The Environment Secretary Steve Reed has given permission for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council to pursue legal action against Walleys Quarry landfill site.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council said it has received confirmation to proceed with legal action against the site’s operator from the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Steve Reed.
In a letter to the leader of the Council, Reed wrote: “I am keen to see a resolution to the problems around the site and know that the Environment Agency are continuing their work in relation to the site to this end.
“I visited Newcastle-under-Lyme in January this year, meeting local residents affected by the odour, and subsequently wrote to my predecessor at Defra about this situation.”
Reed previously criticised the Environment Agency and the then Conservative Government for a “lack of action” over Walleys Quarry landfill site.
“I would like to take this opportunity to commend you and the council for your tireless work on behalf of local residents to seek the action and answers they need and deserve,” Reed wrote.
The Council needed government permission to pursue legal action as Defra oversees the Environment Agency, which is responsible for regulating Walleys Quarry.
Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council Simon Tagg said he was “disappointed” to be pursing legal action and said the community was unable to “rely on the Environment Agency” as the site’s main regulator.
Bringing legal action against an operator regulated by an arm’s-length government agency is rare, but it’s something we feel have to do.
Reacting to the news, Tagg said: “We will pursue the legal action as quickly as possible, but it will be a complex, painstaking process which will take time.
“We will not be able to give a running commentary on its progress but we will ensure that our communities are kept informed at key points in the process.
“Bringing legal action against an operator regulated by an arm’s-length government agency is rare, but it’s something we feel have to do on behalf of our residents blighted by this long-running issue of gas odours from Walleys Quarry.”
The Council announced it was preparing legal action against the operators of Walleys Quarry for alleged breaches of an Abatement Notice earlier this year.
In August 2021, the Council served an Abatement Notice against Walleys Quarry, which required it to control the odour nuisance caused by the landfill.
The landfill operators contested the action, but dropped the appeal following mediation and the Abatement Notice became enforceable in March 2023.
Walleys Quarry acknowledged that its site was the source of “community complaint” and that it must control odour problems by “the best practicable means”.
On 8 April 2024, the Council said it notified Walleys Quarry that the site operator had “failed to properly control emissions” from the landfill.
Earlier this year, the Environment Agency lifted a suspension notice it issued to Walleys Quarry, which prohibited the site from accepting and disposing of non-inert waste specified in its permit. The regulator said it was satisfied the steps required have been completed.
Walleys Quarry, which appealed against the Notice to the Planning Inspectorate, told Circular Online that withdrawing the Notice was the correct decision and called it “inappropriate and ill-conceived”.
An inquiry into the landfill site led by the Council is currently underway which will hear public testimony from a local GP, Silverdale Parish Council, and community groups. Walleys Quarry said it will not attend the inquiry.
Circular Online has approached Walleys Quarry for comment.
