MP launches petition to close stinky landfill

Residents have been complaining about the smell from Walleys Quarry for several years

A petition has been started by an MP which calls for the Walleys Quarry landfill site in Staffordshire to be closed.

Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Conservative MP Aaron Bell said he wanted the Environment Agency to issue a closure notice to the landfill’s operator after years of odour problems in the area.

A spokesperson for Walleys Quarry Ltd said he was grandstanding and failing to work constructively with them.

The Environment Agency (EA) was approached for a response to the petition.

Mr Bell said he hoped his petition would demonstrate the strength of feeling among residents after several years of complaints about the smells from the landfill.

“I hope the weight of public opinion will put even more pressure on the Environment Agency to act," he said.

Mr Bell claimed more than 1,000 people have signed his petition in the 24 hours since it was launched.

A spokesman for Walleys Quarry described Mr Bell’s petition as “facile” and said it did not give any thought towards the practical realities involved.

“In time Walleys Quarry Ltd will cease to operate as a landfill and restoration will be completed," he said.

“This cannot be achieved through any sort of immediate closure, as Mr Bell knows full well.”

They added all on-site emissions remained within World Health Organisation guidelines and posed no risk to health.

Aaron Bell said he hoped the petition would show the strength of feeling among residents near the site

Meanwhile Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss the landfill site.

It is expected to hear from local residents as well as politicians with Labour councillors calling for legal action against the EA who they say has failed to properly oversee operations at the landfill site.

Labour group leader Dave Jones said: “Both the EA and the government have failed our residents, by refusing to take action.

“Our last avenue is through the courts.”

In January, a spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We continue to require Walleys Quarry Ltd to comply with its environmental permit and implement all the measures necessary to manage emissions of landfill gas from the site.”