'Putrid' waste site battle reignites as fresh inquiry date confirmed
Four day inquiry date set to decide future of waste site
A new date has been set for a public inquiry over plans to extend the life of a waste recycling site.
A Planning Inspectorate hearing into the facility in South Elmsall is scheduled to start at Wakefield Town Hall on June 30.
The hearing has been adjourned on two previous occasions after site operator Minore lodged an appeal in August last year when Wakefield Council officers refused an application to allow the site 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.
In March, the inspectorate informed the council that the hearing could not go ahead due to “operational reasons”.
An inquiry briefly got underway last November but was adjourned on the opening day at the request the council after concerns were raised as to whether the public had received adequate notice of the hearing.
At the time, Philip Robson, a barrister representing the local authority, said there were concerns that site notices had not been displayed at site at least 14 days in advance of the hearing.
The new hearing, to the being held in the town hall’s Kingswood Suite, is expected to last four days.
Earlier this year, Minore, also known as Mineral Processing Ltd, had its operational permit for the site revoked to “protect human health.”
The site is a former brickworks now used for the storage of waste and treatment to produce soil and aggregate.
The company previously appealed against a revocation notice issued by the Environment Agency.
A hearing was held in December where the appeal was dismissed.
The inspector said they were satisfied that removal of the permit was necessary to prevent pollution risks.
The decision means Mineral Processing Ltd’s permit is now invalid and all activities under its terms must cease.
The company has also been ordered to remove waste from the site by 2029, and if it does not comply, will be committing an offence.