Agenda item

That the contents of the update report be noted.

The Leader introduced the Report on Wallys Quarry’s odours raising the question of the recent breaches by the operator referred to in sections 3 and 4 and how this would impact the abatement notice.

The Chief executive presented the report and confirmed that the overall trend was still going in the right direction. The exceedance of the threshold noticed was a low level one and the Council was currently examining if there had been a breach of the abatement notice in April, May and June. If this was indeed the case the process would require to see whether the problems had been remedied in the meantime. Prosecution would be considered in the event of a continued failure to abide by the abatement notice and a linkage beyond reasonable doubt.

The Leader thanked the Chief Executive and commented on the powers of the Environment Agency to rectify the situation including requesting ceasing operation if required.

The Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning shared his disappointment hearing about the breaches and suggested a letter be sent to the operator would the situation not be remedied by the end of the month.

The Chief Executive responded there was a regular dialogue with the operator and the liaison forum would be a good place to discuss the problem. The Leader confirmed that a meeting of the group was in fact just about to take place and that the recording would be shared online. The Deputy Leader expressed his confidence that matters would be discussed then.

The Leader added a note on the issue of lorries queuing in the morning which was to be resolved between the operator and the County Council.

Resolved:     That the contents of the update report be noted.

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