Company at centre of series of legal disputes over foul odours at landfill site enters liquidation
Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council's leader has expressed frustration after a landfill operator embroiled in litigation over foul odours emanating from a site has entered into creditors voluntary liquidation.
Walleys Quarry Ltd had been hit with a closure notice from the Environment Agency in November 2024 and was also threatened with a legal challenge from Newcastle Under Lyme.
The operator had sought a judicial review against the Environment Agency's closure notice, but this was rejected by the High Court earlier this month.
Under the notice, the firm was required to stop accepting new waste at the Staffordshire landfill, permanently cap the remainder of the site and install further landfill gas management infrastructure.
Mike Denny and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Restructuring were appointed as voluntary liquidators on 27 February.
The liquidators have since informed the Environment Agency that they have disclaimed the environmental permits held by the operator.
“This means that the environmental permits, for the landfill and the soil treatment activity, no longer exist,” an update from the Environment Agency said.
The update added: “The Environment Agency cannot object to a liquidator disclaiming an environmental permit or any other property owned by a company.”
The Environment Agency also reported that it had attended the landfill and does not consider that there is an immediate risk of serious pollution, which includes harm to human health.
Officers have meanwhile identified that there is still some work to do in response of the infrastructure steps in the closure notice.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “The environmental permit held by Walleys Quarry Ltd in relation to operation of the landfill has been disclaimed and no longer exists.”
They added: “We will use the powers available to us to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to remove the risk of serious pollution, including instructing specialist contractors.
“We remain committed to working alongside partners to secure a long term, stable and sustainable resolution.”
Responding to the news, Cllr Simon Tagg, leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, he was "hugely disappointed but not at all surprised that Walleys Quarry Ltd, a company making what I understand was a substantial income, has not remained to honour its obligations to fully cap off and restore the landfill".
He added: "I understand that work on capping and gas capture infrastructure required by the Environment Agency has largely been carried out before this news emerged.
"Although the situation appears to have improved in recent weeks, it’s vital that we keep raising this issue and if residents are affected by emissions they should continue to report them."
The landfill has been the subject of thousands of complaints from locals about foul odours over the last five years.
It has also been accused of more than a hundred regulatory breaches since 2019, according to a council report published in September 2024.
Adam Carey
