Minister discusses Welbeck
CAMPAIGNERS against Welbeck landfill site have met with the government's top environmental minister to discuss the controversial tip
.
Representatives from Residents Against Toxic Schemes (RATS) met with Hilary Benn, secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Normanton MP Ed Balls and officials from the Environment Agency in London on Tuesday, to discuss their concerns about the site.
But RATS president Paul Dainton said the meeting, which took a year to organise, was "a waste of time and bitterly disappointing".
He said: "We finally got a meeting with Hilary Benn, and it turned into a complete circus.
"They refused to accept that these problems are ongoing."
Mr Dainton claims a report provided by RATS ahead of the meeting, outlining breaches by Welbeck Waste Management Ltd (WWML) of its site permit, had not been read by officials.
He added: "The only thing to come out of the meeting is an agreement that the Environment Agency will walk around the site with us."
But a spokesperson for the department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) said the meeting had been useful and that Mr Benn had listened carefully to the group's concerns. Mr Balls and the Environment Agency also hailed the meeting a success.
Mr Balls said: "I was pleased that the specific concerns RATS have raised have been and continue to be investigated by the Environment Agency."
Tony Grice, environment manager for the Environment Agency, said: "We're very pleased both Mr Benn and Mr Balls are very supportive of the work we've done on regulating the site. They were also pleased to hear that we've been working closely with Wakefield Council and Normanton Town Council on behalf of the community and recognised the significant improvements that have been made to the site.
"Hilary Benn said he was keen that the gas utilisation plant is installed and operating as soon as possible. We'll be working with Wakefield Council and the site operator to ensure that this happens and providing regular updates to Defra on progress."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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