The Environment Agency has today issued a closure notice to controversial landfill Walleys Quarry – starting the process of permanently closing the Newcastle-under-Lyme site.
No new waste will be able to be accepted at the former quarry in Cemetery Road from Friday, November 29, and operator Walleys Quarry Ltd must permanently cap the remainder of the site. They must also install further gas management infrastructure to prevent emissions from affecting the local community, with lorries only allowed on to the site to bring in materials for these works.
Walleys Quarry Ltd has a right of appeal against the closure notice, which must be made within two months of the date the notice is issued.
The Environment Agency, which has carried out more than 180 inspections at the site since 2021, said the closure notice had been issued ‘after exhausting other enforcement actions’.
A statement on the agency’s website said: “We have concluded that management of Walleys Quarry is poor and that further operation of the site may result in significant long-term pollution.”
Ian Jones, Environment Agency West Midlands Area Director, said: “We have every sympathy with the local community and have worked tirelessly to resolve the problem of landfill gas emissions from the site.
“In doing so, we have taken a robust approach to regulating Walleys Quarry Ltd. Our aim has always been to bring the operator into compliance with its permit and the decision to issue a closure notice is not one we take lightly.
“We have given Walleys Quarry Ltd sufficient time to put in place effective measures to manage emissions and it has failed to do so.”
Complaints to Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council about odours from the site this year are more than double the total in 2023. At a full council meeting last week, elected members voted to approve the allocation of a further £400,000 towards legal action against Walleys Quarry Ltd, bringing the total fund to £1 million.
Simon Tagg, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said today: “The Environment Agency is the main regulator for this site and for far too long this authority has been urging it to act on behalf of a community under siege.
“Complaints to the council about the foul gas odours have soared this year, already more than double the whole of 2023, and I hope that this action by the EA is the first step to a permanent solution for our residents.
“I would encourage residents to carry on reporting the foul smells every time they happen to both the council and the EA.”
Newcastle MP Adam Jogee said ‘today is a good day for the people of Newcastle-under-Lyme’.
Posting on Facebook he wrote: “For years, Walleys Quarry has caused unacceptable harm to Newcastle-under-Lyme. This closure notice acknowledges the devastating impact the site has had on residents who have endured far too much for far too long.
“While this is a significant step forward, the immediate focus must now shift to ensuring the site is safely restored and managed.”
A spokesperson for Walleys Quarry said: “We have received a closure notice from the Environment Agency. We are clear that keeping the site open delivers greatest benefit and sustainability for the site. We will challenge this decision using all available options.
“Walleys Quarry have made extensive factual and legal submissions to the Environment Agency which in our view they have not substantively engaged with.
“As a business we completely reject the accusations made by the Environment Agency relating to poor management of the landfill site.”
