Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is throwing its weight behind the Environment Agency’s legal fight against the operators of Walleys Quarry. It comes as odour complaint figures soar – with the council receiving 92 on Christmas Day alone.
Site operators Walleys Quarry Ltd is mounting a legal challenge to the EA’s order to close the landfill. Now the council’s cabinet is due to endorse a decision by officers to use a substantial amount of evidence gathered by the authority to support the EA at the appeal inquiry, which is due to be heard by the Planning Inspectorate.
Simon Tagg, leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, has also written a personal letter to the Planning Inspectorate in support of the EA’s closure notice. He said: “Despite not being the main regulator this council has worked tirelessly for residents and elected members have unanimously endorsed that the landfill site should be closed, capped and restored.
“Now that the EA has issued a closure notice which gives a route to achieving that objective, the council backs it wholeheartedly on behalf of the community. We will be using reams of evidence to support the EA’s position, including air quality readings from handheld monitors, officer assessments, complaint data and, of course, details of the Abatement Notice won by the council and in which the operator accepted that the landfill had been a source of ‘community complaint’.”
He added: “The Borough Council has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with residents for years in this battle against the foul gas odours. It proves to me that that local councils, with locally elected councillors close to their communities, are better placed to fight for their interests than the larger super-councils that the Government is trying to force upon us.”
The closure notice came into effect on November 29, with only deliveries of capping materials and technical equipment allowed on site since then. However, complaints about the odours have continued since closure, with Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council receiving 1,128 in December, including 92 on Christmas Day, compared to 248 complaints in December 2023.
Cllr Tagg said: “Residents are still affected by odour emissions which shows that we need a permanent, sustainable solution in place as quickly as possible. It’s vital that we keep raising this issue and residents affected by emissions continue to report them.”
Complaints can be registered with the EA, as the main regulator, by calling 0800 807060, or online at report-walleys-quarry-smell.service.gov.uk. Complaints can also be registered with Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council here.
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