THE infamous Arpley landfill site at Warrington is to finally close in 2017.
Warrington Borough Council today said it was “delighted” with the news – and residents of the Sankey Bridges area of the town will also welcome the decision.
A planning inspector has formally ruled that landfilling on the site must cease on or before October 31, 2017.
He has also ordered that restoration of the site must be completed within 12 months of the final date of landfilling.
Last December, the council made the decision that the site could remain open for landfill until 2017 followed by a year of restoration which was in line with the Secretary of State who indicated the need for landfill until this date.
This followed his decision to uphold the council’s decision to refuse planning permission for the site for another 12 years.
Cllr Terry O’Neill, leader of the council, said today: “The council has been committed to fighting tooth and nail to get this tip closed and a big thank you to residents, campaign groups and ward councillors who have played such a pivotal role in this.
“This decision now equips the council with a clear means of ensuring the operators appropriately control the amount of waste going into the site, odours, dusts, noise, general residents’ amenity and dirt on the roads.
“We were delighted that we were able to successfully defend our decision about the 12 year extension for the site and we remained committed to seeing this through and doing everything within our power to bring this to an end for the benefit of our residents.
“We acted responsibility and took into account the Secretary of State’s comments about the need for landfill and followed legal advice. This decision has now brought the matter to an end, and has removed the need for further lengthy and costly legal action thus reducing the burden on the tax payer.
“This is also an important step for our Warrington Waterfront regeneration project, as outlined in our economic programme Warrington Means Business.”
The Inspector decided that the tip operator’s latest appeal against the council’s refusal for an extension to operations has been allowed, but only based on a four year extension rather than five originally proposed.
Pictured: Arpley landfill site protestors with MP David Mowat
