Knowsley Council’s leader is urging the Environment Agency to move quicker
People in Knowsley have had to put up with illegal waste sites in the borough for too long and steps need to be taken to clear them. That is the view of authority leaders as they lay down a motion calling on the government to grant more powers for sites to be removed.
It was revealed earlier this year how tens of thousands of tonnes of heavy duty rubbish have been dumped on a field near Kirkby, in what was described an act of “utterly shocking and organised criminal activity”. Cllr Graham Morgan, leader of Knowsley Council, now wants the Environment Agency (EA) to be bolstered with new powers to take action.
Cllr Morgan will ask council colleagues to back his motion, which would instruct the leader to write to the EA requesting “swift and decisive action” against illegal dumping. The Huyton Labour member said the dumps were an “emerging and significant issue impacting communities”.
The scale of the Kirkby site – estimated to contain approximately 30,000 tonnes of rubbish – makes it one of the largest illegal waste dumps ever found, and presents immediate and long-term health, environmental and financial concerns.
It is currently being investigated by Merseyside Police, the Environment Agency and Knowsley Council.
In the motion, to be heard by councillors next week, Cllr Morgan said: “Residents in Knowsley have for too long had to put up with companies operating waste sites unlawfully within and adjacent to the borough. Operators at the Simonswood Site in West Lancashire have built up a waste mound far in excess of what is permitted and, more recently, an unlawful waste site has been operating from adjacent to junction 4 on the M57.
“Unlawful waste sites can potentially cause severe, long-term damage, including groundwater/soil contamination from hazardous leachate, toxic air pollution from burning, and significant ecosystem disruption and it is those living nearby that have to deal with the impact of these sites, which can earn those operating them millions. The primary regulator, responsible for identifying and responding to the issues these sites create within the communities they are located is the Environment Agency.
“This council therefore calls on the Environment Agency to take proactive steps to address the ongoing issues these sites are creating within the borough including and not limited to swift regulatory action and proactive clear up of these sites.
“To assist the Environment Agency to achieve this, this council further calls upon the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to provide the Environment Agency with such tools, powers and resources to address this emerging and significant issue impacting communities across the United Kingdom.”
If backed by members on Wednesday, March 18, the council will authorise Cllr Morgan to write to the chief executive of the Environment Agency to request swift and decisive action in respect of the sites that have been identified in Knowsley.
Additionally, Cllr Morgan would reach out to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asking them to provide the Environment Agency with additional resources to address these issues and asking them to consider the development of additional tools and powers to address the growing issue of waste sites acting unlawfully and the clean-up of the same.
Following the discovery of the site in Kirkby, an Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We took action with Knowsley Council and Merseyside Police to shut down access to this illegal waste dump and are hunting down those involved.
“The public should be assured that we will use all our powers to prosecute the criminals responsible.”
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