'Stinking' landfill monitoring 'not fit for purpose'

The Environment Agency (EA) is not fit for purpose in the way it has handled a stinking landfill site in Lancashire, a councillor has said.

The government body acts as the primary environmental regulator for operational landfill sites in England and for the past two years has been monitoring the Jameson Road site in Fleetwood.

Run by Transwaste, it has faced complaints for years, with some nearby residents claiming it had affected their health.

Councillor Rob Fail, leader of the Labour opposition group on Wyre Council, said "It's time the EA were given the powers to protect residents."

He added: "The EA appear toothless in everything they do and their efforts on the landfill have been ineffective.

"The operator has been doing the bare minimum to appease the EA – the upshot for residents is a living nightmare."

Campaigner Dr Barbara Kneale, of the Close Jameson Road Landfill campaign group, said a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the EA air monitoring data from from May 2024 until January 2026, "shows serious flaws" in the information gathered by EA and raises concerns about the way it was used.

Currently, there is a single mobile monitoring facility located on Copse Road, whish she said is "not located in the optimal position to measure the actual hydrogen sulphide concentrations in the air".

She said: "The nearest residential development is Harbour Village comprising of 332 houses located at 400- 500m from the landfill yet the monitor is 1.25 km away in a different direction."

An EA spokesman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The community should not have to tolerate odour pollution and we have made this position clear to Transwaste.

"We have required Transwaste to install cover material on to areas of the site where waste has recently been deposited to reduce odour and have pressed them to install permanent capping urgently to prevent future emissions. This permanent capping work has begun.

"Our regulatory officers are on the ground actively monitoring the situation, and if we don't see improvements on site and a reduction in the levels of odour pollution from the site, we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action."

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