Public meeting gets heated over stench at landfill site in Fleetwood
A campaigner involved in protests against vile odour emissions at Fleetwood’s landfill site was asked to sit down and be quiet after repeatedly quizzing the authority about the site at Wyre’s latest full council meeting. Dr Barbara Kneale asked deputy leader, Coun Roger Berry, what environmental risk assessment the council was carrying out with respect to the Jameson Road landfill site.
The question, part of the public questions section of the meeting, came in the wake of the landfill site controversially reopening for business last month after the Environment Agency lifted a three-month suspension on activities, imposed because of the emissions. The landfill site, operated by Transwaste Ltd, is currently closed again because a new ‘cell’ is being constructed there in order to accept new waste, and residents say the smell of rotten eggs or onions has not been so bad recently.
Dr Kneale, who has a science background, repeated the question a number of times after Coun Berry told her that the question needed to be addressed to the Environment Agency. He told her that the fact the site had been allowed to reopen by the Agency clearly suggested a risk assessment had been carried out beforehand.
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When the campaigner asked who she should complain to about not having her question answered, she was told to sit down, before being told by Wyre’s CEO, Rebecca Huddleston, that she should complain to her. There was confusion, however, when Dr Kneale said she did not know who the CEO was.
Dr Kneale later stated on the Action Against Jameson road Landfill Site Facebook site: “WBC (Wyre Council) doesn’t seem to think there is a problem and if there was it is for the EA to sort out.” Wyre Council, which owns the site and is the landlord of the landfill operation, says it is not responsible for carrying out environmental risk assessments at the site, as this is the remit of the Environment Agency.