Legal action contemplated over landfill odour issues

Pembrokeshire County Council is considering legal action in an ongoing issue with a landfill site.

The council has sought legal advice regarding potential proceedings against the operators of the Withyhedge Landfill, RML.

The legal dispute centres on persistent odour issues plaguing the surrounding Haverfordwest area.

The council plans to request an injunction from the court requiring RML to alleviate the public nuisance odour from the landfill site.

Breach of this injunction would constitute contempt of court, punishable by up to two years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Concerns are escalating as work undertaken by RML has not succeeded in solving the problem, and residents continue to be affected by the persistent odour.

The council is working closely with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Public Health Wales (PHW) on this matter.

They jointly recognise that the impacted communities cannot bear this issue any longer.

NRW announced that they successfully enforced the first set of deadlines for actions to mitigate the odour problems at Withyhedge Landfill.

Disclosed on April 18, the enforcement action steps were reportedly completed within a week.

NRW is also keenly monitoring the situation to ensure the operator's adherence to all the actions outlined in the Notice by May 14.

It was deemed necessary to allow the operator to carry out mitigation in compliance with the enforcement requirements by NRW before contemplating additional action.

Following up on this strategy, the council served RML with a letter of claim on April 26.

This letter also requested the operators provide legally binding agreements to curb the odour issues or face potential legal proceedings.

The council further asked RML for all documents relevant to the proceedings, including records of waste movements to and from the landfill site.

This evidence must be submitted by May 14 to align with the current NRW enforcement notice deadline.

Will Bramble, Pembrokeshire County Council chief executive, welcomed these developments and voiced his disappointment over the continued unpleasant smells pervading from the site.

He said: "We are extremely disappointed that RML has not delivered the necessary action to stop the completely unacceptable smells from the site.

"We fully support the additional enforcement action being taken by NRW and continue to work closely with them to do all in our power to correct the situation.

"Our intention to ask the court for an injunction requiring RML to stop the odour nuisance arising from the landfill, is another part of our collaborative approach.

"The smell from Withyhedge is having a major impact on residents and visitors.

"This situation has gone on too long and it is unacceptable."