The government has again rejected calls for a public inquiry into the Environment Agency's handling of a controversial landfill site. Elected members at Newcastle Borough Council passed a motion in July which reiterated the authority's request for an inquiry into the EA's regulation of Walleys Quarry in Silverdale, which was the subject of thousands of odour complaints from residents.

But environment minister Mary Creagh has written back to the council saying that her position has not changed since she turned down the council's previous request for an inquiry last year. Ms Creagh said she is 'not convinced of the benefits of holding such an inquiry', and claims the EA 'has complied with environmental law and has fulfilled its statutory duties in regulating Walleys Quarry'.

Walleys Quarry was closed by the Environment Agency last year, and operator Walleys Quary Ltd subsequently collapsed. Since then the EA has been managing the site, and hydrogen sulphide emissions have remained below the 'annoyance' threshold since the spring.

Ms Creagh welcomed the progress made at the site, and said she had been in close contact with Newcastle MP Adam Jogee 'so that this disgraceful situation is finally sorted, and the lessons are learned to prevent such incidents in future'. But cabinet members at Newcastle Borough Council still believe that the best way of preventing similar incidents is to hold a public iniquiry in order to understand how the situation at Walleys Quarry was allowed to get so bad.

Council leader Simon Tagg said: "It is not our view that the EA fulfulled its obligations. I still believe that a public inquiry is the way forward, so we can learn the lessons from this, not just for the people here in Newcastle, but for other areas that may suffer the same in the future.

"The problem were not addressed early enough. The population wasn't listen to early enough, and it took two, three, four years of harm and distress for local residents. That needs to be looked into, and people held to account."

Deputy leader Stephen Sweeney said: "She says she is not convinced of the benefits of holding an inquiry. But if we hold an inquiry it might not happen again, it might not happen to other areas of this country. I would think that a public inquiry that looks at all the things that went wrong would be an excellent way of going about it."

The borough council is also still waiting to learn what government funding will be available for the long-term capping and restoration of the Walleys Quarry site.