Landfill inquiry 'not best use of public money'

Mary Creagh, nature minister, appeared to shoot down calls for an inquiry

An inquiry into a stinking landfill site would not be the best use of public money, a government minister has said.

Nature minister Mary Creagh, MP for Coventry East, appeared to shoot down calls for a probe into the Environment Agency’s (EA) handling of the situation at Walleys Quarry in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.

The borough council and residents living nearby have urged the government to look into the matter as complaints over unpleasant smells emanating from the site continue.

Walleys Quarry Ltd has previously said the site was stringently regulated, while the EA has said it continues to monitor the site.

Ms Creagh told BBC Politics Midlands: “I don’t think an inquiry is the best use of public money.

“I think there are lots of issues raised by the quarry. I know that the Environment Agency is looking into the permit licences and conditions of the operators there.

“What I do want to do is stop the stink which is bothering local residents and I’m 100% focused along with Adam Jogee, the excellent local MP, on doing that.”

Walleys Quarry landfill in Silverdale has been the subject of complaints of odour for many years

A Walleys Quarry spokesperson has previously said the landfill site held an environmental permit and was stringently regulated by the EA to ensure its activities did not cause harm to human health or the environment.

"We recognise the impact that odours can have for local residents, and the team is focused on managing the site to minimise impacts to the community around the site and we will continue to do so."

Last month, the council said legal action against the operators of the landfill site was expected to begin by the end of October.

In the summer, the EA told an inquiry held by the council it was keeping "all regulatory options on the table".

Andrew Hitchings, from the agency, said in August a closure notice was a "last resort and when you’ve exhausted every other opportunity".

He added: "Once landfills are there, there is a very complex process in order to move them to the point of closure."

Complaints about the site date back more than a decade, when it was run by a previous operator, but the EA received more than 2,000 in one weekend in 2021.

More recently, the watchdog apologised after it emerged some data covering gas emissions at the site, among others in England, had been under-reported, due to wrongly calibrated equipment.