Bus users hit by works
BUS users who travel to and from Middleton bus station are being urged to check if they are affected by upcoming essential works.
A full closure of the station from February 4, will enable resurfacing work over a five-week period, impacting on all services.
It means bus services will be temporarily moved to different stands at Assheton Way, Long
Street and Middleton Way for the duration of the works.
A full list of displaced services can be found below and by visiting the following its web page.
Howard Hartley, Head of Facilities at Transport for Greater Manchester said: “With buses in the area due to come under local control from March, these resurfacing works are essential to ensure the continued efficient and safe operation of Middleton
Bus Station and the running of Bee Network services for many years to come.
“We are working to ensure that the short-term impact of these works on passengers will be minimal, and we would like to thank in advance anyone affected for their cooperation and support.”
FURIOUS neighbours are demanding the closure of a stinking landfill in Bury. Locals say there are ‘vile’ smells coming from the Pilsworth South Landfill site, next to the M66 between Bury and Heywood. Some residents say the stench is so bad it’s made them ‘physically sick’.
Hundreds have complained about the site and some have even claimed the mound of rubbish has grown, becoming an ‘eyesore’.
“The landfill smell is horrendous,” Charlotte, from Heywood, said.
“Since moving in June I’ve had a headache every day.”
Homeowners in Pilsworth, Hollins Village, Unsworth and Whitefield have complained about the landfill and residents living as far away as Darnhill, Summit, Heady Hill and Heap Bridge in Rochdale also say they’ve noticed the smell.
People are even naming it a “landhill” due to its significant scale.
“It’s disgusting, unpleasant and heartbreaking to look at,” Ian Hoyd, 38, said. “The issue has been going on for years but it’s got worse.
“This artificial mound has just appeared overnight. From a distance, it looks like a hill but we know it’s not.”
Stephanie Mcgregor, a senior carer, said: “The landfill has got worse not only can you see it for miles – especially if you are coming down the M66 from Ramsbottom and Edenfield – but the smell is horrendous.
“When the smell is extremely strong I suffer with horrible headaches.”
Residents have sealed windows and doors and taped up external vents in attempts to reduce the pervading smell in their homes. There are even fears flies will flood homes again in summer – replicating the “horror” that happened when police excavated the landfill site in 2018 in search of a suitcase in connection to the Manchester Arena terror attack.
Michelle Dady-hegg, in Hollins Village, said: “In summer flies cover the windows and walls – it was a horror film the year the dump was disturbed by police in 2018. If it’s this bad now making us physically sick I dread to think what it will be like when temperatures rise.”
Michelle bought her house in a popular estate in 2015 but now homeowners “struggle” to sell, she says.
She added: “During our extension to the house this huge trash hill appeared from nowhere. People who bought their homes and weren’t aware of the smell are now keen to sell but of course they’re struggling to make it appealing.”
The site’s annual commercial waste input permit is up to 60,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste (with a further 50,000 tonnes of asbestos waste and 80,000 tonnes of restoration waste) but the Environment Agency (EA), in a newsletter on January 17, stated there has been a permit breach in recent months involving alleged “overtipping of waste”.
The EA said the operator of the landfill, Valencia, had undertaken “engineering works” for the purposes of “overtipping throughout the latter months of 2023 without prior approval” which may have added to the odour experienced in the areas around the site. The Environment Agency has identified this as a breach of the operator’s permit.
As a result, the EA is now currently working with the operator to bring the site back into compliance. The response
includes weekly site visits, new gas wells to aid in the collection of landfill gas to mitigate odours from the site and an additional 20,000m2 to the current 50,000m2 capping across exposed waste.
The permit breach highlighted by the EA has intensified concerns among the community, who now demand swift action to address the potential environmental and health risks posed by the landfill’s operation.
Michelle Pearson, 38, who lives around 2.1 miles from Pilsworth landfill, said the fumes were still having a major impact.
“It should be closed because of the effect it must be having on nearby residents, which could go as far as health concerns not just a bad smell. I just hope something can finally be done about it after years of complaining about the site.
Mark Murphy, 64, from Summit Estate, said: “It’s very worrying there have been breaches especially when there are growing long term health concerns.”
Data from a Freedom of Information request reveals the exact number of Pilsworth South Landfill complaints raised to the EA in 2021 (six complaints), 2022 (two complaints) and 2023 (95 complaints).
There’s also an online petition demanding an investigation into the smell which has been signed by more than 2,500 people. It states that residents are unable to put their washing out or enjoy their gardens due to the odour.
Campaigners have also raised more concerns about the landfill, with fears over what is being dumped on the site, water pollution, road damage, and whether it could cause health issues for residents.
Resident Nikki Barkergorse, 40, said: “I want to know about the health implications for long term air pollution that we are being exposed to – it’s vile.
“From research some symptoms include throat and eye irritation, headaches, nausea, memory problems – and almost all of those symptoms my family has suffered with in one way or another ever since we moved to Heywood.
“I had to leave my job as a neonatal intensive care nurse due to dizzy spells and not being able to find a cause. I’m fairly certain it’s got to do with that mound.”
Sara Haycock, who lives on Church
Meadow Estate, said: “Residents on this side are affected daily with the stench and the eyesore of the landfill and personally I am really concerned about what ourselves and our children are breathing in from it.
“We have a number of schools in the immediate direction of the landfill (Hollins Grundy Primary School, Unsworth Academy). How high is it actually going to be allowed to reach before they stop? “Bury Council have been informed but don’t seem overly concerned about it.” The Pilsworth South landfill site is in Bury but residents argue the South West prevailing wind pushes the “filth and pollution” towards Heywood.
Les Johnson, 69, a retired teacher, said: “It is not a landfill – it is a land-hill. It’s growing bigger every day and getting worse – it’s an eyesore.
“The filth and pollution is forced into Heywood from Bury. Surely something of that effect being built on the very boundary between two boroughs should enforce conversations from both councils, not just Bury. One council is making decisions about it but it’s affecting people in another borough. People feel abused by the system.
“People need to know what these smells are – what is it they are inhaling?” Councillor Angela Brown told a full council meeting at Rochdale on 13 December.
She raised a motion, which was carried unanimously, demanding councillors join residents in calling for the site to be closed and for the concerns to be investigated.
It asked the council to “support the residents of the borough calling for the landfill to be closed and capped off as soon as practicable and before the expiration of the current permit, and the operator to have enforcement action taken against them to resolve the concerns of residents”.
Councillor Brown said: “Even if they are not physiologically harmful particles, we need to know what the Environment Agency and the site are doing to stop our resident’s lives being negatively impacted by the smells and the flies.
“That’s why we are calling for the site to have no more new waste dumped, hopefully ever, but at the very least until they have had thorough investigations, inspections and tests – and that all the information is made public. And if you can’t do those things – then shut it down.”
She added that the council has “pleaded for help” from Chris Clarkson, Conservative MP for Heywood and Middleton, but that they have received “absolutely nothing”.
Mr Clarkson said he has responded to every email from Councillor Brown about the issue, and recently shared
an update following discussions with the Environment Agency on behalf of local residents.
He said: “My office keeps a clear record of all communications. She [Coun Brown] has received a response to every email we have received from her, both as a constituent and as a councillor. 13 in total. Every resident who has contacted me directly on this matter, including Coun Brown, has had responses and updates.”
A spokesperson for Bury Council said: “We have received a number of complaints about odours from this site, and we share residents’ concerns.
“That’s why we have been in regular contact with the Environment Agency, and have been given assurances that they are aware of the problem and are carrying out an investigation on the management of the site.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Our investigations are currently ongoing into recent odour issues at a site in Pilsworth. We are using the regulatory powers available to us to resolve this issue.
“We would like to thank members of the community who have reported odours to us. Members of the public can report odour to our 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”
Valencia Waste Ltd has been contacted for comment.
‘The filth and pollution is forced into Heywood from Bury. But only one council is making decisions about it’ Resident Les Johnson ‘Every resident who has contacted me directly on this matter has had responses and updates’ Chris Clarkson, MP for Heywood and Middleton