Agenda item

(i)              That the contents of the update report be noted.

(i)              That, as a matter of urgency, officers be asked to take up with the Environment Agency the timescale for the return of the third monitoring station and to encourage the EA to make a public statement on that as soon as possible.

(ii)             That it be noted that there is a motion from the Labour Group going to a Special Council Meeting on 14 February and that the Cabinet does not think that it goes far enough.  Cabinet reiterated a call on the EA to issue a closure notice on Walleys Quarry.

The Leader introduced the report on Walleys Quarry problematic odours and the recent increase in complaints received.

The Chief Executive provided an update on the situation, stating that the figures in the report for November 2023 to January 2024 showed a significant downturn in local conditions with regard to the odours from the Walleys Quarry site.  January saw 668 complaints, the highest number seen for many months.

Council officers were out and about both during and outside of office hours as odours were most prevalent early morning or late into the night.  Thirty five assessments were conducted during January on 9 different days and on 24 of those occasions, distinct or strong landfill odours were noted.

The Mobile Monitoring Facilities had now been recalibrated and were therefore now providing a more accurate set of information. 

There had been instances, in some weeks, where the annoyance threshold had been exceeded for a third of the week at MMF1.  Also, for a long time, MMF9 had been the site giving the highest readings but it appeared to be giving way to MMF1, possibly due to changes in the topography of the site and wind direction.

The Council engaged with Walleys Quarry formally following the November-December data and Walleys had advised that they were doing more work around temporary capping and extending the gas management infrastructure.

Arrangements had been made for the Council’s and Walleys Landfill experts to compare notes.

The Leader tasked if there was any indication when the third monitoring station (by Silverdale Pumping Station) would be returned which had been removed whilst works had been carried out by the water company.

The Chief Executive confirmed that the Environment Agency (EA) had identified a site but was not sure if that had come to fruition yet.

Councillor Fear stated that action needed to be seen coming from the EA.  Cabinet had previously discussed closure notices and Councillor Fear felt that the EA should be asked for reasons why they were not going to issue a closure notice.

Councillor Sweeney stated that the third monitoring station should be put back as soon as possible and also, why not put one back onto the Fire Station site.

The Leader referred to the Special Council meeting on 14 February which included a Motion to suspend the Operators Licence and works to be carried out by the operator.   The EA had been called upon to issue a closure notice which would end operations on the site, the Leader felt, therefore that the Motion did not go far enough and an amendment would be submitted.

The Leader proposed two additional recommendations, which are recorded at numbers (ii) and (iii) below.

Resolved:    (i)       That the contents of the update report be noted.

(ii)             That, as a matter of urgency, officers be asked to take up with the Environment Agency the timescale for the return of the third monitoring station and to encourage the EA to make a public statement on that as soon as possible.

(iii)           That it be noted that there is a motion from the Labour Group going to a Special Council Meeting on 14 February and that the Cabinet does not think that it goes far enough.  Cabinet reiterated a call on the EA to issue a closure notice on Walleys Quarry.

Watch the debate here