New date set for public inquiry over waste tipping at Welbeck Landfill Site
A new date has been set for a public inquiry into a ban on waste tipping at a rubbish dump in Wakefield.
The Planning Inspectorate case over Wellbeck Landfill Site is expected return to Wakefield Town Hall in November.
The inquiry was due to take place in June this year but was adjourned after tip operator Welbeck Waste Management Ltd (WWML) made a legal challenge against Wakefield Council.
Last November, the council’s planning and highways committee rejected WWML’s application to continue tipping at the site for two extra years.
The decision meant that tipping would have to end on December 31, 2023.
The operator, also known as FCC Environment, appealed the decision and has also challenged an enforcement notice served by the council in January.
The inquiry was put off earlier this year after WWML’s legal team put forward amended proposals for the site.
Lawyers for the council requested more time for all interested parties to comment.
At the time, Alison Ogley, the barrister representing WWML, said the proposals had been changed due to a reduction in the amount of waste going to the site after enforcement action was taken.
WWML is able to continue to operate at the site as enforcement notice has been suspended pending the appeal outcome.
The inquiry was originally rescheduled for September 4 but further delayed.
A five day hearing is now listed to begin on November 19.
The site, which has been in operation for more than 25 years, is due to be transformed into a country park.
In March, senior councillors agreed to spend £275,000 on the first phase of work to transform Welbeck into a “must-see destination”.
But a report said there was “a level of uncertainty” around the timeline for completion of the landfill operations due to the legal challenge.
WWML previously said it needs more time to fill the remaining capacity at the site due to a shortage of materials going to landfill.