n n n ‘. concat(e. i18n. t(“search. voice. recognition_retry”),’n
This resolution means that the operator of the Wellbeck landfill will have to prevent discharges within a few weeks.
FCC Environment, also known as Welbeck Waste Management Ltd (WWML), has asked Wakefield City Council to extend the life of the plant by two years.
Eleven members of the council’s Planning and Highways Committee unanimously rejected the request at a meeting (Nov. 16).
The site, which has been in operation for more than 25 years, will become a natural park.
Residents and protesters were confident it would close for good in December 2023.
The operator needs more time to fill the remaining capacity of the reservoir due to the shortage of tissues for the landfill.
Site director Andrew Langan told the meeting the operator would appeal the decision.
Welbeck has been in the middle of legal proceedings since 1998 for bad odours, damage to the soil and pollutants of the River Calder.
Objections to the deadline extension have been raised through councillors, Hemsworth MP Jon Trickett, citizens and the cross-organisation Residents Against Toxic Scheme (RATS).
Jack Hemingway, the council’s deputy director for climate change, told the meeting: “The landfill has been in operation for more than two decades.
“It’s a story of promises made, mistakes waiting for levels of waste, extension after extension, far beyond the planned operation of the site.
“You have the opportunity to replace that: to turn anything negative for our environment into something positive.
“As neighbourhood councillors, we do not know that the extension is mandatory or that a case has been presented that justifies it.
“This has had an ongoing effect on citizens who have reported dust, odors or pests.
“There’s an effect on biodiversity. “
Councilman Hemingway, who also represents Stanley Ward and Outwood East, where the tip is located, said, “We’re blockers. We seek to offer alternatives.
“These measures appear to have been ignored, as have the comments of many residents.
“There are options.
“Neither we nor the communities we set up know that the applicant will not return for two years to ask for a new extension.
“It’s time for residents, who have lived in the shadow of the landfill for so long, to see the promised restoration.
Mark Jennings spoke on behalf of the citizens of Normanton and Altofts.
Jennings said court cases were filed earlier this year about fly infestations at the site.
He said: “I implore the committee to see if it will support the network and the surrounding spaces and not allow this extension and allow us to build a biodiversity domain that we can all enjoy. “
Council leaders approved the request, describing it as a “small extension of the deadline. “
James Cook, representing the operator, said the number of curtains going to the landfill had decreased due to the increase in the number of waste recycling facilities. Cook said this meant the operator would not be able to repair the site within the past. agreed deadline.
He added: “The situation has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, which has led to additional waste relief.
“We recognize the desire to close as temporarily as possible.
“However, we want to do it in an environmentally friendly way. “
Reasons given for refusal included the effect of the landfill on local citizens and biodiversity.