Public inquiry to be held over ‘putrid’ waste site in South Elmsall
A public inquiry is to be held after plans to extend the life of a waste recycling facility were rejected after more than 400 residents complained about a “putrid stench.”
The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed a hearing will take place later this year over the site in South Elmsall.
In June, Wakefield Council refused an application to keep the site at Hacking Lane operating for another ten years.
The decision came after hundreds of residents complained about the smell, dust and litter coming from the facility.
Site operator Minore, also known as Mineral Processing Ltd, lodged an appeal soon after the ruling.
A four-day hearing over the case has been scheduled to begin on November 11 at a venue yet to be determined.
Minore has also appealed a decision by the Environment Agency (EA) to remove the operator’s licence over concerns the facility was causing a health hazard.
The regulator issued a permit revocation notice, which came into effect on July 4, after an inspector said excessive amounts of hazardous material stored at the land had created multiple health risks.
A report said the facility also posed a risk to nearby watercourses, including Frickley Beck.
According to documents, almost five times the permitted amount of materials had been stored on the land.
The permit had allowed a maximum of 50,000 tonnes to be stored at the facility.
However, information provided by Minore between 2016 and 2023 revealed there were 233,772 tonnes at the site.
The company previously said it plans to eventually transform the land into a country park, to include a wildflower meadow, wetland, ponds and public open space.
A spokesperson said: “Currently the site is excavating materials and processing them, which is not in contravention of the notices issued by the EA but in compliance with them.
“The site has been here since the late 19th century as a Victorian brickworks, ash pit and council tip for the deposit of coal ash from domestic fires, up until the late 1950s.
“There has not been any pollution incident in Frickley Beck in those 100 years.
“The company samples the water regularly as part of the monitoring regime and has found no effect on Frickley Beck when taking water samples.”