Council bosses will ask the government for permission to take legal action against the operators of Walleys Quarry.

Newcastle Borough Council claims that an increase in smelly gases coming from the controversial Silverdale landfill site over the winter put operator Walleys Quarry Ltd (WQL) in breach of an abatement notice.

But the council needs to ask permission from Environment Secretary Steve Barclay to start legal action against the company, as he oversees the Environment Agency, the statutory regulators. The abatement notice, which the borough council secured last year, requires WQL to not create or allow a 'statutory odour nuisance'.

Simon McEneny, interim chief executive at the council, told a cabinet meeting that the decision to ask permission to start legal action had been taken following receipt of advice from a King's Counsel.

He said: "The next step we have to take is to send a letter to the Secretary of State asking for permission to take legal action against Walleys Quarry, so we are in the process of drafting that. We will hopefully get that letter out in the next week and then subject to getting that permission we can start with the legal proceedings."

Council leaders have previously set aside £300,000 for legal action relating to Walleys Quarry (Google).

Council leader Simon Tagg said: "I really welcome this. I think it's the next step of this process, which has been triggered since our officers identified the breach in the abatement notice. I completely support the letter to the Secretary of State and I hope he grants permission to build that legal case.

"We're doing this on behalf of our residents who have suffered long enough during this process and they expect the council to act within its powers."

The number of odour complaints about the landfill received by the borough council has fallen in recent weeks, although Mr McEneny told the cabinet that the problems usually reduced during warmer weather. In the week ending April 14, the council received just 17 complaints, compared to 397 during one week in February.

Council leaders have previously set aside £300,000 for legal action relating to Walleys Quarry.

A spokesperson for WQL said: "Walleys Quarry Ltd would urge Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council to reconsider any proposed legal action. We instead ask them to discuss their concerns with us as part of our ongoing collaborative efforts to see the best outcomes for the community. We refute these allegations and should the council proceed, we will of course consider our response under the advice of our legal team.

"WQL has made demonstrable, substantial and sustained progress in our capping programme as well as with efforts to minimise emissions from the site as we continue to use Best Practicable Means with the eventual objective of ceasing landfill operations and completing restoration on-site."

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