Agenda item

The Leader introduced a report updating Members on the latest position regarding the odours at Walleys Quarry.

Complaints had risen and monitoring equipment was showing high spikes, particularly on the equipment at Maries way.  In October, 290 complaints of foul gas odours were received, more than the same period over the last three years and up until today, 339 complaints had been received this month.  The Council was still not seeing any action from the Environment Agency (EA).  A public inquiry had been requested but had been knocked back by both the previous and current governments.

Members were asked to approve the allocation of more money to the fighting fund for legal action.  The Council had employed King’s Counsel and there were experts working on the case to lead to legal action.

There were things happening at the quarry that were outside of the Council’s powers – even from an abatement notice point of view; this included the parking up of lorries.  The County Council has a team that were looking into this.  The police were also taking action.

The Council was doing all that it could; lobbying government, whether that was to hold the EA to account or having put the abatement notice in place.  Officers were monitoring the site closely to see if there were any further breaches of the abatement notice.

Councillor Sweeney stated that the situation was getting no better and earlier today it could be smelt in Clayton which was rare.  The Council was doing what it said it would do and was being done in different tranches.

Councillor Dave Jones stated that it was critically important that Council secure legal action in response to breaches of the abatement notice.  The landfill site had been a plague over the past month with a number of real high-odour days. The odour had landed on Keele Campus, causing several issues including affecting an open day with prospective students turning up on a day when the smell was horrendous.  This could have huge ramifications, not just for the university but also for residents of the Borough who rely on the contribution to the economy that the university provided.  Lorries had also become a problem.  The police had been contacted on a number of occasions when lorries had been parked on Keele Bank and traffic had been forced to cross an unbroken single line on the highway, which was against the law.  However, the police had stated that matters were not in themselves criminal.   The Leader was asked that, in conversations with the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, to raise that on occasions it had been difficult to understand why the police were not acting when motorists lives were being put at risk.

Councillor Bettley-Smith stated that in the past week the smell had been in the Brampton, town centre, Thistleberry and even Betley.  It was outrageous that the Council was having to spend council tax payers money on taking this action because the EA had failed. 

Councillor Stubbs made a request to stop heading the committee reports as ‘Odour issues’;  it was not just a smell/odour, it was an environmental issue.  A Silverdale resident had approached Councillor Stubbs and asked that the Council stop calling it a smell/odour as it downplayed the true impact that the site was having on its surroundings.

Councillor Adcock agreed with the previous comment, stating that it was pollution.  Hydrogen Sulphide was a toxic gas which was causing harm to residents of the Borough.  The current situation was totally predictable, looking at the trends of when it worsened with weather patterns and months of the year.  Residents were losing faith – not seeing the point in reporting it.  The inquiry that this Council held over the summer showed some damning evidence but a public inquiry still had not yet been secured and again the EA still had not taken the report seriously.  The Leader was asked for reassurance that this issue had been discussed for a long time and the Council had been fighting this for a long time when other agencies had not been taking it seriously.

Councillor Whieldon had a couple of concerns; referring to paragraph 9 of the report, where the Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIWM) stated that Walleys Quarry Limited were not part of its membership and therefore could not pursue the line of investigation.  Googling Walleys Quarry, their website stated that they had a  welcome visit from the CIWM in March.  In addition, Red Industries referred to a primary phone number on the CIWM site. 

Councillor Fear agreed with Councillor Dave Jones’ comment regarding the impact on the important organisations in the Borough.  Residents were assured that this Council was fighting wholeheartedly on this issue.  The Borough had now been let down by two national governments and betrayed by the EA.  Councillor Fear also referred to the lorries and made a plea to the police to deal with the traffic hazards.       

The Leader stated that it was right to point out Keele University, an international establishment suffering the odours – smells and gases.  It also affected local schools.

The Leader stated that he would continue reporting issues to the police.  He agreed that the odours were more than just a smell but for the report, because of the Council’s Statutory Nuisance role – it was an odour issue so that is what they had to be referred to as.  The Leader stated that he referred to them as ‘gas odour issues’ in his opening remarks.    

The Leader assured that the public would be kept up to date with as much information as possible going forward.

Resolved:    (i)       That the action being taken by the Council in respect of

legal action against Walleys Quarry Ltd for alleged breaches of an Abatement Notice, which obliges the operator to not create or allow statutory odour nuisance, be noted and endorsed.

(ii)      That the continued and increasing level of complaints in

respect of odours at Walleys Quarry, be noted.

(iii)      That the additional funding allocation of £400k (£250k from

the General Fund Reserve, £150k from the Budget and Borrowing Support Fund), be approved for costs associated with legal action, and delegate to the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holders for One Council, People and Performance and Town Centres and Finance, to draw down and remit such funds as are necessary for this action.

Watch the debate here