'Disgusting' landfill smells 'cannot continue'

The "disgusting" odours coming from a landfill site that residents have said smells like rotten eggs must be brought to an end, a Member of the Senedd has said.

Ken Skates, Member of the Senedd for Clwyd South, has been campaigning over the Hafod tip in Johnstown, Wrexham, which residents have long complained about.

"Enough is enough - it can't carry on," said Skates, who is also Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said it "understands the significant concern" and was monitoring the landfill "closely".

Enovert, which runs the site, has been approached for comment but had previously said it was operating according to its permit from NRW.

Skates said the "situation is getting worse rather than better", describing the smell as "disgusting".

An enforcement notice was issued to Enovert in December 2023 over breaches of its environmental permit, which included odour and landfill gas management requirements.

It ruled that the company had failed to manage levels of leachate - polluted liquid that drains from landfill.

Enovert said it would work with NRW on an agreed action plan.

Skates has been campaigning alongside local councillor David Bithell, and said he and Mr Bithell had previously met with Enovert management to discuss the concerns.

"The meeting felt constructive, but we made it clear that we wanted to see improvements to address local people's concerns.

"But nothing seems to have changed since - certainly not in the eyes of my constituents in the affected communities," Skates said, adding that he had raised the issue with Welsh Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs Huw Irranca-Davies.

Lyndsey Rawlinson, from NRW, said it was "dedicating significant resources" to ensuring Enovert complied with its environmental permit requirements, and that an action plan was being developed.

Ms Rawlinson said NRW only revoked permits "if we believe the operation poses a serious risk to the environment of human health" or if all other measures to reduce the odour have been exhausted".

"At present the operators are still working through a number of actions to address the issues and we are regulating them closely," she said, adding that closing the site "would not immediately eliminate the odours".