The operator behind controversial landfill Walleys Quarry has said it will challenge a decision made by the Environment Agency to issue a closure order.
Daily Focus reported yesterday that the issuing of the closure notice started 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 yesterday, 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.
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.”
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.”
