EA joins fire crews to monitor landfill site blaze

Firefighters have been dealing with a blaze at a landfill site where obnoxious smells have been plaguing nearby residents for years, leading to several legal battles over emission levels.

Staffordshire Fire Service crews were called to Walleys Quarry in Silverdale, Newcastle-under-Lyme, just before 22:00 BST on Sunday, with Environment Agency (EA) officers supporting their efforts.

Six crews and a water carrier attended, with firefighters remaining at the scene overnight.

Residents were asked to keep their windows closed "as a precautionary measure" due to a large smoke plume.

It is not immediately clear how the fire started.

The EA, which has been monitoring the site for some time amid residents' complaints, posted on social media on Sunday night: "We are working with our response partners to provide all the required advice and guidance."

In a statement, it said: "The fire is now under control and the smoke plume has subsided. The fire service will remain on site for a few days.

"The Environment Agency’s Air Quality Team has been providing information to the UK Health Security Agency.

"We have also been in touch with the site operator, who has informed us that the fire was contained in an area on the top of the site, the gas infrastructure is functioning, and there is no risk of fire water run off onto surrounding land."

Officers were on site on Monday to assess the impact of the fire, the agency added.

Graham Eagles has been campaigning over the problems at the landfill since 2018.

“We’re in a very, very, very dangerous position now,” he said.

Mr Eagles said local residents had not been properly informed about evacuation procedures, and said that a nearby traveller site posed a significant safety risk due to the presence of portable gas canisters.

He felt the Environment Agency had not done as much as they could have done to look after the local community.

“Nobody has got any confidence in them whatsoever to take any real action,” he said.

The town has been put on the map for the wrong reasons, Mr Eagles believes.

“People in different parts of the world are talking about it, we’re a tiny little town in Staffordshire.”

He added: “And now it's not just a stinky town - it’s a very, very dangerous town.”

A spokesperson for Walleys Quarry said the fire had since been brought under control.

A "waking watch" would be undertaken over the coming days, they said, adding that during this time there would be visible steam and light smoke.

"We would like to thank the efforts of the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and police overnight to manage the fire, we also acknowledge that this will have been disruptive for the community around Walleys Quarry and we apologise for this - we thank residents for their understanding," they explained.

"Once safe to do so, an investigation to identify the cause of the fire will be undertaken.”

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