Local campaigners have threatened to take their own legal action, after Pembrokeshire County Council dropped theirs against the operators of a ’stinkbomb on steriods’ landfill site near Haverfordwest.
The council said that despite seeking an interim injunction in October last year against the site operators of Withyhedge Landfill Site, RML, it will not be taking legal action due to costs.
A judge said at the time that the council should have first served a notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, external.
However, long suffering local campaigners, who formed the ‘Stop The Stink’ group to highlight that action needed to be taken by authorities over the smell coming from the site, with some saying it has impacted their health and wellbeing, are now considering taking legal action themselves.
“There's been no attempt to put any sanction on this company whatsoever," local resident and campaigner Colin Barnett told BBC Wales.
“Now they've (the council) dumped it and left us high and dry.
“Our only future route now is to take legal action ourselves against the company and possibly our public services for not protecting our statutory rights.”
A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesperson said: “The Authority received advice from counsel on our legal options in relation to ongoing Withyhedge landfill odour complaints. It underlined that the best course of action for the Authority was to seek an interim injunction due to the widespread community impacts from the odour emissions.
“At a hearing on 21 October 2024, a Circuit Judge considered the Authority’s evidence and found there to be a nuisance. However, he held as a matter of law that in his opinion the Council should have first served a notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA). Our legal counsel did not believe this decision was correct and recommended an appeal.
“While we strongly believe that the Court’s decision was wrong, the Authority is in a difficult position when considering the costs of appealing and the cost outlays already incurred for taking the court action – as well as the provision of independent air quality monitoring and officer time dealing with this issue.
“A decision not to appeal the refusal to grant an interim injunction has therefore been made on the grounds of public interest. This is due to the potential financial exposure considered against the fact that a marked improvement in the situation has been noted.
“It is strongly believed that the legal effort of the council through this route has been a contributory factor in influencing the extent and pace of the remedial works undertaken by the operator.”
The council said that despite seeking an interim injunction in October last year against the site operators of Withyhedge Landfill Site, RML, it will not be taking legal action due to costs.
A judge said at the time that the council should have first served a notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, external.
However, long suffering local campaigners, who formed the ‘Stop The Stink’ group to highlight that action needed to be taken by authorities over the smell coming from the site, with some saying it has impacted their health and wellbeing, are now considering taking legal action themselves.
“There's been no attempt to put any sanction on this company whatsoever," local resident and campaigner Colin Barnett told BBC Wales.
“Now they've (the council) dumped it and left us high and dry.
“Our only future route now is to take legal action ourselves against the company and possibly our public services for not protecting our statutory rights.”
A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesperson said: “The Authority received advice from counsel on our legal options in relation to ongoing Withyhedge landfill odour complaints. It underlined that the best course of action for the Authority was to seek an interim injunction due to the widespread community impacts from the odour emissions.
“At a hearing on 21 October 2024, a Circuit Judge considered the Authority’s evidence and found there to be a nuisance. However, he held as a matter of law that in his opinion the Council should have first served a notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA). Our legal counsel did not believe this decision was correct and recommended an appeal.
“While we strongly believe that the Court’s decision was wrong, the Authority is in a difficult position when considering the costs of appealing and the cost outlays already incurred for taking the court action – as well as the provision of independent air quality monitoring and officer time dealing with this issue.
“A decision not to appeal the refusal to grant an interim injunction has therefore been made on the grounds of public interest. This is due to the potential financial exposure considered against the fact that a marked improvement in the situation has been noted.
“It is strongly believed that the legal effort of the council through this route has been a contributory factor in influencing the extent and pace of the remedial works undertaken by the operator.”
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00We want a definite action, no messing around.
00:13You're poisoning us, yes.
00:16Stop the stink! Stop the stink! Stop the stink!