Councillors call for Telford landfill tip closure as smell problems continue

Odour problems linked to the Granville Woodhouse landfill (known locally as Redhill Landfill) erupted last year and have involved regulators at the Environment Agency working with operator Potters (Midlands) Ltd.

Councillor Paul Thomas (Ind, Priorslee) called for Telford & Wrekin Council to declare a statutory nuisance and get the site closed down.

“People from the crematorium have been complaining to me that they cannot work in that environment because of the smell,” he said. “Something is surely wrong. It is affecting people across a huge area of Telford.

“A local school wouldn’t let children out in the playground saying it was the worst smell they had ever experienced.”

Councillor Thomas said he had been told that wells, drilled into the waste and intended to to take gases out of the site had not yet been connected. He said this meant gases were going straight into the atmosphere.

“We need to take action, to declare it a statutory nuisance and shut it down on that basis,” he said.

Councillor Thomas added: “What do I tell the residents? That we have had a nice meeting but they have to put up with it until it is closed in 2030?

Council officers told the meeting that the council could declare the site a statutory nuisance. But to do that it would have to have evidence of a nuisance to take to the Environment Secretary, who would have to agree to act because the Environment Agency is a Goverment body.

The meeting was also told that Telford & Wrekin Council has received only three official complaints about the site since January this year. Officers said they would investigate the merits of every complaint.

A council officer told councillors that Telford & Wrekin “continues to hold the Environment Agency to account and ensure the operator fulfills their obligations.”

Councillor Tim Nelson, the council’s Conservative group leader, said the council has a responsibility to residents to act.

“If there is a statutory nuisance, the council must take action,” he said. “I believe there is a statutory nuisance. People’s lives are being blighted in an unacceptable way.”

Councillor Nelson (Newport North) said a friend of his partner, a dog walker, had to change her clothes after going out and this was over a period of weeks.

“She is a widow with two kids,” he said. “She doesn’t have the time to fill in four pages of an online complaint. I think this problem is under reported.

“We need to do something, we need to take a more active role.”

The meeting was told that the Environment Agency has carried out spot checks. This included one of the EA’s officers who smelled an odour but when the landfill site operator arrived, it had gone.

“We continue to try to find ways to address the issues,” he said.

The meeting heard that work to connect the gas wells was due to be finished by the end of February 2025.

Councillor Richard Overton, (Lab, St Georges) the council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Highways, Housing & Enforcement, said the council is taking the issues seriously.

“We are working closely with the Environment Agency to make Potters adhere to the action plan.

“We are on the residents’ side and any complaint will be investigated. It affects quite a lot of people and there is no dereliction of duty by the council.”

“If we believe there is a statutory nuisance we can deal with it from that perspective.”

Councillor Carolyn Healy (Lab, Ironbridge Gorge) the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning & Sustainability, said: “Nobody doubts the residents’ experience is real, we accept that.

“The council would need permission from the Secretary of State to proceed with a statutory nuisance. We are working with the Environment Agency.”

Committee chairman Councillor Mark Boylan (Lab, Overdale & The Rock) concluded the discussion by saying that a site visit was need alongside a meeting of councillors.

“We will keep it on the radar for scrutiny going forward,” he said.