Walleys Quarry legal fund reinforced
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s commitment to legal action against the operators of Walleys Quarry continues.
At its next meeting the authority’s Full Council will be asked to approve an extra £400,000 to support legal action against the operators of the landfill site in Silverdale – bringing the current legal budget to £1 million.
The council is proceeding with legal action against Walleys Quarry Ltd for alleged breaches of an Abatement Notice, which obliges the operator to not create or allow statutory odour nuisance.
Simon Tagg, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said:
The Council is committed to bringing this legal action against the site operator on behalf of residents and to provide officers with the resources they need.
Elected Councillors don’t have any power to influence any legal action, which is the responsibility of Council Officers to pursue, but Councillors have backed the action officers have taken so far and will have the opportunity to do so again at the Full Council meeting by approving the extra financial support for the legal action.”
He added:
Given that the Environment Agency is the lead regulator of this site and that we continue to see increased numbers of complaints this year about the terrible gas odours from the landfill, I find it unacceptable that it is the Borough Council that has to use its limited powers to try and resolve this problem while the EA stands by.”
In October the council received 290 odour complaints, more than the corresponding month in 2021, 2022, or 2023.
Complaints to the Borough Council this year have been more than in 2023 every month, apart from April and May.
Simon Tagg added:
The EA says that the work it requires on the site has been done to its satisfaction, yet to the end of October we have received more than 4,300 complaints this year.
People who suffer this problem daily, those whose health and well-being is affected by this are bewildered and angry at the EA’s apparent reluctance to step in.”
The council was granted permission to proceed with legal action by Steve Reed OBE, Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The Council needed Government permission as DEFRA oversees the Environment Agency (EA), which is responsible for regulating the landfill site in Silverdale.