Thank you to Steve Meakin and Graham Eagles from Stop the Stink for meeting with me & Council Leader Simon Tagg at Castle House this afternoon. We agreed on the need to maintain pressure on both the operator and the Environment Agency, and I also undertook to make some specific representations on their behalf regarding previous complaints that have not been handled satisfactorily.
The Environment Agency have also provided their weekly update on Walley's Quarry landfill (link below).
On the judicial review, they have said that in order to comply with what the judge ruled, that continual pressure will be put on the operator to implement the measures the EA had already identified. It seems to me that their plan is to continue doing what they have been doing - they say that "where additional work is needed, we will not hesitate to require this from the operator" without specifying what such work might be.
The better news is that the engineering solutions of Posi-Shell capping and additional gas well drilling are now both under way. I am hopeful that these measures, once complete, will greatly enhance the quantity of gas that is captured, contained and destroyed, and so dramatically reduce the quantity of gas escaping.
Should this work successfully reduce the odour to background levels - which we must all hope is the case - I trust the EA will rapidly move on to holding the operator fully accountable for all their failings and breaches.
Finally, I am pleased that the EA have confirmed that there will be two face-to-face drop in community engagement sessions, to be held at Bradwell Lodge on Tuesday, 5th October, from 4pm to 8.30pm, and Tuesday 12th October, from 2pm to 7pm.
I do appreciate that the venue is not ideally located but it is my understanding that it was the nearest available location that could be booked for the time periods required.
https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/…/walleys-quarry…/