A DECISION is expected to be taken by Maidstone Council this week declaring the former landfill tip at Furfield Quarry in Boughton Monchelsea contaminated land.

The site emits noxious and flammable gases, and council officers are expected to also be given authority to take urgent action if, at any time, there is an imminent danger of serious harm to nearby residents or property.

The council's cabinet member for health and the environment, Cllr Roger Berriman (Lab), will be considering on Wednesday (the recommendation to declare the quarry, which is off Brishing Lane, contaminated land.

If the land is declared to be contaminated the council will enter it on a public register and notify the Environment Agency, the owners, occupiers and anyone else with a responsibility to carry out works to the land.

Over the next few months the council would then establish who is responsible for the clean-up works and seek to gain their agreement to carry out the actions required to maintain the site in close and safe control.

If no agreement was reached the council would be able to serve a notice requiring that the works be done and if urgent action is required carry out the work itself. The council could then take action to recover the cost from those responsible or place a charge on the land.

The Furfield Quarry site is the first to be considered by the council for designation as contaminated land thanks to information volunteered by its owners, the Skinner Family Trust.

Merebrook Projects, consultants acting on its behalf, told the council that the existing gas abstraction system can no longer efficiently abstract gas from the site and control its migration.

Maidstone council commissioned a review of the Merebrook report, by Weeks Consulting, which supported that conclusion.

Graham Steady, the council's principal environmental health officer, said: "There is no immediate danger but the existing gas management system is showing signs of age and will soon need to be improved or replaced.

"We have not yet determined the extent or cost of the necessary works but in the immediate future there is unlikely to be a need for significant expenditure."

The former landfill site, which is now closed, was used by Kent County Council for household waste disposal until 1991. Maidstone council stresses it is not the site for which Rydon Homes is seeking planning permission to build houses, which is to the north of the former quarry.

Other sites in the borough will be considered for declaration as contaminated land over the next 10 years in accordance with the council's land contamination strategy.