'We'll still have landfill's stink for years'

The smell emanating from Walleys Quarry landfill site has been the subject of complaints for years

"We're still going to have this smell for years and years until they sort it out."

Living just down the road, Liz Forster knows all about the stench that has emanated for years from the Walleys Quarry landfill site.

She and fellow Silverdale residents were celebrating in November, after the site was ordered to close, following years of complaints about the smell.

Today though, they are less optimistic after Walleys Quarry Ltd (WQL) - which has been contacted for comment - went into liquidation, with the question arising over who will be responsible for it now.

"We're still going to have this smell for years and years until they sort it out," said Ms Forster.

Complaints about the stench stretch back to 2011, with last year's Environment Agency (EA) closure notice saying it was badly managed and that its continued operation could lead to significant long-term pollution.

WQL was then ordered to cap the site to prevent the further escape of gas and smells.

Ms Forster says however, that it feels like the firm is taking the easy option to escape its responsibilities.

"I just feel a bit like they've gone, 'Ok, well we knew this was coming,", she said.

"They've realised their lawyers aren't going to help them win any kind of appeal, so this is what they've done."

Stop the Stink co-founder Steve Meakin says the firm running the site should be held accountable

The EA has said it will be working with the liquidators to ensure they comply with the environmental requirements of the closure notice.

But for Steve Meakin, co-founder of the Stop the Stink campaign group, the question is one of accountability.

He says the site is damaging people's health, something it has done for years.

"Our young children in this community are going to suffer for many many years because of this," he said.

"[WQL] should not be allowed to just walk away on the premise that they've gone into liquidation."

Complaints about the smell from Walleys Quarry date back to 2011

Sharon George, former senior lecturer in sustainability at Keele University, is not optimistic the firm will be held to account.

"If that company essentially doesn't exist any more, then the bill will fall onto, I guess, the council," she said.

"This isn't unique to landfill. In recycling, we're seeing companies ditching their responsibility and we're seeing buildings full of waste.

"They walk away and then it's the council's job to clean that up. These companies shouldn't be allowed to just walk away."

After years of fighting, Mr Meakin said last week's events had been yet another setback.

"It's just one thing after another," he said. "We get a little bit of good news and then a massive amount of bad news."