Council hopes to turn tip into country park

WAKEFIELD Council is set to invest more than £250,000 on the first phase of work to turn the city’s controversial landfill site into a new country park.

The tip has been in operation since 1998 and there have been complaints about bad smells, harm to the land and pollution of the River Calder.

Cabinet members will discuss the plans for the tip to become Welbeck Country Park at a March 19 meeting.

They are expected to give the green light to a phased approach to developing the site near Normanton. If approved, phase one will start immediately and be delivered within three years.

Planned work includes creating new walking trails, cycle routes, woodlands, grasslands and areas for viewing wildlife, as well as the creation of a ‘friends of’ group to help manage the creation of the park.

More work is expected to be carried out over the next 15 years as more sections of the landfill site are restored. Future facilities could include building a visitor centre, a café and cycling hub.

But a report to senior councillors says there is “a level of uncertainty” around the timeline for completion of the landfill operations due to a legal challenge by tip operators Welbeck Waste Management Ltd (WWML).

In November, the council’s planning committee rejected the company’s application to continue tipping waste at the site by two more years.

The decision has been appealed and a Planning Inspectorate hearing is expected to take place later this year.

WWML says it needs more time to fill the remaining capacity at the site due to a shortage of materials going to landfill.

A council report says: “The (park) activity will focus on the areas of land which are within the council’s direct control and outside of the area of land leased to WWML.”

Jack Hemingway, the council’s cabinet member for climate change and environment, said: “Welbeck’s new future is as a country park. These plans reinforce our long-term commitment to making this happen.

“In time Welbeck will become an important destination for recreation, a haven for nature, a valuable green space and source of biodiversity. Its days as a landfill site must come to an end.”

A public consultation on the future of Welbeck was carried out last year.