments would be an advantage here.
13.00 - 14.00		Lunch
14.00 - 15.15		Presentation and discussion of the results of the exercises
15.15 - 15.30		Tea and informal discussion
15.30 - 16.30		PowerPoint presentation on some of the pitfalls to beware in the implementation of your strategy. Some of the decisions officers will have to make could have frightening implications for your council and land owners. This presentation looks at half a dozen of the key issues. Written paper provided.

Certificates are provided for 6 hours CPD
 

Other possible subject areas which could be
developed (time permitting) into day courses:

CLEA for dummies - Should you stand up and admit you don''t understand a word and could not calculate a soil guideline value to save your life, or do you pretend you are that rare and elusive genius who knows it all (leaving yourself and your employers liable to gross negligence claims in the future). The ideal must lie somewhere between the two, you have to understand enough to know exactly what you do, and do not know. Understand?

Gasworks - Potentially the biggest contamination problem in the UK. Should you believe what the owners tell you, why is history so important, why are JCBs dangerous weapons? Contaminants you will find and where, structured site investigations, principal hazard identification, risk assessment.

Controlled waters - What are they, which legislation, who is responsible, how do you assess, what is cost benefit analysis, do you need to bother?

Agricultural land - Greenfield haven or brownfield nightmare?

Anthrax - could it be a problem in your area, how do you find out, what do you do if it is?

Part IIA, Implementation in your area - Have you inspected the District effectively, have you prioritised the sites in a rational and efficient manner, how do you start inspecting in detail, and who pays?

Part IIA and its relationship with other environmental controls - what if there was previously a discharge consent, and old COMAH site or a landfill? Is that heap of rubbish illegal dumping of controlled waste or is it contaminated land? If the ditch water is affected is it Water Resources Act or Part IIA? There are dozens of issues relating to nuisance, health & safety, food etc which all add to the confusion over who does what and why.

Environmental protection legislation and enforcement policies - there is a seemingly endless supply of laws relating to waste, contaminated land, groundwater, drinking water, surface water, polluting processes, discharges, air quality, noise, planning etc etc. Which is the primary legislation, who enforces what, when is it your responsibility, when can you pass the problem on to another authority? Have you got a comprehensive in house policy that covers all these issues?

Town Planning and the Environmental Protection - The statutory guidance relating to planning and pollution control, planning and waste, planning and contaminated land, planning and noise, planning and environmental impact assessment, is complex and seems to be constantly changing. Whether you are a developer or a regulator, a planner or an environmental enforcement agency, you need to understand the law and the Secretary of State's guidance relating to development and environmental impact.