Anger and disgust as landfill to reopen: Rotherham residents renew effort to stop tipping near football academy
Members of a Rotherham community group have renewed attempts to stop Grange Landfill Ltd tipping over 150,000 tonnes of waste per year into a site at Droppingwell.
Droppingwell Action Group now has almost 2,000 members on Facebook after two well attended meetings and a protest outside Rotherham Town Hall in October.
In 2016, the Environment Agency (EA) decided to allow tipping at Droppingwell to recommence after a 24-year hiatus.
Residents are concerned that the area of the site where Grange Landfill Ltd are planning to tip inert waste will expose previously tipped toxic material.
According to an EA report from 1990, the previously-tipped phase one of the site "is heavily contaminated with a wide range of materials," including lead and chromium.
Residents believe that tipping on phase two of the site will affect the health and wellbeing of children who play football at Millmoor Juniors Football Academy.
Our ultimate aim is to stop the tipping altogether
"It must be wrong that the site can be permitted to reopen without even the most cursory consultation and in the face of unanimous opposition from local residents, elected representatives, businesses and the local authority," said local MP Sarah Champion in a petition to the House of Commons in July.
Rotherham Council has stated that the historic planning permission has few restrictions and there is little they can do.
Steve McKenna, spokesperson for Droppingwell Action Group, told Now Then: "The unanimous feeling is one of anger and disgust about the tipping, and a real feeling of being let down by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council."
The EA has stated that they consult the public on some applications for waste, but decided that this particular application did not require consultation.
Residents are currently exploring a range of options to tackle the issue.
"Our ultimate aim is to stop the tipping altogether," said McKenna.
Grange Landfill Ltd have been approached for comment.
Joanna Kamal
