We have just started a public facebook Shelford Landfill Action Group (SLAG) so people can share updates and issues they are experiencing at the landfill.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1530418235453592
After a well attended and productive and very insightful community meeting with the Environmental Agency with Matthew Higginson Area Environment Manager of the Environment Agency and Paul Bennett, team leader for landfill regulation at St Stephens Community Centre chaired by myself Magz Hall with Tim Long St Stephens and Hales Place who co organised the meeting with Peta Boucher who runs SABORA: Sturry and Broad Oak Residents' Association.
Thanks for all who attended by the way, we will be emailing attendees this link. Over 80 people came to the public meeting in Canterbury with the EA to voice concerns, we covered several areas of concern, waterways, stench, gas leaks, fires, monitoring, dirt, lorry congestion, lorries parking out side of homes and outside of hours with no where to report the issue, lorries bringing non licensed rubbish to the site and found out illegal waste was now being tipped next to the site. Plans to build houses next to the site and a reservoir, height and size of the landfill a lot was covered as well discussing the proposed AI centre, and the need for expert based informed decision making on that by the council, there will be a public planning meeting date TBC so do contact your councillors about it and share your evidence based concerns. Locals had been told the site was to close back in 2015 only to find it was extended by KCC.
Not only were fences still down, shredded rubbish blowing off the site was being regularly found nearby. The meeting highlighted that there is a total slippage in responsibility for the site by KCC the EA and KCC who grant them planning permissions, which the company Valencia Waste Management has taken full advantage of. The EA informed us they were watching the site and it was at an amber level of concern, as there have been failures with compliance. Everyone at the meeting stated it should be red. We were left more concerned than ever as the EA regulator has such limited capacity in staff and really feel failed by KCC and the regulators due to this as well as Canterbury Planning who gave them retrospective planning in the first place especially based on the evidence provided.
It’s still important to report any smell or environmental issue to the EA from the site so keep doing that, it was reporting and communities coming together on the issue that has closed other sites.