Fears landfill waste is contaminating heritage site

The local authority has said iron is causing discoloration of the water

People living near a former landfill site are concerned barrels of waste have broken down and contents are leaking into the Ironbridge Gorge, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Stoneyhill near Telford was used for the disposal of industrial and commercial waste including animal carcasses.

International company Monsanto used the site for the operation between 1985 and 1991. The company ceased trading in 2016.

Telford and Wrekin Council, which now manages the site, reports on its website there is no toxic waste at Stoneyhill and that occasional orange discoloration of local streams is caused by iron and is not linked to the site.

Stoneyhill is not classified as contaminated land.

Dozens of local residents attended a meeting to discuss their concerns

However, there are concerns that potentially harmful chemicals remain at the site.

The Telford and Wrekin Green Party organised a public meeting in Coalbrookdale on Thursday.

Co-ordinator Pat McCarthy said the group wanted clarity for local residents.

"We want the council and the Environment Agency to sit down with us and work on a strategy to contain the chemicals there," he said.

"Why don't they show us the results of their testing? Why don't they talk to us?"

Nobody from Telford and Wrekin Council attended the meeting.

Pat McCarthy said he wanted to see the results of tests done on the site

Resident Wendy Rhoden said she wanted to find out more about Stoneyhill.

"I was aware that there was a landfill site here before but I didn't realise the amount of chemicals that were there.

"I'd like to know what impact they could have on us and our water supply," she said.

Wendy Rhoden said she would like more information

Concerns have also been raised by people living near the former landfill site at Sutton Walls in Herefordshire.

Campaigners say they have tested open ground next to the site and twice found evidence of Phenol, a compound used in plastic which can cause irritation and burns.

Telford and Wrekin Council said of Stoneyhill that "industrial, special and commercial waste was dumped in the site in the past".

The authority said there was "no evidence to suggest this material is problematic, and Environment Agency records confirm that chemical waste from Monsanto delivered to the site was “not toxic”.