Council to contact MoD over Lyness oil contamination

Orkney Islands Council is to write to the Ministry of Defence, asking for money to clean up contaminated ground at Lyness.

The presence of historic oil contamination dates back to the former use of the area as part of the Royal Navy/NATO fuel depot, and a pipe spillage is also known to have occurred during its time under MOD ownership.

Councillors were told in a report that remediation works on the brownfield site, which was acquired by the council in 1977, were at a total estimated cost of £407,000.

It was recommended that the council approach the Ministry of Defence, advising of the council’s commitment to remediation work at Lyness, to seek a financial contribution towards the work.

However, a report before councillors also stated that due to the history of the site, attempts to persuade the UK Government to agree to address the contamination are likely to be challenging, with no guarantee of a successful outcome.