A landfill site in Staffordshire which has plagued residents with noxious fumes for years has been told to permanently shut down, with local campaigners hailing the news as “absolutely amazing”.
The Environment Agency said it had brought the closure of Walleys Quarry forward after “exhausting other enforcement options”, and said it had to stop accepting new waste from Friday.
It said Walleys Quarry Ltd, which runs the site, had been “given time to put effective measures in place to manage emissions and yet failed to do so”.
The landfill site is in the village of Silverdale, just west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, with the emissions affecting residents in many of the surrounding towns and villages.
“It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s so long overdue. It’s a huge relief, just elation,” said the local resident and campaigner Helen Vincent. “We honestly didn’t see this coming. Everyone thought it would play out until the end of its permit. But it’s absolutely amazing, it’s the only topic of conversation right now.
“It’s not going to solve the problem with the gases straight away, we know that. But it’s a huge win and hopefully they will do as they’re supposed to, and cap everything off.”
People living in the area around the quarry have complained of itchy eyes, sore throats and headaches from the fumes, while some said it had worsened their health conditions such as asthma.
In 2021, a local family brought a landmark legal case against the Environment Agency (EA), arguing it was failing to protect the life of five-year-old Mathew Richards.
They said his respiratory health problems were being worsened by hydrogen sulphide fumes from the landfill, and his life expectancy was being reduced.
The high court ruled in the family’s favour and ordered the EA to take action, but the court of appeal quashed the ruling.
Mathew’s mother, Rebecca Currie, told the BBC after the closure notice that she “never thought this day was going to come”.
“This is amazing for our community, but obviously there are still a lot of sick people in this community and this should never have gone on this long,” she said.
Adam Jogee, the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, said: “So many people have campaigned for so long in the rain, in the sleet, in the snow.
“I think there’s a massive sense of relief, there’s a massive sense of happiness and celebration. Once we’ve had the opportunity to celebrate, we can get to work to finally get the answers we need to how on earth we ended up in this mess for so long.”
The EA notice will start the process of permanently closing the landfill, and Walleys Quarry will be required to permanently cap the remainder of the site and install further landfill gas management infrastructure.
Lorries will only be allowed to enter the site to bring in materials for those purposes.
Vincent said: “We know they’re probably going to appeal but I can’t see they’ve got a leg to stand on.” She added that in recent months the fumes had been “worse than ever”.
“Just the other day my house was full of fumes all day, it was absolutely horrendous. And I work from home so I can’t get away from it. It has been really bad, especially with the cold weather,” she said.
Simon Tagg, the leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council, said complaints to the council about the foul gas odours “have soared this year” and were already more than double the total for the whole of 2023.
“I hope this action by the EA is the first step to a permanent solution for our residents,” he said. “I would encourage residents to carry on reporting the foul smells every time they happen to both the council and the EA.”
