Blakeleys removes waste bales after fly plague

Wigan-based Blakeleys Waste Management has started to remove bales of waste material it had stored on land at Nook Lane, Oswaldtwistle, which resulted in the local community being plagued with flies.

The Environment Agency is now reviewing the original storage of the waste and assessing what action to take, with prosecution being one of the options available to it.

However, a spokeswoman for the Agency said that the case was complex as there were various parties involved.

There have been a series of public meetings to discuss the fly problem which has caused serious concerns and seen the local authority, Hyndburn borough council, and the Environment Agency meeting to discuss the situation with residents.

While removal of the waste started today using a fleet of Blakeleys vehicles, there is disagreement between Blakeleys and the landowner, Lockgate Mount/AMCIS, over the use of the land.

Waste

A spokesman for Lockgate Mount said that discussions were continuing with Blakeleys.
Blakeleys has described the waste as containing commercial non-hazardous solid waste and the company is now taking the bales to landfill. The original source of the waste is not known.

Commenting yesterday (Tuesday), Stephen Blakeley, managing director at Blakeleys Waste Management, said: We are in legal dispute with the landowner, who claimed he had the correct permissions to enable us to store such waste. In the meantime, we are working with the Environment Agency to ensure it is removed as quickly as possible.

We understand our method statement for removal of the waste will be agreed by the Environment Agency during today, Tuesday, 31 July. If so, we should be able to start removing the waste tomorrow, Wednesday, 1 August.

Unhappy

In an earlier statement, the company had claimed that it had had difficulties in accessing the site: It said: We would like to assure the people of Oswaldtwistle that we are deeply unhappy about the situation at Nook Lane, and the impact it has had on the community. Our priority now is to play our part in clearing the site as quickly as possible. We recognised the seriousness of this problem early on, which is why we contacted the landowner and offered our assistance in resolving environmental issues on his site.

Blakeleys has not revealed the proposed original destination of the baled waste which is expected to have been for use as a refused derived fuel or for recycling.

The Environment Agency confirmed that it had met with Hyndburn borough council and Lancashire county council development management group, Blakeleys Waste Management, and Lockgate/Amcis in order to find a solution to the issues being faced by the community in Oswaldtwistle.

Steve Molyneux, environment manager for the Environment Agency in Lancashire, said: We are pleased that we have been able to find a solution to the problems in Oswaldtwistle. We understand that this issue has been distressing for the local residents and business. However, we wish to ask the local residents to remain patient while the waste is removed. In working with the council we hope to have the issues in the area resolved soon.

Mr Molyneux added: The Environment Agency will always seek to get the company or individual involved to organise clean up. We dont feel it is appropriate to use taxpayers’ money to pay for removal and clean-up of illegal waste sites.

The plan to resolve the situation also includes work to control and eradicate the fly infestation.