Air quality shows dramatic improvement after landfill abandonment
New figures show the extent of the improvement in local air quality since the Walleys Quarry landfill ceased operating.
Data before Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council shows that while it received 1,620 odour complaints in January 2025, in the first two months of 2026 there was only one.
Following Walley Quarry Ltd’s move into liquidation in February 2025, the Environment Agency (EA) used its powers to intervene on site and prevent a risk of pollution.
Simon Tagg, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said:
The transformation for residents after the landfill’s closure is both remarkable and unsurprising.
Although the council was not the main regulator, we pursued legal action against the site operators because it was evident that things were terribly wrong there and it was our communities that suffered the consequences.
I disagreed strongly with how the EA regulated the landfill when it was operational, but now that it is supervising the remedial work required to control the site and minimise the risk of pollution, staff are doing an excellent job.”
The Borough Council, EA and Staffordshire County Council have jointly funded air monitoring stations close to the site.
Figures show that since readings of hydrogen sulphide reached a peak of 1,850 ug/m3 in mid-January 2025, in the months that followed readings fell sharply to minimal levels.
Full Council has called for a public inquiry into the Environment Agency’s monitoring and regulation of the site over the years and said that restoration should be fully funded by Government.
The authority took matters in its own hands by bringing a successful legal action against Walleys Quarry Ltd. An Abatement Notice was implemented in March 2023, which obliged the operator to not create or allow another statutory odour nuisance.
In April 2024 the council confirmed it was preparing legal action against the operator for failing to properly control emissions from the landfill in Silverdale.
Simon Tagg said:
For many years residents suffered physically and mentally from the foul odours coming from this site.
Like them, I am very pleased that the situation is vastly improved but there is still work to do.”
This month the EA updated that work was underway on the leachate treatment plant, which would lead to fewer tanker visits to and from the site. Also, maintenance was taking place when necessary to maintain capping across the site.