This area has been an industrial site for a long time. It was previously a tip and settling ponds for the old chemical works before coming a landfill site in the early 1970s
The site is divided into two areas – the old outer horse shoe which was first developed in the 1970s and is known as Phase 1, and the inner area which is known as Phase 2. Phase 1 is complete and nothing is being tipped or excavated there. Phase 2 is the live site, and this accepts inert, non-recyclable household waste and soils.
The site was mothballed by the previous owners in 2017 with a view to it being reopened when business picked up. However, the site lay dormant for six years until Transwaste bought it in 2023. As Cell 5 had only been mothballed and not permanently completed, it was necessary to open up the cell to re-engineer it and install gas capture infrastructure. Unfortunately, gas had been building up in the cell over the six dormant years, with no gas capture infrastructure in place to remove it. This engineering work and the installation of the gas capture equipment temporarily caused some of the gas to leak whilst the work was being completed. Now that it has been re-engineered, capped and had gas capture infrastructure installed, this should not be a problem in the future
The smell was caused by the old waste in Cell 5. During the six year dormant period, microbes broke down the material and produced gas. As there was no gas capture equipment installed on Cell 5, the gas built up over time, until the recent modernisation work allowed some of it to escape. Now that the cell is finished, capped and has gas capture equipment installed, all future gas will be captured, piped off site and used to generate electricity. The new Cell 6 is fully lined, has gas capture infrastructure already in place, waste will be covered each day and the cell will be gradually capped as tipping progresses. Cell 6 will only be dealing with fresh waste which does not present the same odour problems as waste that is several years old. Any future gas will be captured, piped off site and used to generate electricity. Apart from the fact that we do not want to upset our neighbours or the regulators, gas is extremely valuable and the last thing we would want is to let it just escape when we can generate electricity from it and sell this to the Grid.
The site has planning permission until 2033. However, if we can tip at our maximum permitted levels, the site will fill faster and could be full by 2028-2029. At this point it will be fully completed with topsoils, grass and a plating scheme. We are looking to work with the Community Liaison Group to help us develop this scheme and to deliver a bio-diversity net gain.
