Campaigners have staged their latest protest outside Walleys Quarry – repeating their calls for the landfill site to be closed down.

Members of the Stop the Stink Fighting for Justice group held the noisy demonstration opposite the gates of Walleys Quarry, on Cemetery Road, Silverdale, on Friday afternoon.

The protest follows a number of developments in the long-running saga of the controversial landfill, which has seen thousands of odour complaints in recent years.

Last month the site was hit by a major fire, which saw waste deliveries put on hold for a few days. And last week the Environment Agency (EA) published revised air quality monitoring data, which showed that levels of hydrogen sulphide in the area in the period up to August 2023 were higher than originally thought.

Last month the site was hit by a major fire (Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service).

Demonstrators believe these recent developments show that closing down the landfill site permanently is the only solution.

Protest organiser Simmo Burgess said: "We are protesting because the Environment Agency has failed the community here. The recent fire at Walleys Quarry showed why we need to get this place closed down. After the issue with the monitoring stations we've lost all faith with the Environment Agency, and we didn't have much before. Now we know we were being poisoned even worse than we thought we were. We need to keep holding these protests because we need to be heard. Walleys Quarry might think that eventually we'll get bored, but that's not going to happen."

Protester Sara Owen said: "If we keep holding these pop-up protests it will keep up the pressure on Walleys Quarry. I think we are getting closer now. The suspension notice the EA served on Walleys Quarry a few months ago helped us, because now the only other option they have left is to serve a closure notice. I'm not political at all, but hopefully the new government will be able to put more pressure on the EA. It doesn't matter what party an MP or councillor has, if they're supporting us then we'll have their back."

Newcastle Borough Council leader Simon Tagg and several councillors attended the demonstration. The borough council is in the process of taking legal action against Walleys Quarry over an alleged breach of an abatement notice, after being given permission by the government.

The site has seen thousands of odour complaints in recent years (LDRS).

Mr Tagg said: "I come out to support all of these protests, especially after the fire and the issue with the recalibrated monitoring equipment – I'm still not happy with the explanation we've been given on that, and so I'll be asking more questions. The work on the abatement notice is still ongoing. I can't give a running commentary, but hopefully we will be able to update residents in September."

Walleys Quarry has issued a statement following the protest.

A spokesperson for Walleys Quarry said: "The landfill site holds an environmental permit and is stringently regulated by the Environment Agency to ensure the on-site activities do not cause harm to human health or the environment as we play a vital role in offering residual waste disposal supporting wider recycling services.

"We recognise the impact that odours can have for local residents, and the team is focused on managing the site to minimise impacts to the community around the site and we will continue to do so. We have taken actions to ensure that any potential disruption to the public highway, associated with the demonstration, results in minimal impact to traffic and the local community."

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