Inquiry over South Elmsall ‘putrid’ waste site adjourned due to public notice concerns
An inquiry over plans to extend the life of a waste recycling facility has been adjourned following concerns that members of the public had not received adequate notice of the hearing.
A planning inspector postponed the hearing in relation to the site in South Elmsall for four-months at the request of a barrister representing Wakefield Council.
Operator Minore lodged an appeal after council officers refused an application to allow the site at Hackling Lane to remain open for another ten years.
The decision came after hundreds of residents complained about a “putrid smell”, dust and litter coming from the facility.
A Planning Inspectorate hearing, due to last four days, opened at Wakefield Town Hall on Tuesday (November 11) but was adjourned until March 17 following discussions about public notices.
Philip Robson, the barrister representing the local authority, said there were concerns that site notices informing the public of the inquiry had not been displayed at site at least 14 days in advance of the hearing.
Mr Robson said the council had forwarded Planning Inspectorate notices to be displayed at the site onto the appellant via e-mail on October 21.
He added that a further message was sent on October 27 to check that the notices had been received but no response was received by the authority.
The barrister said a photograph of a notice was later sent by Jon Carlon, the agent representing the appellant, to the council.
Mr Robson said: “The photograph is not of an appeal site notice. It is of a planning site notice. There are no details of the inquiry on it.”
The barrister said proof of the correct sign being displayed at the site was not received until November 7.
Requesting the adjournment, Mr Robson said there was a “legal risk” that any decision made at the inquiry could be appealed by a member of the public if statutory requirements had not been complied with.
He said: “There is, in my legal opinion, an arguable case that this would be prejudiced.
“The court protects, quite fiercely, the public’s right to participate in public inquiries.
“The council’s position is that there would be a risk of challenge.”
In response, Mr Carlon told the hearing: “My understanding is the notices were sent to us by the Planning Inspectorate and we were awaiting confirmation to see if it (the hearing) was going to be in South Elmsall at some suitable venue or if it was going to be held here in the Kingswood Suite (in Wakefield Town Hall).”
“As soon as we were aware it was at the Kingswood Suite the appellant put the notices up. My understanding is they were put on the gate of the site.”
Agreeing to the adjournment, planning inspector Melvyn Middleton said: “It does concern me that only four members of the public have turned up.”
A resident who attended the hearing told the inspector: “I walk my dog down the there every day and I honestly haven’t seen a thing.”
Commenting on the choice of venue for the hearing, the resident added: “A lot of people are old age pensioners who live on top of this tip.
“There are people who can’t get here because they are ill, they are frightened.
“That’s why we wanted it in South Elmsall. A lot of people are working, they are supporting families and they can’t get here at this time.
“If it was in South Elmsall you are more likely to get a hell of lot more people coming and complaining.”
Minore, also known as Mineral Processing Ltd, has also appealed a decision by the Environment Agency (EA) to remove its licence over concerns the facility was causing a health hazard.
The regulator issued a permit revocation notice, which came into effect on July 4, after an inspector said excessive amounts of hazardous material stored at the land had created multiple health risks.
A report said the facility also posed a risk to nearby watercourses, including Frickley Beck.
The permit had allowed a maximum of 50,000 tonnes to be stored at the facility.
According to documents, almost five times the permitted amount of materials had been stored on the land.
However, information provided by Minore between 2016 and 2023 revealed there were 233,772 tonnes at the site.
A further public inquiry over the EA licence revocation is due to take place in December.
A spokesperson for the operator said: “Currently the site is excavating materials and processing them, which is not in contravention of the notices issued by the EA but in compliance with them.
“The company samples the water regularly as part of the monitoring regime and has found no effect on Frickley Beck when taking water samples.”