Information on Whinney Hill Landfill Site, Accrington, Lancashire

Overview

We have created this page to provide easy access to information on Whinney Hill landfill site, Accrington, Lancashire.

We are continuing to receive complaints and reports of pests and odour regarding Whinney Hill landfill site. We are encouraging residents in the community to continue to report the issues as this helps us to build up a picture of the extent and impact of the issues.  You can report incidents to us 24 hours a day on 0800 807060 or by email at incident_communication_service@environment-agency.gov.uk

We will keep the community up to date with any developments on our response to the increased reports and will share any new updates here. Please check back regularly for further information - this page was last updated on 19 December 2024.

Community Updates:

Latest update:  Community Update - 19 December 2024

Previous updates: 

Community Update - 24 September 2024

Community Update - 30 August 2024

Community Update - 8 August 2024

Community Update - 24 July 2024

Useful documents:

Whinney Hill Questions and Answers - Updated 17 December 2024

Whinney Hill Environmental Permit - BL9500IJ

Compliance Assessment Reports (CAR):

Please find below the site inspection reports for June and July 2024. There is a minimum of 28 days from when we issue the reports to the operator to the date that we can publish them. We will add further CAR forms when they become available.

Please note that names of officers have been removed from these documents as disclosure would breach the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).

CAR 0509632 - 24 June 2024

CAR 0509632 - 26 July 2024

Why is this happening?

In late 2023 the operator of the site, Suez Recycling and Recovery Lancashire Ltd, moved landfilling operations to a new location within its permitted area, known as Enfield Quarry. Enfield Quarry sits to the eastern end of the site and is closer to residential areas than previous operations. The map below shows the location of the new landfilling area marked in red.

The closer a landfill site is to residential areas, the greater the risk of it impacting the local community. Handling waste material does inevitably involve dealing with odorous material which may lead to occasional periods of odour and attract pests. Nonetheless, these should not have a prolonged effect on local residents and the surrounding areas.

What is the Environment Agency doing?

The Environment Agency is the primary regulator of the waste activities under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations. We continue to monitor and perform our regulatory duties at Whinney Hill landfill site. We have made it clear to Suez that they must take all steps to minimise the impacts on the local community.

Permit Compliance:

Whinney Hill landfill site holds an environmental permit to accept non-hazardous waste for disposal and it is regulated by the Environment Agency. The environmental permit has conditions that Suez is required to follow to minimise the impact to the people and the environment. This includes managing the operations on site to control odour and pests.

Assessing Compliance:

It is our role to assess compliance with the permits and to take appropriate regulatory action if we identify any breaches. We do so by reference to our enforcement and sanctions policy and the Government’s core guidance on environmental permitting and with appropriate regard to the Regulators' Code.

Our regulatory team assess compliance with the permit conditions at the landfill in several ways including site inspection, audit, off-site odour assessments, and review of reports and monitoring data.

Landfill Operators and Environmental Permits

How weather affects landfills

We are aware from incident reports that there are concerns around odours late into the evening, overnight and early in the morning. The colder weather conditions experienced in winter and spring can sometimes increase the likelihood of smelling odour from landfills. The below video explains why.

If the above video is not displaying on your browser, you can view it here: How weather affects landfill sites. - YouTube

Multi-Agency Working:

We are working with a range of partners to resolves the issues at the site. These include Hyndburn Borough Council, Lancashire County Council, UK Health Security Agency and Natural England. Each organisation has a different role in providing advice or regulating under specific legislation at Whinney Hill landfill site -

Environment Agency - We are the primary regulator of Whinney Hill landfill site. This is done under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations. The site is operated by Suez Recycling and Recovery Lancashire Ltd who hold the environmental permit for the site. The most appropriate way to deal with the current issues on the site is through that permit. 

Hyndburn Borough Council - Have a duty for monitoring under statutory nuisance legislation.

Lancashire County Council - Have a dual role in planning control and public health guidance.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) - Provides the government and the public with health information based on evidence and information available.

Natural England - Advise on the natural environment in England, helping to protect England's nature and landscapes for people to enjoy.

Reporting Odour and Pests

We encourage residents to report incidents to our 24 hour hotline on: 

0800 80 70 60

Or by email at incident_communication_service@environment-agency.gov.uk