Walleys Quarry: Landfill smell campaigners end legal fight

Campaigners have been highlighting the impact the smells and emissions coming from the landfill has had on their daily lives

An injunction banning 26 people from protesting at a landfill site will remain in place until 2026.

Stop the Stink activists have been campaigning about smells and emissions coming from Walleys Quarry in Silverdale, Staffordshire.

But ahead of a hearing, they said they would not continue their battle against the injunction, fearing they could lose and each face bills of up to £40,000.

Quarry owners Red Industries insist it has never broken waste control rules.

The firm brought a temporary order to stop 26 people protesting outside the quarry in April.

At a hearing at Manchester Civil Justice Centre to extend the injunction, lawyers for Red Industries said its concerns were about people trespassing by entering the quarry or the company headquarters.

They also did not want people to prevent vehicles entering the tip.

Neil Berragan, representing the firm, said it did not seek to prevent legal demonstrations and campaigners were able to protest from a nearby lay-by.

"The quarry entrance is opposite a lay-by, protests start in the lay-by but on occasion it spilled into the entrance," he said.

The campaigners had previously launched a fundraising appeal to support their legal fight

Protesters said in statement on Monday they could not continue their fight against the injunction as they thought their "probability of winning was low".

The group added that even in the event criminal waste activity by Walleys Quarry could be demonstrated, the estimated defendants' legal costs to get to trial would be £100,000.

In addition, legal costs for the claimant, Red Industries, were estimated to be about £200,000 and its losses around £800,000.

Split among the defendants, this represented a financial risk to "the Walleys 26" of about £40,000 per person. Some feared losing their homes.

The statement said under these circumstances, it was judged that "despite a moral obligation to fight the injunction, it was not practicable to continue".

After the hearing, Dr Mick Salt, the only member of the 26 in attendance, said he felt relieved but they had no choice but to agree to a consent order which meant the injunction remained in place until 30 December 2026 - when the quarry's operation is due to come to an end.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a spokesperson for Walleys Quarry Ltd said it respected the right of individuals to protest, but "it cannot be right that our employees - local people just trying to do their jobs - feel intimidated and sometimes frightened by the prospect of going to work".