Hopes to return waste site to use
Council chiefs have revealed how a fire at a former Sunderland waste plant has hit plans to bring it back into use.
Fire crews were today spending a fourth day dealing with the aftermath of a blaze at the old Alex Smiles waste recycling site in Deptford, which broke out on Monday.
A joint statement issued by the Environment Agency and Sunderland City Council read: “Partners involved in tackling the ongoing fire at the abandoned Alex Smiles waste site in Deptford area of Sunderland are continuing to work together to contain the blaze and work towards a solution for the site.
“The Environment Agency, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, Sunderland City Council, Northumbria Police and Public Health England have been responding to the fire since it broke out on Monday evening.
“Officers from all the agencies involved are meeting daily to assess and respond to the latest developments and agree a course of action. Environment Agency officers have attended site to assess any potential environmental impact of the fire, and to give guidance on fire water run-off and air quality.
“Sunderland City Council and the Environment Agency are also carrying out air quality monitoring, with equipment set up near the site to monitor the smoke from the fire.
“In the long term both organisations are keen to press ahead with their aim of bringing the site back into use.
“The privately-owned waste site was abandoned when the business went into administration in 2015, leaving behind thousands of tonnes of abandoned waste, requiring millions of pounds to safely remove.
“This has created a mas- sive financial burden on the public purse, which the council and Environment Agency were working together to address by bringing the site back into use with minimal taxpayers’ money. Unfortunately, the fire happened before this plan could be put into action.
“Although responsibility for the site sits with the former owners’ pension fund which now owns it, both the council and the Environment Agency are committed to continuing to work together to find a creative solution to the problem left behind by the site owners when the business failed.”
At the height of the blaze smoke could be seen from miles away and up to 50 firefighters were on site at the disused plant.
Since Monday, The Salvation Army’s North-East England emergency mobile response team has been supporting the fire service on the scene.
Salvation Army volunteers from across Sunderland served up drinks and food to firefighters working at the site.