Borough council increases legal budget for landfill enforcement case to £1m

Officers at Newcastle-under-Lyme Council have recommended members boost the local authority's legal fund for an upcoming dispute over an odorous landfill by a further £400,000, taking the total to £1m.

The local authority is gearing up for 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.

At a full council meeting this week (20 November), councillors will be asked to approve the additional funding "for costs associated with the legal action".

Around £250,000 will be taken from the council's 'General Fund Reserve', while £150,000 will be taken from its 'Budget and Borrowing Support Fund'.

The Staffordshire landfill has been the subject of thousands of complaints from locals about foul odours. It has been issued with 109 regulatory breaches since 2019, according to a report published in September.

Previously, the council has accused the Environment Agency of a "failure to regulate and monitor the site correctly and/or the content of the landfill".

The Environment Agency said it requires the operator to comply with its permit and to implement all the measures necessary to manage emissions of landfill gas from the site in accordance with the regulatory framework.

Responding to the legal challenge in September, a spokesperson for Walleys Quarry Ltd said that it is focused on managing the site to minimise impacts to the community.

It also noted that the landfill site has an environmental permit and is "stringently regulated" by the Environment Agency.

Earlier this month, Newcastle appointed Jeremy Phillips KC and Horatio Waller, both of Francis Taylor Building Chambers, to the case.

Simon Tagg, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said: "The council is committed to bringing this legal action against the site operator on behalf of residents and to provide officers with the resources they need.

"Elected councillors don't have any power to influence any legal action, which is the responsibility of council officers to pursue, but councillors have backed the action officers have taken so far and will have the opportunity to do so again at the Full Council meeting by approving the extra financial support for the legal action."

Adam Carey