Walleys Quarry Landfill Site - Latest Update
Overview
The Environment Agency has launched an investigation into alleged illegal waste activities at sites operated by Walleys Quarry Limited and Red Industries Limited. This is ongoing. We are unable to provide further information or updates at this time.
We want to encourage anyone that holds any information pertinent to this investigation, to contact us confidentially on 0800 80 70 60.
What this Citizen Space site contains
To help everyone access information in the easiest way possible, from June 2021 we have two webpages: a latest update page and a community information page
Latest Update page
This Latest Update page shares our latest updates in relation to the Walleys Quarry Landfill Site, located at Cemetery Road, Silverdale, Newcastle under Lyme
This page contains only the most up to date information, key messages and community events about the site.
Please Note: We are working hard to ensure all reports and complaints in relation to Walleys Quarry are responded to as quickly as possible, and understand the distress felt by the local community. However, we will not tolerate inappropriate behaviour to our staff that is either threatening, abusive or violent.
Please see our Unacceptable Customer Behaviour – Position Statement which sets out what customers can expect from us. In return we ask that customers respect our staff.
You have our assurance that we are doing our best to deal with every enquiry.
Community information page
You can find our previous updates and historical information on Walleys Quarry on our Community information page here. This page provides all the background and contains our previous updates about the site, historical information and related technical documents.
Contents:
1. Latest news this month on our regulatory work
2. Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
4. How we are working with others to regulate the site
5. Air Quality Monitoring update
1. Latest news this month on our regulatory work
The purpose of this weekly update is to help keep the community of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the wider area informed about developments concerning the Environment Agency’s regulation of Walleys Quarry Landfill.
From the beginning of February, we will begin to introduce changes to this weekly newsletter, as we seek to make the information we’re presenting more accessible to a wider audience.
We will continue to provide monitoring data relating to the emissions of hydrogen sulphide from the site, along with details of the number of odour reports and complaints submitted to us. We will also share details about our ongoing regulatory and enforcement activity at the landfill through a blend of infographics, FAQ’s, community updates, data and facts to ensure you have all the information you need to monitor progress.
Walleys Quarry Ltd is the operator of the landfill site and it alone is responsible for the hydrogen sulphide emissions escaping from the site.
The Environment Agency is the environmental regulator. We require Walleys Quarry Ltd to meet its environmental obligations and resolve the ongoing odour issues at the landfill as quickly as possible.
News in brief - 20 January 2022
Latest on our regulation
Environment Agency officers inspected the landfill site on Friday 14 January. The purpose of the inspection was to assess measures put in place to reduce emissions of hydrogen sulphide from operations at the site.
Officers also visited the site on Wednesday 19 January, focussing on waste sampling of incoming waste.
We met Walleys Quarry Ltd this week to review progress with its action plan and permit compliance.
Latest hydrogen sulphide levels
Walleys Quarry landfill continues to present an unacceptable level of landfill odours for neighbouring communities. We have installed a network of ambient air quality monitors around the site and we are monitoring for hydrogen sulphide and methane as surrogates for odour pollution.
Raw data from the 10 to 16 January 2022 collected from our ambient air mobile monitoring stations (MMFs) showed, levels of hydrogen sulphide during the week:
- The levels remained below the World Health Organisation’s 24-hour average health guideline level (150µg/m3 or 107ppb) to protect against short-term health effects.
- They were above the World Health Organisation’s 30-minute average odour annoyance guideline level (7µg/m3 or 5ppb) for the following periods of time:
It is important to note that this is raw data and may change slightly as results are verified.
Our ambient monitoring data shows that the concentrations of hydrogen sulphide during the first two weeks of the New Year have risen. It is important to note that this is raw data and may change slightly as results are verified.
We do expect to see short term fluctuations in the concentrations of hydrogen sulphide leaving the site. The causes can include factors such as the temporary impact of improvement works being carried out on site and changes in the weather.
Landfill gas emissions will increase during colder weather and still wind conditions. With less dispersion, the potential for causing odour nuisance is greater.
By contrast, in warmer weather the gases are naturally more diluted due to higher temperatures and rising air. This means improvements from measures implemented at Walleys Quarry Landfill to reduce odour could be less noticeable around this time of year. However, it is important to note that despite short term spikes, the overall trend in the levels of hydrogen sulphide concentrations in the ambient air continues to reduce.
Odour Reporting
In the week 10 to 16 January 2022, the Environment Agency received a total of 1,045 reports about odour from the site to our national incident hotline. This is an increase in the number of reports compared to the previous week.
We recognise that these odours continue to be extremely distressing for residents in the area and we have reminded the operator that it must take the necessary steps to address this issue as an absolute priority. We continue to keep consideration of further enforcement action under review.
As a reminder, if you continue to experience landfill odours at Walleys Quarry you can report them to us via GOV.UK at: https://report-walleys-quarry-smell.service.gov.uk/
Hydrogen Sulphide: Information & advice
The UK Health Security Agency (formerly known as Public Health England), has published public health messages and advice about the effects of odours from Walleys Quarry landfill. This includes UKHSA’s assessment of risks to public health along with useful information and advice.
Details are available online via Staffordshire County Council’s website: Frequently asked questions about the health effects of odours and emissions from Walleys Quarry: - Staffordshire County Council
Correspondence update
Every month we endeavour to present a summary of the five most frequently asked questions put to our correspondence team in the previous month, together with our response to those questions. This complements a more detailed FAQ that covers a widespread range of queries put to us by the local community about the site.
Full details are available to view on this Citizen Space webpage. You can view details here: Walleys Quarry Landfill Site - Latest Update - Environment Agency - Citizen Space (environment-agency.gov.uk)
If you have a question concerning our ongoing regulation of Walleys Quarry you can email us at enquiries_westmids@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Walleys Quarry Judicial Review appeal judgement
The Court of Appeal has published its reasoned judgement following a ruling in December 2021 to allow the Environment Agency to appeal a High Court decision relating to the appropriate role of the Court when considering judicial review and remedies involving regulatory decisions.
The reasoned Judgment of the Court of Appeal was made available on Monday 17 January and a copy is available online here:
https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2022/26.html
Whilst we welcome the reasoned judgement and the clarity it provides on the role of the Court in judicial review cases, we remain determined to tackle the problems at Walleys Quarry, as we have been all along. We will continue our work with the operator, and our partners to bring emissions of hydrogen sulphide under control and ensure they remain so.
How to report odour from Walleys Quarry
Using the online form is the easiest and quickest way for you to report odour from Walleys Quarry. Report a smell at Walleys Quarry - GOV.UK (report-walleys-quarry-smell.service.gov.uk)
When completing the form, you will still receive a unique reference number each time you report an incident. You will still be able to make multiple odour reports. You can also still call us on 0800 80 70 60.
Contact us with your questions
We are not able to answer questions fully on social media, so if you have a question you can email us at enquiries_westmids@environment-agency.gov.uk.
We are updating the information on this webpage regularly. To receive notifications, email your contact details to: Engagement_WestMids@environment-agency.gov.uk and we will add you to our mailing list.
Other sources of information
See Staffordshire County Council website for information on public health impacts of odours in the Silverdale and wider Newcastle under Lyme area.
Walleys Quarry website: https://walleysquarry.co.uk/
2. Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
We understand that you may have questions regarding landfills and how they work as well as more specific questions concerning this site.
We have put together a document that includes FAQs from your community concerning Walleys Quarry and generic landfill information that covers a wider range of questions from odour to pests. We hope this will be able to reassure and answer any questions that you may have about the site. The document can be viewed here.
To complement the FAQs we are sharing the top 5 questions each month that you have asked us formally as well as our timeline and plan.
Timeline and our plan
The timeline shows the site’s history and our regulation so that you can understand our actions to date. You can view the timeline here.
The Environment Agency’s plan to achieve the required reductions in H2S emissions is available to view here
Top 5 questions - December 2021
Question One: Why is Walleys Quarry Ltd still allowed to accept waste at the site when they have breached their licence conditions multiple times?
Where permit breaches are detected, we follow the Regulators’ Code, which requires us to give operators a reasonable period of time to respond and correct those failures. Our enforcement and sanctions policy also states that we will provide an opportunity for an operator to return to compliance. On each occasion we have set the operator an action and timescale to come back into compliance with the permit. The operator’s response has been to take the required remedial action.
We will continue to follow the published guidance, which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulators-code
Question Two: Why has the social media handle (@EnvAgencyMids) stopped engaging with the community with regards to answering questions directly?
Our team respond to straightforward queries on Twitter where they can, signposting to alternative sources of relevant information where possible. This is an informal channel, where questions are answered on a ‘best endeavours’ basis. We are not able to answer all questions fully on social media, particularly if they are technical in nature.
Sometimes, due to the volume of messages our account receives, questions can be missed. Sometimes we have been tagged in more than 800 tweets per month on Walleys Quarry issues alone.
If you have a question you can email it to us at: enquiries_westmids@environment-agency.gov.uk
For more information on our social media policy please visit:
Question Three: How do I report an issue at Walleys Quarry that is not related to odour?
If you wish to report an incident that is not related to odour concerns at Walleys Quarry, please contact us on our free 24-hour incident hotline at 0800 80 70 60 or by email at: ics@environment-agency.gov.uk
The best way to report an odour incident at Walleys Quarry continues to be through the form available on GOV.UK at: https://report-walleys-quarry-smell.service.gov.uk/
Question Four: What is the plan for the area covered by the Posi-shell, given that the capping has a lifetime of approximately 12 months?
We expect that areas where Posi-shell has been applied will see further tipping of waste in future. In the meantime, the operator may re-apply the Posi-shell or use other temporary capping material.
We have reviewed and challenged inadequacies in the ‘phasing and capping plan’ which was submitted to us by the operator in December 2021. This must set out their intended actions. We have required the operator to revise and improve their plan. This will only be approved once we are satisfied that the actions that the operator proposes are acceptable.
Question Five: Did the EA explore any additional/alternative odour sources?
Our officers look for alternative odour sources as part of their amenity checks. To date they have not identified any other significant odour sources in the local area.
If after referring to this page and the documents you would still like to ask a question please attend one of our community engagement events or email us Enquiries_Westmids@environment-agency.gov.uk to let us know.
3.Community engagement
We continue to hold a variety of community engagement events to ensure you understand what action we are taking and to have an opportunity to ask questions.
For information on engagement by multi agency partners please see Section 4 of this page.
Drop-in session in December
Our multi-agency drop in session took place on Thursday 1 December at the council offices in Newcastle Under Lyme. Some local residents who have been impacted by the landfill site turned out to speak to us – many thanks to those who attended for your comments and feedback.
This event was for residents, business owners and community members who are affected by the landfill site. Attendees could speak directly to senior officers from the Environment Agency, Staffordshire County Council, the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England), Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Staffordshire Police.
There were no fixed presentation or speeches, and attendees could drop-in at any time during the opening hours and speak directly to representatives of the councils and agencies at different tables. Numbers in the hall were monitored to avoid over-crowding and other Covid-related measures were in place to ensure the health and well-being of all those attending.
Recent community engagement
We’ve recently been out in the Knutton and Poolfields areas door knocking to talk to local people about our regulation of Walleys Quarry and to hear about and understand the impact of the landfill on daily lives.
We’re knocking doors randomly, and are not purposely picking some and avoiding others. If the resident is out, we’ll pop a note through the letterbox to say we called. We will not ask to come in at any point, and it’s ok to not want to talk to us. We will be out in other areas in the coming weeks.
Future community engagement
We continue to work with multi-agency partners to plan the next steps for more community engagement, including further drop in events to ensure you understand what action we are taking and to have an opportunity to ask questions.
Dates and details will be announced on this page and released in the latest update. Future sessions will be dependent on COVID restrictions and guidance at the time.
Previous community engagement
Multi-agency partners face to face drop ins
We were really pleased to see lots of you at the multi-agency events on 5 October 2021 and 12 October 2021.
All organisations valued the opportunity to have face to face conversations, to be able to hear from you, the concerns and experiences you have had and for us to be able to explain what we are continuing to do in dealing with this situation.
Multi-agency virtual engagement sessions
The multi-agency virtual engagement sessions held on 23 June 2021 and 3 August 2021 were with representatives from the Environment Agency, Public Health England (now UK Health Security Agency), Staffordshire County Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and the North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (who represent GPs in the area).
Community engagement session - 3 August 2021
Community engagement session - 23 June 2021
Environment Agency virtual engagement sessions
Our virtual meetings were an opportunity for the community to hear an update on Environment Agency actions and next steps first hand as well as having the opportunity to ask us questions which might include our regulation, the work we have told Walleys Quarry Ltd to carry out, etc.
Community engagement session - 9 June 2021
Community engagement session - 26 May 2021
4. How we are working with others to regulating the site
Multi agency response
Over a number of years, we have been working with partners to address local community concerns about Walleys Quarry Landfill. We have put in place and are supporting a multi-agency response to deal with the current odour issues. This includes working with the Local Resilience Forum that also help coordinate regulatory, engagement and communication responses. This ensures different issues are tackled in coordinated way across multiple partners, each with different responsibilities. They include:
- The Environment Agency
- Staffordshire County Council
- Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
- UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA - formerly Public Health England)
Engagement by multi agency partners
For media statements and community engagement events held by multi agency partners please see informationa and links below:
Tuesday 6 July from 5.30pm to 7.00pm
The Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) of Staffordshire Resilience Forum agencies will be holding a virtual community engagement event on Tuesday 6 July from 5.30pm to 7.00pm. Representatives from the Environment Agency, Public Health England (now UKHSA), the NHS, and officers from Staffordshire County Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council will be taking part. An update on the situation, the impact on health, and progress on actions being taken to reduce the air pollution will be given, followed by an opportunity for people to ask questions. People can log on at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8137051666089376524
Walleys Quarry Liaison Meetings
We also attend regular community liaison meetings that are facilitated by the operator Walleys Quarry Ltd. and are part of their planning permission issued by Staffordshire County Council.
More Information
More Information
Further information
If you would like to find out more about these meetings including the meeting notes please follow the link below: https://www.redindustries.co.uk/walleys-landfill-community/
If any further residents are interested in joining these meetings to represent the community or would like to ask Walleys Quarry Ltd any questions please email: enquiries@redindustries.co.uk
5. Air Quality Monitoring
Picture 1: Galingale View- Air Quality monitoring specialist mobile monitoring
We are committed to regularly sharing the results from our air quality monitoring that we have underway around the site.
Towards the end of February 2021, we installed two specialist mobile monitoring facilities, located at Galingale View and Silverdale pumping station.
We also agreed with partners to install a further two, to support our multi-agency response to the issues at Walleys Landfill. On Friday 23 April 2021, we installed these ust off Cemetery Road.
The mobile monitoring facilities are purposely placed in areas where we observe landfill gas, taking account of local geography, and available power supplies. They are funded by the Environment Agency to support our regulatory work but as they can also be used to provide information to health professionals to make health assessments, two are partly funded by Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council. The mobile monitoring facilities began collecting data at the beginning of March 2021 and we expect to continue till March 2022 or further if required.
Monitoring and data
The units monitor parameters related to landfill gas, including methane (CH4), particulates (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) - this is the one that smells like rotten eggs. The units also have the capacity to collect weather data, which is important in determining how gases and odours travel and disperse in the environment.
Data from the units have been collated into monthly reports which we share with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA - formerly Public Health England) to provide expert opinion on any human health impacts.
The data has been used to assess the type, time and nature of the emissions from the site. We have also shared this information with Staffordshire County Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, which is vital for us to tackle the issues of odour coming from the operations of the Landfill.
Air quality monitoring reports
We provide various reports and sets of data that is publicly available and we want to clearly explain how and when these will be produced.
Exceedance Report
If the levels of hydrogen sulphide exceed the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guideline level for health impacts (this is recorded over a 24hr average) we will inform all partners immediately and produce report within 48hrs. Public Health England will be immediately informed so advice can be issued from our public health partners Staffordshire County Council. We call this an Exceedance Report. We have not had to issue one of these since the very high levels of hydrogen sulphide were recorded in March.
Weekly Summary Report
We produce Weekly Summary Reports that sets out the percentage of time each monitoring station has spent above:
- The WHO guideline level for health impacts for hydrogen sulphide (this is recorded over a 24hr average)
- The WHO’s guideline level for odour annoyance for hydrogen sulphide (30 minute average).
This is shared with UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) and we publish these on these web pages.
Monthly Air Quality Report
We produce a Monthly Air Quality Report which provides information on the data recorded. This is also published on these webpages along with the UKHSA report: UKHSA Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring.
Final Report
At some point (to be detetmined by partners and what is happening at the landfill), we will produce a Final Report which will provide a detailed assessment.
Task Specific Analysis
We are also using the data to identify trends, correlate the data with weather patterns, look at the time and day of increases (and decreases), weather analysis and if certain activities on the site or in the local area, contribute to the issues. This is ongoing internal work and used to inform our regulatory activities. These will be included in our Final Report if appropriate.
The Environment Agency conducts all its monitoring and data handling using approved standards and methodologies and is externally audited. As a result, the data we use in our reports is called ‘rectified data’. This is data that is has had calibrations applied and some basic quality assurance checking carried out but it is still likely to change once calibrations are applied to the full data set at the end of the study. This is a standard approach that needs to be taken when conducting highly sensitive air quality monitoring.
December 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - December 2021
Silverdale air quality data set: please note this covers March - December 2021
November 2021
UKHSA (formerly PHE) Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring Report - November 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - November 2021
October 2021
UKHSA (formerly PHE) Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring report - October 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - October 2021
September 2021
UKHSA (formerly PHE) Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring report - September 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - September 2021
August 2021
UKHSA (formerly PHE) Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring report - August 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - August 2021
July 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - July 2021
PHE Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring July 2021
June 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - June 2021
PHE Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring June 2021
May 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - May 2021
PHE Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring May 2021
April 2021
Monthly Air Quality Report - April 2021
PHE Health Risk Assessment Air Quality Monitoring April 2021
Previous Air Quality Monitoring (2017-19)
We have previously installed specialist air quality monitoring equipment in 2018 and 2019 to enable us to further understand the potential impact on air quality from Walleys Quarry landfill site.
This equipment was installed on:
6 July 2017 - 14 February 2018 on the pumping station off Silverdale Road
15 January 2019 - 25 June 2019 near the northern boundary of the site, on the grounds of Garner’s Garden Centre
Summaries of the previous air quality monitoring reports are available to view below and full reports can be provided on request.
Walleys quarry report summary 2019
Walleys quarry report summary 2017-2018
The Public Health England (PHE) response to the Air Quality Monitoring carried out in 2017-2019 is linked here.
6. Health update
It is important to note, that it is not our role and we are not qualified to give health advice to the public. If residents have health concerns our advice is to speak to their local GP. The local authority’s Environmental Health Department and Public Health England will be able to provide appropriate advice to local GP’s. Both organisations are represented on the Walley’s Quarry local liaison group.
More Information
More Information
More Information
More Information (incl PHE's review of AQM data)
7. How to contact us
More Information
Please also see the Accessibility Statement, Cookies Policy and Privacy Notice in relation to the online reporting form.
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If you have any feedback about this page or use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of any document in a more accessible format, please email Engagement_WestMids@environment-agency.gov.uk Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
Audiences
- Businesses
- Members of the public
- Elected representatives, including MPs
- Local councils
- Environment Agency customers
- Environment Agency colleagues
Interests
- Business and industry
- Waste
- Permits
- Environmental permitting
- Installation
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