Landfill site to operate for 14 more years despite complaints
THE owners of a Derbyshire landfill site have been given 14 extra years to fill it in, despite complaints from residents about foul smells, flies, seagulls, dust and noise.
More than 250 residents had opposed plans from Viridor to extend its deadline for filling in the Erin Landfill in Duckmanton, alongside the M1.
This is due to a significant number of problems those nearby residents have put up with for years. They had hoped to see the site filled in and transformed into a nature reserve.
Viridor has until May 31 – just six weeks – to finish filling in the landfill but is way behind schedule due to a large reduction in waste with which to fill in the site, in part due to improved recycling.
The firm has asked Derbyshire County Council for a 14-year extension – giving it until May 31, 2035, to finish filling in the site – and its officers had recommended that this is approved. The alternative, it says, is to create a new landfill elsewhere.
A scheme to turn the site into a nature reserve is due to be completed two years after operations stop.
At a meeting on Monday, councillors on the authority’s planning committee unanimously approved the time extension.
Cllr Martyn Ford, the chairman of the committee, said: “I can see why they wish to extend and if we close this one, will they have to open another one? That is the question.
“I can fully appreciate the local residents. We all live in a community which at some point in time has been an open cast mine or sand and gravel.”
He said residents do need the peace of mind that this would be the final extension and that Viridor knows they now must fill the site by 2035. He said the decision may not be the right one for some but would be better in the long term.
Cllr Diane Charles said the topic was an emotive issue for residents and she had sympathy for them.
She told the meeting: “It is very unfortunate for the people living nearby. But if people think that they are going to benefit during and at the end then I think they would be happier to accept it.”
Cllr Charles said a liaison committee between the residents, site operators and Environment Agency could effectively manage the situation.
Cllr Paul Smith, Labour group leader and member of the planning committee, said: “This is a 16-year extension (14 years for fill, two years to restore), that is a long, long period of time and there is still not any real guarantee that they will meet that date, so I can understand the feelings of the community.
“Ultimately it is dependent on how much waste we do not recycle and eventually I am hoping the energy from waste development kicks in and takes away the need for landfills, not just in this county but throughout the country.”
Cllr Ron Mihaly said: “We have got an issue. The amount of tonnage going to landfill is reducing and we have got a big void that needs filling, so obviously it is going to take longer.
“I don’t think the positives for the future are being pushed enough. They have got to say that the outcome will be this and it will be a fantastic benefit to the local community, but in the short-term you’re going to have to put up with this – but that can be mitigated.”
Viridor submitted a statement to the meeting saying the firm had donated substantial amounts of money to local companies and charities over the years, but council officers said “this really can’t play a part in making decisions”.
Viridor also said there was a “clear need” for a landfill locally, and strategically for the region and that a liaison group between the operator and residents would restart soon.
The firm has altered its restoration scheme to the site, substantially increasing the area which will become grassland, hedges, trees and scrubland. However, the space for woodland would be significantly reduced. Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins submitted a statement to the meeting, saying: “The Erin Landfill has been a longstanding source of complaints to my office due to the problems with smells from the area and the infestation of flies.”
He said the issue with flies hit a peak in the summer of 2016 with “swarms invading their homes for several weeks, which was particularly distressing”.
Mr Perkins said “residents had come to fear the summer, due to the potential smell and the pest issues which can occur”.
He said: “It is disappointing that these plans
(to finish filling the site by 2021) have changed and I feel like the site is having an endless negative impact on the community.”
Christopher Scarr, speaking on behalf of campaigning residents in Duckmanton and the surrounding area, also submitted a statement, saying: “Those who stand nothing to gain, other than the quality of life, want this landfill stopped – now.” Viridor has operated the landfill, which covers 130 acres, since 1999 and it had previously operated as an opencast coal mine since 1980. The vast majority of the site, around 100 acres, is currently void and needs filling.
A total of 258 residents signed a petition calling for the site to not have a time extension approved and to close the site next month, as scheduled.
They wrote that they had been “Deprived of the right to enjoy home and garden due to odours, noise, flies, rodents, seagulls and landscape impact.”
Objectors said that they “Cannot open windows because of flies”. They wrote that: “When environmental health are contacted, things improve for a short period then problem returns. Cars are covered in dust and furniture if windows are left open. A local restaurant owner receives complaints from customers about flies in their restaurant, which they believe are a result of the landfill operation.
“The monitoring of leachate, gases and subsidence requirements are estimated to take up to 30 years post closure. The impacts of the landfill could exist therefore up until 2067. Pumping of leachate and groundwater can take up to 30 years post closure.”
Planning officers at the meeting said there are several “leachate lagoons” on the site, where harmful substances are drawn from the landfill and temporarily stored. They said the current solution was “clearly, not brilliant”.
Responding to the application, the Environment Agency did not object and wrote: “Full control over the environmental aspects of the site – for example, gas and leachate generation – can only be achieved if all phases of the site are completed as planned. The current environmental permit gives regulatory control over the materials and application of materials used. For these reasons we have no objection to the proposed time extension.”
Derbyshire County Council’s planning department wrote, in a report debated at the meeting: “No enforcement action has, to date, been taken against the operators of Erin Landfill by the EA and it is considered that the operator is using appropriate measures to control odour within acceptable levels from the landfill operation.
“It is noted that some noise would be generated from the site, but that this would not be over and above that of the current operation, which is considered to be within acceptable limits. Cumulative air impacts from dust generation are therefore likely to be to acceptable levels.
“I note the comments received from the public that there is concern about associated potential health risks associated with air quality, however, I am satisfied that it has been demonstrated effectively with the Environmental Statement (submitted by Viridor) that air quality impacts would be within acceptable limits.”
Planning officers say Viridor has measures in place to restrict pests including flies and rats. This includes a falconer visiting the site three times a week, monthly visits from a contractor to lay bait and to trap “vermin” and regular insecticide sprays and fogging.
They said that there is still a current need for landfills, until new technologies to deal with non-recyclable waste are more fully developed and rolled out. The UK is also less able to export its waste to other countries, officers wrote.
I feel like the site is having an endless negative impact on the community. Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins