P544 Teletext 544 Aug27 21:41:33 ——— HOMEOWNERS PAY FOR POLLUTION ——p——— Homeowners are picking up the bill for pollution. The Govjrnmjnt hands out £12m-£15m to councils to dial with contaminated land. The UK has an estimated 100,000 such sites. Policy has always been the polluter pays, but if contamination took place years ago and the company can't bj traced, homeowners foot the bill. ——————————————————————————————————1/6—— What gross and net mean in wills 543 DOWNLOAD SHARES ON YOUR PC p532/533 Mortgages Savings Your Money TV PlusP544 Teletext 544 Aug27 21:48:15 ——— HOMEOWNERS PAY FOR POLLUTION ————— Contaminated sites in the UK include: Landfill sites which gjnjrate toxic liquids and methane. Underground tanks leaking asbestos, hydrocarbons, phjnols and alkalis. Sludge tips containing metals. Old gas works contaminted with various industrial pollutants. ——————————————————————————————————2/6—— Latest money news 541 City news 501 LATEST MORTGAGE OFFERS p545 Mortgages Savings Your Money TV PlusP544 Teletext 544 Aug27 21:16:32 ——— HOMEOWNERS PAY FOR POLLUTION ——p——— Previously councils would clean up a site and pass the bill to homeowners. But in July the new Environment Act came into force, easing the potential burden for homeowners bz: compelling councils to find the firm responsible before passing on bills making authorities act only if a problem has occurred taking into account "ability to pay". ——————————————————————————————————3/6—— Go Green! 460 Global Issues 463 HOME, LEISURE, HEALTH, PLEASURE p480 Mortgages Savings Your Money TV PlusP544 Teletext 544 Aug27 21:41:04 ——— HOMEOWNERS PAY FOR POLLUTION —————— The new Environment Act has made life easier for homjownjrs, says a spokesman for the Department of the Environment. "It has always been the case of "buyer beware". People should always look into the previous uses of sites before buying a home." In some cases, whole gardens have disappeared into a black hole. Later, owners find their property was built on old mining land. ——————————————————————————————————4/6—— Saving money on insurances 542 KNOW YOUR SPORT? TEN TO ONE p451 Mortgages Savings Your Money TV PlusP544 Teletext 544 Aug27 21:41:52 ——— HOMEOWNERS PAY FOR POLLUTION —————— Normal surveys don't reveal pollution problems. Vincent Sen, of ICC, bjliuves environmental surveys will become essential to homjbuyjrs: ICC surveys spot contaminated land from 1850 onwards. A report costs £295. Call 0171 253 0699 Landmark has a similar service that costs £250 + VAT on 0800 228 800 "It's money well spent. It could avoid a larger bill in future," Mr Sen adds. ——————————————————————————————————5/6—— Green news 461 Green advice 462 WORKING FROM HOME? p650 Mortgages Savings Your Money TV PlusP544 Teletext 544 Aug27 21:41:46 ——— HOMEOWNERS PAY FOR POLLUTION —————— If an environmental report highlights pollution problems you can re-negotiate the price, avoid purchase altogether ou have the site cleaned up. Expert Vincent Sen says new housing estates can have more problems than older homes as more land is bjink released now for djvjlopmjnt. If you do buy a property knowing it's on contaminated land, your insurance might bj invalid if you claim. ——————————————————————————————————6/6—— Lost Touch? 675 What's On 630 DISCOUNT & FIXED MORTGAGES p545 Mortgages Savings Your Money TV Plus