Residents ‘plagued’ by pollution, foul stench and fly infestations from rubbish dump for 27 years – public inquiry told

Campaigners called for tipping at Welbeck Landfill Site to be ‘brought to a finish’ as they opposed plans to extend the life of the site by two more years.

A hearing is being held at Wakefield Town after tip operator Welbeck Waste Management Ltd (WWML) made a legal challenge when a planning application to continue dumping material at the site until the end of 2025 was rejected by councillors.

The decision, made in November last year, meant that tipping would have to end on December 31, 2023.

The operator, also known as FCC Environment, also challenged an enforcement notice served by the council in January.

Mark Jennings, a member of Normanton Town Council, told the hearing how the decision to turn a former coal mine into a waste management site was made in 1997.

Coun Jennings said residents were given assurances at the time that the site would be in operation for 21 years before being turned into a country park.

He added that people were “dismayed” in 2018 when an application to extend the life of the tip until the end of 2023 was approved by the council.

Coun Jennings said: “It is worth noting that this site has been plagued with lots of issues.

“One in particular, around 2006 and 2007, was when the site had such an acrid smell.

“After various investigations and numerous complaints, residents were given some compensation.”

Coun Jennings also referred to incidents of the river Calder being polluted and debris from the site blowing into the water.

He continued: “Another problem with the site was when residents made 137 complaints regarding a large amount of flies.

“This happened around mid 2023. The Environment Agency did note that there were two breaches.

“This was due to exposed waste which contributed to the fly infestation.”

Coun Jennings told Planning Inspector Jason Whitfield : “Wakefield Council promised that the area would be turned into a country park and public space for the residents of surrounding areas to enjoy.

“The site has now been going on for 27 years. There have been countless complaints in the past.

“The residents are asking for this to be brought to a finish.

“We are asking that the inspector will listen to the community and that the work is commenced to restore it to a country park.”

Barry Goodchild, a member of environmental group Just Transition, also spoke against the extension on the first day of the hearing.

He said: “It is up to local governments to provide parks. It’s a question of amenity and health and that must be taken into account.

“The blighting of a community through tipping also has a detrimental affect on nearby residents. There is global scientific evidence for that.

“So we do need a date for cessation.”

Mr Goodchild said overturning the council’s decision could lead to further applications to extend the life of the site.

He added: “The concern is that some untoward event will occur and further delays will be necessary and there will be further tipping beyond the dates which are stated.

“We ask that the council’s enforcement order is upheld and we can have a way of guaranteeing that there will be no tipping at that site.

“We ask that the site is made safe at the operator’s expense because the local authority has many financial obligations.”

Paul Dainton, president of Residents Against Toxic Scheme (RATS), a group set up in opposition to the site, said: “I was in my fifties when this whole Welbeck fiasco first started.

“I am now in my eighties and I can still not see any sign of a wildlife and country park that is visible anywhere on the site to this day.

“It’s now the longest ongoing unfinished environmental construction site in the UK and, quite possibly, in Europe.

“Welbeck management aren’t interested in the environment. They are interested in profit, profit, profit.

“They will continue to come back with excuse after excuse. We beg you, Inspector, to refuse this.

“Enough is enough.”

The hearing is expected to last for five days.