2,500 SIGN MP’S LANDFILL SITE CLOSURE PETITION IN 48 HOURS

Operator accuses Tory Bell of ‘grandstanding’ over stink claims

A PETITION calling for the closure of Walleys Quarry has received more than 2,500 signatures in just 48 hours.

Organised by Newcastle MP Aaron Bell, it comes after Newcastle Borough Council also called for the site to be shut and complaints over the stink are at a two-year high.

When he launched the petition Mr Bell, below, said the time has come to shut Walley’s Quarry once and for all.

After it reached 2,500 signatures, he added: “I am delighted by the response to my petition so far. I am calling on everyone affected in Newcastle-under-lyme to sign my petition at www. shutwalleys.co.uk.

“Let’s show the Environment Agency we want action. Already, the people of Newcastle have shown how strongly they feel about what they have been put through by this operator.

“I hope the weight of public opinion will put even more pressure on the Environment Agency to act. When I meet again with Phil Duffy, the EA’S Chief Executive later this month, I will make sure he understands the weight of public feeling.”

Walleys Quarry’s operator has responded to the MP ‘s claims, calling the petition ‘grandstanding’ and a ‘desperate attempt to divert attention’ from real issues.

In January, the Environment Agency said it was ‘not satisfied’ the operator was taking the necessary steps to prevent elevated emissions – but a closure notice would be issued only as a last resort.

Newcastle Borough Council is to debate whether to launch judicial reviews regarding the lack of action by both the Environment Agency and the Government in protecting the residents of Newcastle.

A spokesman for Walleys Quarry said: “Mr Bell continues to prefer grandstanding gestures involving egregious and wrong accusations to working constructively with Walleys Quarry, the regulators and our community as we strive to provide a clean, healthy and sustainable operation.

“He continually refuses either to meet us or to work together with us; an approach which can achieve little beyond his own selfpromotion.

“He makes the facile call for closure without giving any thought or effort towards the practical realities. By contrast we remain committed to our end goal. In time Walleys Quarry Ltd will cease to operate as a landfill and restoration will be completed.

“This cannot be achieved through any sort of immediate closure, as Mr Bell knows full well. In the meantime, all onsite emissions remain well within World Health Organisation guidelines and pose no risk to health.

“His petition stunt smacks of a desperate attempt to divert attention from what he knows are the real issues. It appears to be motivated more by a sense of self-preservation than any real concern for the best interests of his constituents.”