Pembrokeshire: Withyhedge landfill takes waste from outside county

The director of the firm responsible for a landfill site criticised as a "stink bomb on steroids" has told a public meeting it accepts waste from outside Pembrokeshire.

David Neal said "waste does move" to the Withyhedge site in Haverfordwest.

He confirmed it takes commercial and industrial waste from other parts of Wales and over the border.

But he declined to comment on his £200,000 donation to Vaughan Gething's Welsh Labour leadership campaign.

The meeting in the village of Crundale, near Haverfordwest, on Monday, attended by about 100 people, heard that odours from the site were causing headaches and respiratory problems for residents.

The meeting was labelled Stop the Stink by campaigners.

Mr Neal, director of Resources Management UK Ltd, was quizzed about lorry loads of material arriving at the site, including those travelling along the A40 every day from Cardiff and deliveries from England.

Lorraine Edwards, who lives in Crundale, said local children with asthma were complaining of worsening symptoms.

Meanwhile Julie Mathias, a resident from nearby Poyston Cross, said her family was being "exposed to gasses every night" and they were "fed up."

She also expressed frustration that Pembrokeshire had won awards for recycling, and they "recycled diligently" but were now accepting waste from other parts of the country and "putting it into our beautiful county".

Mr Neal said his firm was "investing in an alternative to landfill", with a new recycling facility being developed, but that the changes would take time.

Dr Giri Shankar, from Public Health Wales, told the meeting the priority should be "capping the site" as soon as possible to reduce odours that were causing alleged health problems.

The firm has previously been told to "contain and collect" all "fugitive emissions" by 5 April, in an enforcement notice by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

People said the odour of "rotting rubbish" was noticeable in villages as far as five miles away.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) confirmed it had notified Public Health Wales about issues relating to Withyhedge on 12 January, after people began complaining of health problems linked to the site.

Richard Brown, assistant chief executive at Pembrokeshire Council, said experts from the council, NRW and Public Health Wales had come together to monitor emissions.

He admitted the council needed to "look at how it was communicating the incident going on" and that improvements needed to be made in how it dealt with residents.

David Howlett, Conservative councillor for Wiston ward, said "something had gone badly wrong" with the Withyhedge site in recent months.

He also questioned whether Mr Neal would be providing any form of compensation to those affected.

Mr Neal said he was investigating how to build a community fund, linked to the landfill site, but the priority was to bring it to compliance, "get it capped and stop the odour."

There was uproar towards the end of the meeting when the chairman, Henry Tufnell - who is standing to be the next Labour MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire - admitted he supported Vaughan Gething, referencing the fact Mr Neal had donated £200,000 towards the Welsh government economy minister's leadership campaign.

Mr Tufnell said he felt he had to address the matter as a member of the public had made "insinuations".

Mr Neal declined to answer questions about the donation, which it has emerged was given after the company submitted an application to build a solar farm on the Gwent levels.

Mr Gething's campaign said ministers do not take decisions on businesses in their constituencies.

BBC News was told Vaughan Gething was unaware of the planning application when the donation was accepted.