Controversial 30-year-old rubbish dump finally set to close as plans for country park move forward
The council plans to create Newland Country Park in phases as new sections of the land are restored
A controversial rubbish dump is set to close after almost 30 years to allow the site to be transformed into a country park, it has been confirmed.
The operator of Welbeck Landfill Site said it was on target to meet a strict deadline for waste to no longer be accepted at the facility by the end of this year.
Welbeck Waste Management Ltd (WWML) was granted a two-year extension for material to be tipped at the site in Normanton following a costly legal battle with Wakefield Council in 2024.
The Planning Inspectorate ruled in the firm’s favour after it appealed when the authority’s planning and highways committee rejected an application for the extension.
The company, also known as FCC Environment, said it needed more time to fill the remaining capacity at the tip due to a reduction in the amount of materials going to landfill.
The appeal was upheld and the council was ordered to pay the company’s legal costs following a five day public inquiry.
The decision meant tipping was allowed to continue until December 31, 2026, followed by a two-year site restoration period.
Welbeck, a former quarry, has been in operation since 1998 amid claims of bad smells, harm to the land, fly infestations, pollution of the River Calder and it being used for dumping animals, including a dead whale.
Residents Against Toxic Scheme (RATS), the campaign group that has objected to the facility throughout its lifetime, was previously given assurances it would finally close in December 2023.
The council plans to create Newland Country Park in phases as new sections of the land are restored.
The Environment Agency confirmed the site was on course to close by the end of the year in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
The regulator said: “The operator has confirmed the site will close to non-hazardous waste inputs by this date in accordance with the relevant planning conditions.
“Once the appropriate site levels have been achieved, works will continue beyond this date to install an engineered cap and on any additional required infrastructure works to install/maintain critical infrastructure such as landfill gas extraction and leachate management.”
A spokesperson for FCC Environment said: “We continue to be on target to meet the closure of Welbeck Landfill Site in Wakefield.
“The site will close to active waste on December 18, when it will enter restoration period until December 2028 as per planning conditions.”
Mark Lynam, the council’s corporate director for regeneration, environment and economic growth, said: “We’re committed to the future of Newland Country Park that is being created on the former Welbeck site.
“Thanks to residents for their patience as we continue our work to create this new facility.
“We’re aware of the current operators close-down plans. We’re currently working to actively improve and restore the site.
“We have introduced entrance signage around the site, opened up pathways, removed scrub and increased habitat management, helping to make the available area more open and accessible.
“We are also finalising the habitat management plans for the site.”
At the hearing two years ago, landfill expert John Martin told the inquiry that shutting the site in its current state would leave a “ravine-like feature” which would create a long-term pollution risk.
He said best practice would be to fill the remaining void to create a “raised dome” to allow rainfall run-off.
The council withdrew one of its expert witnesses and lawyers for the authority also conceded ecological and technical arguments raised at the hearing.
Allowing the appeal, planning inspector Jason Whitfield said: “I am satisfied that the extension of time would not result in harm to ecology or local residents, and the proposals can be suitably controlled both through the conditions imposed on the planning permission and through the permitting regime overseen by the Environment Agency.”
The inspector said further work at the site was “necessary in order to achieve the restoration of the site without causing harmful environmental effects.”
The company’s claim for full costs against the council was also upheld after the inspector said there had been “unreasonable behaviour and wasted expense”.
A financial report forecast the council’s own legal costs for the appeal to be £200,000.