Woodland closed after toxic finds

The area has been managed as a woodland since 1996

A community woodland on a former landfill site has been closed after heavy metals, arsenic and asbestos were detected in the soil and surface water.

Highland Council said it has taken the action at Newtonhill, about a mile from Wick town centre, as a precaution while further tests are done.

Separate studies of landfill gases found no risk to 25 nearby homes, the local authority said.

The site was closed in the mid-1970s and opened as a woodland in 1996.

The council said residents and users of the area have been informed of these findings.

Given the uncertainty regarding risk to site users, the council has decided to close the site Highland Council statement

However, the monitoring work which involved digging boreholes and trial pits detected toxic materials in the wood.

Highland Council said: "Elevated levels of some contaminants such as heavy metals and arsenic, and the presence of asbestos, were found within the site soils and surface waters, for which further investigation has been recommended.

"The council have contacted the consultant and requested a detailed scope of works for a second phase of investigation, which includes further soil and water monitoring.

"Highland Council is carrying out this work in the interest of public safety and as a precaution, given the uncertainty regarding risk to site users, the council has decided to close the site while further investigation and assessments are undertaken."

Last year, properties were demolished and contaminated soil removed from the site of a former gas works in Easter Ross.

The operation involved flats in Joss Street, Invergordon. A process of relocating the residents was completed in February 2007.

Chemicals benzene and benzo(a)pyrene were traced in the gardens of the properties in 2004.