Agenda item

The Service Director for Regulatory Services introduced the three reports included in the agenda pack respectively addressed to Cabinet, Full Council and this Committee.

A recent decision taken by Full Council enabled the Committee to take the necessary steps to deliver the work specified by the Council of which the creation of a Task and Finish Working Group rebranded as Committee of Inquiry and tasked to address three strands of inquiry reflecting the debate at Full Council:

-        what was the impact of the ongoing odour issue;

-        what needed to be done next, and by whom, to bring about resolution;

-        what, if any, opportunities had been missed to resolve this issue sooner.

The Service Director for Regulatory Services went through the details provided in the report to the Committee.

Cllr Adcock expressed his support to the recommendations.

Resolved:       1. That a Task & Finish group be established to examine the ongoing odour issues associated with Walleys Quarry with the terms of reference and format as set out in this report and that the Chair seek permission from the other scrutiny chairs to open up membership from across all three scrutiny committees for this task and finish group;

2. That the election of a chair and the determination of arrangements for the conduct of the inquiry, including timing, inputs, and final report preparation be delegated to a Scoping Meeting of the Task and Finish group.

3. That a report to Cabinet and Council setting out the inquiry findings and recommendations be submitted by the Committee.

Members enquired about the practical consequences and timeframes of a closure of the site as requested by Full Council.

The Service Director for Regulatory Services clarified that a suspension notice would require steps to be taken to remove the risks of severe pollution. The notice however would only have effect as a temporary measure and the site would be re-opened once the steps had been taken. The closure notice would be a permanent measure and initiate the full closure of the site. The current permissions enabled waste to be deposited by the operator until the end of 2026, with the restoration of the site to be completed by 2042

Watch the debate here