Council handed £750k grant for waste fire clean-up

The fire broke out in December and smouldered for more than two weeks

A Lancashire council has been granted more than £750,000 towards the cost of dealing with a huge fire at a former waste storage site.

Buildings had to be demolished and thousands of tonnes of waste removed from the Supa Skips site in Port Royal Avenue, Lancaster.

Lancaster City Council said the government grant would make up about half the amount it has spent since the fire broke out in December and burned for two weeks.

The current site owners were in administration, the authority said.

Residents were worried about smoke polluting the air

The council has received the "exceptional grant" of £764,916 from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to meet costs incurred by the council to demolish buildings and remove waste.

Council chief executive Mark Davies said: “The council recognised at an early stage that although it had no statutory duty to do so, it needed to step up and support the fire service in ensuring the emergency was dealt with quickly and effectively.

“The clear message from residents was that for their own health and wellbeing the immediate danger from the fire and the smoke it produced needed to be removed, but that they also did not expect the council to pick up the bill alone.

“Through the concerted efforts of the city council, county council, partner agencies and our MPs , we have been able to recoup around half of the overall costs through a one-off grant from the government.”

The Environment Agency launched an investigation into activities at the site, including its previous operations and waste storage.