'Landfill owner won't be at inquiry'

The Environment Agency issued a suspension notice in March to stop the quarry accepting waste

The owners of Walleys Quarry have decided not to attend an inquiry held after years of complaints about smells from the site.

Campaigners, the Environment Agency (EA), the UK Health Security Agency, Labour MP Adam Jogee and councillors will all be at the council inquiry.

But "unfortunately the operator hasn't taken the option of attending", said Newcastle-under-Lyme Council leader, Simon Tagg, who wants government approval to take legal action against Walleys Quarry Limited (WQL).

WQL did not say why it won't be there, but a spokesperson said the landfill site's operations are "stringently regulated" by the EA and it focuses on minimising the site's impact on the community.

Under its agreement with the council, the operator must control odour problems by “the best practicable means” and publicise information about what it is doing there.

However, the authority has said the firm has failed to properly control emissions and it continued to receive complaints about the site in Silverdale.

'Must be held to account'

At the council cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Tagg said there were 46 odour complaints to the authority last week, compared with only 20 during the same week last year.

“The operator needs to be held to account and we are trying to do that through our legal action," he said.

“We expect the Environment Agency also to play its part."

Rising numbers of complaints meant the odour problem has not been dealt with, he said, adding he wanted the site to be closed, ending potential health issues for residents.

Mr Tagg said he had written to Steve Reed, the newly-appointed secretary of state for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), urging approval for the council to take legal action against the operator.

Conservative councillor Andrew Fear added: “Although these figures are a bit of a rollercoaster, that rollercoaster is at the higher level than it has been for the past two years."

'Report supplied to inquiry'

The operator's spokesperson confirmed that the firm had been asked to "submit an update on actions arising from a previous review which we have done by providing a written report in the format specified."

"The team is focused on managing the site to minimise impacts to community around the site and we will continue to do so,” they added.

The EA said the body had “every sympathy” with the community and remained committed to maintaining long-term improvements in emissions, while robustly regulating the site.

"If we identify permit non-compliances, we inform WQL and require the company to take remedial action," a spokesperson said.