Environment Minister asked to approve legal action against Walleys Quarry

Earlier this month the said the council it had notified Walleys Quarry Ltd, a subsidiary of Red Industries Ltd, that it had “failed to properly control emissions from the Staffordshire landfill, contrary to a reduction notice.

In August 2021, the council served an abatement notice against Walleys Quarry, demanding it control odor pollution caused by landfills. Walleys Quarry Ltd challenged the notice but withdrew the appeal after mediation. The reduction notice became enforceable in March 2023.

The landfill has become infamous in recent years after repeated complaints about odor nuisance from local residents lawsuitsEnvironment Agency enforcement action and a criminal investigation.

After advice from a King’s Council (KC), the council has now asked the State Secretary for the Environment for permission to take legal action. This is because DEFRA oversees the Environment Agency, which is responsible for regulating the site.

Simon Tagg, leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said: “There has been a formal evidence-gathering process that council officers have had to follow and that has taken time, taking detailed advice from the QC and building a case from which the officers think this one is clear. evidence that the operator has failed to properly control emissions.

“Council members have no power to influence any legal action, which is the council’s responsibility to pursue, but I wholeheartedly support the action taken by officials to date.

“As Walleys Quarry is overseen by the Environment Agency, the next step is to seek the necessary permission from the Secretary of State, as it is wrong for residents to continue to be bothered by the smell of gas in their own homes, wrong for them to feeling unable to make this happen. their children are playing in their gardens and I want them to know that the council is doing everything within its limited powers to hold them to account.”

ENDS has contacted DEFRA and Walleys Quarry for comment.