Waste tip investigation welcomed

A MAJOR study to find out what was dumped on a former landfill site at Warrington has been welcomed by a senior councillor.
The Environment Agency, in conjunction with Warrington Borough Council, will carry out the investigation on the former Gatewarth landfill site over the next three months.
Cllr Mike Biggin, (pictured) the council’s executive member for climate change and public protection said: “This joint undertaking with the Environment Agency is good news for Warrington.
“Once the study has been completed we hope to be able to use the findings to improve the way that the site is managed.”
Environment Agency environment manager Claire Bunter said: “The Environment Agency is working closely with Warrington Borough Council to improve our knowledge of this site.
“By working together, we are able to use the expertise of both organisations to get the best understanding possible of the former landfill site”.
The study is expected to take around three months to complete and has begun with contractors drilling boreholes into and around the site, which closed in 1988. Soil, vapour, gas and water samples will be taken from some of the boreholes and water samples will also be taken from the St Helens Canal and other watercourses around the site.
Working closely together the partners hope to help improve their understanding of the site, what materials were deposited during its lifetime, what condition the material is currently in and how the site influences the surrounding environment.
Parts of the site are of special biological interest and because of this, the work is being carried out during the winter months to minimise any disruption to natural habitats and the local people that use the open space for recreation.
Councillors were invited to a briefing on the operation last night (Friday) and the council has been criticised by campaigners for not allowing other members of the public to attend.
But a council spokeswoman said briefings to councillors were never open to the public.
However, the findings of the investigation would be made known in due course.
The 132-acre site was run by the former Cheshire County Council between 1971 and 1988. It received a variety of domestic, commercial and industrial waste.
It is now owned by Warrington and the council has carried out works to bring part of the site back into community use.
According to the council, the study will mainly take place in areas that remain closed to the public.
If the council decides that the land meets the legal definition of “contaminated land” they will then decide whether any clean up is necessary.
Local environmental campaigner John Mulhall – who was refused admission to last night’s briefing – claims to have knowledge of radioactive waste from the UKAEA establishment at Risley and from the Capenhurst uranium enrichment plant near Chester being dumped at Gatewarth.